One of my discoveries was Giant White Corn. The dried kernels were definitely giant – about the size of a penny. Inspired by the recipe on the Goya package, I prepared a stew with pork, making a few modifications based on the ingredients I had on hand. The result was delicious and I’ll definitely make it again.

Pork Stew with Giant White Corn

A similar recipe can be found on the Goya site here. The modifications I made were:

1. I used the whole package of corn (1 lb) and a bit more pork.
2. I didn’t have the spices and the sofrito on hand, so I improvised, replacing some pork broth with water and seasoning with chipotle and cilantro flavor cubes made by Knorr.
3. Last, I ate the stew with some hot sauce and liberal amounts of fresh cilantro.

I wasn’t planning on being awfully strict – after all, someone brought a bag of Reese’s to work yesterday and there’s the matter of a gallon of vanilla ice cream already in the freezer. Instead, my goal was to eliminate animal products from my cooking.

The verdict? Although I don’t see myself becoming vegan or even vegetarian, I would like to cook this way more of the time. Aside from being healthy for myself and the world, much of the food I made was inexpensive and lasted longer than meaty leftovers.

Pumpkin oatmeal made with steel cut oats and soymilk

Here are some of my favorites from this week:

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins – I have to admit, my heart usually sinks a little when I’m offered vegan baked goods. But these excellent muffins don’t suffer at all from lack of eggs or butter.  I substituted maple syrup for the molasses and used whole wheat flour.

Pumpkin oatmeal – I cooked steel cut oats in a mixture of unsweetened soy milk and water, adding some nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup and raisins. Then, in the last few minutes of cooking, I stirred in the leftover pumpkin from the muffins, about a half cup. It was delicious – luckily I made enough to last for a few mornings.

Chipotle split pea soup – Split pea soup usually gets its smoky flavor from ham; here, the smokiness is accomplished with chipotles (an ingredient I find myself using more and more). Not only is this vegan, but it’s also very thrifty – the whole batch, around 10 servings, cost me less than $2 to make.

Tofu scramble – onion and bell pepper sauteed with firm tofu, topped with scallions, parsley and avocado. Looked and tasted great, kept me full for hours.

It turned out to be a fortunate ‘impulse cook’. Armed with a bag of red lentils and amazing Turkish apricots (both from Whole Foods’ bulk aisle) I whipped up a batch. The flavor is complex and like nothing I’ve tasted before.

Some things I might do differently next time: halve the recipe (it made approximately 12 cups, a bit hefty for my apartment-sized fridge), use a tad less cumin, spice it up with a bit of hot sauce, maybe add more water for a thinner soup (though simply adding water while reheating does save fridge space). Oh, and maybe have people over for soup?

If you didn’t catch my link above, you can get the recipe here.

It isn’t pictured in the magazine, and now I know why – it’s not terribly photogenic.

The recipe is “Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard” from the March 2006 issue of Bon Appetit. It took me a very easy half-hour to make because I cut the butternut squash ahead of time. I added more than the recommended amount of chili powder, extra hot sauce, and substituted vegetable with beef broth for a heartier flavor. Great to bring to work for lunch.