{"id":4570,"date":"2009-08-20T08:52:45","date_gmt":"2009-08-20T12:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/?p=4570"},"modified":"2021-02-19T14:33:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T19:33:16","slug":"corn-cakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/corn-cakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Pancakes for Dinner!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MokaAlmost Friday, veg-heads! I have to tell you, your comments on yesterday’s post absolutely made my day. Thanks for all the encouragement.  Just over six weeks left until the big day!<\/p>\n

In case yesterday was running-overload for some of you, today’s all about food! Erin and I started the day with mango-jalapeno smoothies<\/a>, hands down our favorite from Thrive<\/em>.  Quick, healthy energy, and the best replacement for coffee I’ve found.<\/p>\n

Key word: “best,” not “perfect.”  I couldn’t resist this morning, so I busted out my Moka pot<\/a>\"\" afterward and brewed up a few potent shots of my favorite vice (Starbucks Gazebo blend), which I’m drinking now!  Sweet black nectar, if drinking you is wrong, I don’t want to be right.  Well, I kind of do, just not today.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

By the way, does anyone know how to use one of these correctly?  How fine to grind the beans, to tamp or not to tamp, etc.?<\/p>\n

Corn Cakes (Yee-Haw!)<\/h3>\n

\"CornFor dinner yesterday, I pulled out my trusty Williams-Sonoma Vegetarian<\/a> cookbook, the steal I got off the Barnes and Noble discount rack that has yet to produce  a bad meal.  I had been eying up these corn cakes with black beans for a while, and this kind-of-related post<\/a> at Fake Food Free finally inspired me to make them.<\/p>\n

So I did, but I had no idea how pancake-like they would be!  I guess I was expecting something more like cornbread?  Nonetheless, they turned out really well.  Plus it made dinner really fun since, after all, we were eating frickin’ pancakes!  Sweet!<\/p>\n

Now, I must warn you, the prep work (mise en place<\/em>, for you real chefs) was extremely complicated.  If you don’t have a culinary school degree, you may want to go grab one before you attempt this.  To make it more accessible, I’ve broken it down into photo-steps.  Watch me for the changes, and try to keep up (movie name, anyone?).<\/p>\n

Step 1:<\/p>\n

\"Cilantro<\/p>\n

Step 2:<\/p>\n

\"Cilantro<\/p>\n

Step 3:<\/p>\n

\n

Seriously, that’s it.  No more prep, for the entire meal.  So easy.  To spice it up a bit, I made a fresh salsa with an heirloom tomato from the garden, half an onion, some cilantro, and lime juice, but even that required only minimal work, since I did it in a food processor.<\/p>\n

One quick thing before I give you the recipe.  It calls for buttermilk.  I didn’t have buttermilk; I mistakenly bought 2% when I was trying to remember what I needed at the store.  But then I found this simple substitution<\/a>, which just involves mixing a tablespoon of lemon juice with about a cup of milk.  (As an aside, milk was something that we stopped drinking when we went vegetarian.  Not for ethical reasons, but because I’m convinced that the milk we have access to in stores does NOT do a body good.  I drink almond milk now, but I’m ok with a little bit of the real stuff for cooking.)<\/p>\n

Ok, here’s my slightly-adapted version of the Williams-Sonoma recipe.  I think a touch of sugar would be really nice in the corn cakes, but I have no idea how much to add so I’ve left that out.<\/p>\n

Corn Cakes with Black Beans<\/h3>\n

Ingredients (for 2 large or 3 small servings):<\/em><\/p>\n