The Secret Recipe Club - Yummy Spicy Corn Muffins

For this month’s The Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Erin’s My Big Fat Baker blog. At first I was intimidated what I’d prepare since baking is not my forte (look to the right, and you’ll notice few baking recipes). When I looked at her “About” section, I saw Erin’s a Purdue Boilermaker, just like Craig, so I knew I’d find something good. By the time this is posted, we’ll know who won the Penn State-Purdue game. Nittany Lions roar! I appreciate how philanthropic Erin is in her support of various online bake-offs, such as Frosting for the Cause and championing the use of local and organic.

A number of things did catch my eye (Tomato Jam, Peanut Butter, and Banana Cookies with Chocolate Frosting), but I settled on the Spicy Corn Muffins since we were having black bean butternut squash chili, and we had the last of our CSA fresh corn to use. We learned late season corn is weird. Some ears are so crazy-spare that you get 20 kernels per ear, and the worms love this stuff. Nonetheless, I really liked the idea of individual cornbreads since we're only cooking for two these days, and I’m assuming these will freeze well for future soup/chili nights. I made minimal changes, not surprising really since I was baking, one of the few times I cannot embellish a recipe. I subbed some white whole wheat flour for the AP, amazing cumin cheese from The Cheese People we got at the last Ellisville Farmers’ Market for the cheddar, and used red jalapenos I roasted and froze this summer. The only issue I had was that my muffins browned much quicker than the recipe indicates, which was actually quite to my liking. I really appreciated Erin’s hints and tips below in italics. These are really good.

Spicy Corn Muffins

Makes 15

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 T sugar

2-1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 T butter, melted and cooled – may be a tablespoon less next time

3 T olive oil

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1-1/3 - 1 1-1/2 cups fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels – I had a

1 medium jalapeño, seeded and very finely chopped (leave the seeds in for spicier muffins)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar, jalapeño Jack, or any other hard Mexican cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and grease/line two muffin pan (I got 15 muffins out of a batch).

Chop the jalapeño.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, butter, olive oil, egg, and egg yolk. I did this in my 2 cup pyrex measuring cup. 

Slowly pour the liquid into the flour mixture and carefully whisk it all together. Mix only until the liquid and flour are just barely incorporated. Over mixed muffins are a sin.

Gently fold in the corn kernels, jalapeños, and cheese. Scoop into the muffins tins. Be sure to only fill 2/3 of the way full! 

Bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Mine bakes much faster; check at 11-12 minutes.

Allow to cool before consuming! That is actually important with this recipe because the muffins fall apart if you try and eat them hot out of the oven.

 

Hunger Challenge – Final Thoughts

We successfully completed the hunger challenge. We were never hungry as we predicted, but we did not expect the monotony we experienced with what we did have to eat, admittedly a small price to pay if you have few food dollars.

We mostly heard astonishment from people when we shared we were doing the challenge. “You can’t eat for $4 a day,” and not surprising it was new news that $29 is all that is allotted per person weekly for food while on SNAP (food stamps). Someone suggested eating from the McDonald’s dollar menu, which is not possible since SNAP cannot be used for prepared foods. People asked if we were eating a lot of pasta and rice, which may be a fill-up-you-belly option, but one that lacks vegetables, is higher calorie, and is hard if you are living with a disease like diabetes, prevalent with many Food Outreach clients.

The most arrogant, rude, and ignorant comment we heard was from someone who said that if people would just get a job they wouldn’t need food stamps. WRONG. An August 2011 USDA report stated 60% of those who receive SNAP DO have income, granted they have to earn below 130% of the Federal poverty line. For a family of four that’s a monthly gross income of $2,748. Trying to actually LIVE on that would make the hunger challenge child's play.

We’ve posted some lessons learned in prior posts, but to recap:

• You shop somewhere inexpensive, close to your home, and infrequently. Most SNAP recipients shop monthly and then run the risk of not having enough food at month’s end. Hopefully they have access to other resources such as Food Outreach or a pantry that gets food from Operation Food Search.

• Coupons are helpful in keeping food costs down, but a SNAP recipient may not have access to newspapers or the Internet/printer.

• You eat inexpensive foods and have VERY limited choices. Fresh fruits and vegetables are infrequent. Ditto for low fat meats and fish (other than canned, fish is not likely in your food budget at all). And forget about a pantry of spices, which is an easy way to jazz up bland foods without a lot of added sodium (key for someone with hypertension, another secondary condition of some diseases such as HIV/AIDS).

• Healthy eating is very doable, but it requires a lot of planning, time (e.g., dried beans are much cheaper than canned, lower sodium too, but must be soaked and take a while to cook), and discipline (you make your meal plan for the week and you stick to it).

• Your social life does not revolve around food like ours does. Likely you eat to survive. Period. But it’s not joyful or celebratory. Certainly no nice dinners out – because you don’t feel like cooking (you don’t eat then!) – or even to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or graduation.

• The simplest things, like a pot of freshly brewed coffee (or a second pot if you want more) or a mid-afternoon snack like an apple to combat a bit of hunger fatigue, ARE luxuries.

These few days have been a miniscule view of what it’s like to eat the way those reliant on SNAP do. An eye-opening experience for sure. We’re blessed that we have the choice to go back to our normal routine. The night after we ended our challenge, we had grilled grass-fed tenderloin filets, and organic red potatoes and corn on the cob (from our CSA box) with basil butter. Did we think twice about how lavish our meal was? YES. I really struggled in writing this post. We are so fortunate, and it was hard for me to really capture how this experience has impacted us. We already know we are doing the challenge for a full week next September.

We did end up finding a new black bean chili we really enjoyed and will add it our ever-expanding chili recipe collection.

Hunger Chili Challenge Recipe

Adapted from the San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge Blog

Serves 12

1 pound of dried black beans, soaked overnight, water drained and then cooked with fresh water (or approximately six cups of cooked beans)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 pounds ground beef, leanest your budget will allow
1 1/2 cup chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-4 jalapenos, seeded for milder kick if desired, and minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can (28-32 ounces) of diced, peeled tomatoes with juices
2 plus cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the black beans. Set aside.

In a large pot, add the oil and heat over medium high heat. Sauté the beef, using a spoon or spatula to break up any clumps. Cook until browned but not cooked through. Work in batches if all the meat doesn't fit or if it doesn't seem to be browning. If the pan is too crowded the meat will steam rather than brown.

Remove to a plate or bowl and set aside. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of drippings out of pan.

Increase heat to medium high, and when a bit of the onion sizzles immediately on contact with the oil, add the chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion are beginning to turn golden brown. Add the garlic and the jalapenos, cook, stirring often, until the garlic is beginning to turn golden. Add the carrots, celery, and green peppers and cook for a minute or two, stirring often. Add the chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, for a minute. Add the diced tomatoes with juices and 2 cups of water. Mix well. Cover and let come to simmer (not quite boiling). Add the cooked meat with any liquids it may have collected and stir well. Cover and return to simmer.

Let simmer for 20-30 minutes until meat is cooked through and flavors well combined. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste and additional chili powder if desired. Add additional water if needed. With cover off, return to simmer and let cook a few more minutes.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese.

My new favorite chili recipe of all time – spicy Mole Chili

I have more than a dozen chili recipes. They range from chili mac (Connor’s favorite); green chili; the recipe for Deer Valley’s legendary turkey chili; a northern Indian style chili with garbanzo beans and kale; black bean and sweet potato chili; pumpkin and turkey chili; even Obama’s recipe (turmeric as the unique ingredient, served over rice). But I now have a new one that is THE best I’ve ever made. It’s knock your socks off good. So good I was inclined to eat two bowls, until, that is, I find the next greatest chili recipe of all time. 

Typically “moh-lay”, which is fun to say, is made with flavorful chili peppers, cinnamon, cumin, and dark chocolate or cocoa – its mystery ingredient – and can be quite labor-intensive to prepare. Not this one. It comes together in minutes and adds the perfect bite of heat. The chili is hearty, robust, with a broad range of flavors. It’s surprisingly healthy and wonderfully filling.

The original recipe was from Rachael Ray but this reflects my changes.

Mole Black Bean Chili

4 substantial servings

3 cups beef stock

2 ancho chili peppers, stemmed and seeded

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 slices lean smoked bacon, chopped

1 pound ground beef sirloin or bison (ground turkey would work too and use chicken stock)

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

15 ounce can black beans rinsed well and drained

15 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons instant espresso or coffee

1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 small red onion, finely chopped

In a large saucepan, bring the beef stock and ancho chilis to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until softened, about 10 minutes. Using a stick blender or food processor, puree until smooth.

Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, add the bacon and cook until crisp, 2-3 minutes. Drain all but one tablespoon fat. Add the beef, increase the heat to high and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the yellow onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes; season with pepper.

Stir the tomato paste into the chili for 1 minute. Stir in the ancho liquid, black beans, tomatoes, coffee, paprika, coriander, cocoa and cinnamon and simmer for 5 minutes; season with salt.

Serve the chili in shallow bowls. Top with cheese and diced red onions.