Friday, August 15, 2008

Corn Bread Crumble and Cashew Cream

Looking forward to a day trip to London tomorrow kept us in for dinner tonight (because we all known what a wild pair VeganCowGirl and her Cowboy can be on a Friday night.......if you count knitting and reading as adventures on the train o'sin).


But, not wanting to deny ourselves a sense of adventure, I decided to cook the UFO. Yes, I happened upon this little guy yesterday at the health food store. And, when the apathetic teenager who rang us threw asked Cést qui? I knew I was in trouble. It was quite obviously a squash, I am just unsure of which variety, and I was much too busy finding really cool Indian nan packaging today to spend too much time researching it (I think that is a big pink bunny).


I spent some time wondering what exactly to do with it, but over my afternoon treat (who knows what song this picture reminds me of?....hint - it is a line from a great Canadian crooner), and whilst reading the great works of Moskowitz & Romero I was inspired by a Cornbread recipe. I knew what the little UFO was going to be, and gosh darn it! a Corn Bread Crumble was born.

This was a wickedly great dish. I loved it. The skillet corn bread that I covered the top of the mexican flavoured squash, beans and potato mixture was crunchy, while the inside was squishy and full of flavour. I had a last minute brain wave and decided to make some garlic infused Cashew Cream to mix with a tomato base. I used this to cover the top of the crumble before baking it for about 10 minutes. I served it with the remaining half of the corn bread, and was totally satisfied.

Cornbread Crumble
Cornbread: I halved the skillet cornbread from Veganomicon

Innards:
1 sweet potato - peeled and cubed 1 weird UFO squash - peeled and cubed 1 clove of garlic - diced 1 tin of black beans - drained 1 cup of tinned tomatoes 1/2 cup of raisins mexican spices as you like water if it dries out while waiting for the cornbread to bake up

How To: Cut up all your veg and add the potato and squash to a cast iron pan that may or may not have a touch of oil in it. Add your garlic and tomatoes, and move it around for about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and let simmer for 45 minutes. In the mean time, bake up your corn bread.
Crumble:
In a casserole dish pour entirety of innards. Add some crumbled corn bread (I halved what came out of my skillet and reserved the rest), cover with tomato and garlic cashew sauce and bake for 10 - 20 minutes.

Last night for dinner I had left overs, but I did try my hand at making a desert with Cashew Cream - something I had never tried. I also used up the dates I had squirreled away in my pantry to create a base and as a decorative top. It was a good little desert and totally did the trick.

I placed a mixture of raisins, hot water, dates and a bit of peanut butter in the bottom of two ramikins and then covered that layer with oats. I added the cashew cream (which I infused with Rose Water) on top of the oats and decorated with dates. I put the desert back in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Really, really yummy.

Well, I am off to wrangle myself up a really tasty slice of Vegan London tomorrow (6 59 am train) and to pay a visit to the British Museum.

22 comments:

Bianca said...

That, my friend, is a pattypan squash. I've got one in my fridge from last Saturday's market. Tastes much like crookneck summer squash, but way cooler shape!

Kumudha said...

I love that lijjat pappad. Corn bread crumble and cashew cream looks yummy!

aTxVegn said...

The casserole is like our chili with cornbread dinners in winter, only mixed together in one dish! Great idea.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

No wonder you were distracted by that nan bread packet! Yesterday, I was in the supermarket and the girl at the checkout asked what the ginger was and then what the garlic was. What is the world coming to *sigh*

Penny said...

Mmm. cashew cream dessert looks amazing. I've been wanting to experiement w/ rosewater but am concerned about the "perfume" effect..

Anonymous said...

I've been craving some cornbread for a while now, you might just have pushed me over the edge.

Alicia said...

How did you get so creative on a Friday evening? The only think I could do with my brain yesterday was let it rest... I hope you have fun in London, and I stay here completely jealous. London! how cool!

Brad and Ahnah said...

MMMMMMMM.....I think I now know what to fix with the UFO that landed in my bag at the farmer's market.

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

that casserole is so creative, and it's *chock full of cornbread*! that means I want it. With all it's daily required UFO. :DD

jessy said...

mmmmmmmmmmmm! cornbread crumble - wow! that looks amazing! and your cashew cream is making me huuuuungry!

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

That squash would confuse me too! Your cornbread crumble sounds really tasty.

VeganCowGirl said...

Thank you bianca! Patty pan is a kicking name!

Thanks atxvegn - nothing close to your killer dinners though.

Holler --- didn't know what ginger was? Oh my, I think I am actually crying for you.

Penny - I actually didn't notice that the rose water was too pungent - I do know what you mean...it does have a musky smell...but it didn't overwhelm the desert.

Celine - do it! The hoecakes that Liz2 has been making might do the trick too.

Alice - because I am a geek!!

Everyone else - thanks for the comments!

Anonymous said...

My oh my that cornbread crumble is the tastiest-sounding thing I've heard about all day! I have a can of chipotles in adobo sauce I've been itching to do something with...you may have just shown me the light!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I love the date flower!

Anonymous said...

Isn't cashew cream the best?! And I love your UFO squash...I'm such an X-Files nerd!

Anonymous said...

I love your cornbread crumble and cashew cream/raisins/pb/dates dessert (which, by the way, was adorably presented!).

My hubby and I are also Friday night wild children. We sat on the couch and watched the Olympics. Hey - at least the Olympics were on. We're usually in bed by ten on Friday nights (and Saturday nights and Sunday nights....)

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Everyone else seems to be stuck on the food and I'm trying to figure out the song...do tell! ;)

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

P.S. The food looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

I'm jealous of your Penguin-cup, and your UFO squash. Great dish!

eatme_delicious said...

Oh yum that cornbread crumble looks delicious! I need to make cornbread again soon.

VeganCowGirl said...

Vegyogini - Leonard Cohen's song Suzanne. :)

allularpunk said...

my mom grew pattypan squash in her garden this year and so i got a bunch of it, myself! i grilled the smaller ones, and put the bigger ones in a stew. they're very..breadlike, i think. i like what you did with yours too!