Corn Chili: versatility

Fair warning: in the post with the recipe for this Corn Chili, I spend quite a lot of time talking about the fact that we just adopted a cat; if you're my friend on Facebook, you've already heard it and seen the picture.  So my apologies, if you don't care for discussion of kitties when you're just out to make some vegan chili.

And yes - this is vegan chili, at least if you use vegetable stock, like I did, or water, like the original recipe did.  There wouldn't be anything wrong with using chicken stock if meat is not an issue for you, but I had veggie stock on hand, as I nearly always do since I make a big batch and freeze it, so that's what I used.  But look at it: we've got beans, corn, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seasonings, and aside from the stock and the cooking oil, that's all you'll need!  Obviously if you're me, you're going to serve it with a pile of cheese on top, but that certainly isn't required and it still stays vegetarian even in that case.  I don't really trust the meltiness of vegan cheeses so I wouldn't say to substitute, but presumably vegans know their foodstuffs better than I do and if you've got something that works, go for it.

So not only is this good as nature intended, hot in a bowl with some toppings (including homemade tortilla chips!), but I have also enjoyed the leftovers as part of a burrito filling, drizzled the liquid into a grilled cheese sandwich, and I'm sure it would make a pretty good salsa served cold, because it's essentially black-bean-and-corn salsa.  Which makes the valid point that you could probably heat up any salsa and just eat it with a spoon.  Well, except the fruity kinds.

For today's entertainment, I'd like to introduce you (well, I assume this is an introduction, because you are not Canadians and specifically you are not British Columbians) to Kinnie Starr.  Versatile, you want versatility?  She's folk and hip-hop and rock, in English, French, and Spanish, and she brings in her First Nations heritage too.  Today: This was one of the first songs I heard her play, at Folk Fest (by which I don't mean Newport, which is for snobs - I mean the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, where I spent my teenaged summers volunteering in the kitchen and seeing so many amazing artists for free.  Sure, there were plenty of your to-be-expected folkies, earnest middle-aged ladies with a long grey braid, strumming an acoustic guitar, but it's also the first place I saw Tegan and Sara who are now doing arena tours (weird), a Romani band that started busking between actual stage sets, a pair of Basque brothers whose instruments were sort of crazy wooden xylophones they hit with huge mallets, a Polish band that played English drinking songs, Tanya Tagaq Gillis (whom I guess goes by just Tanya Tagaq now?), Billy Bragg, taiko drummers, Po' Girl... DOA played there one year, before my volunteering time.  Fucking DOA!  Oh Folk Fest, I love you.

So let's bring this back (somehow) to chili.  Ahem.  Like Folk Fest, you expect a certain thing out of it, and that is certainly something that you can get out of it, but it's really got something for everyone, and it's comfort food in the same way that Folk Fest is, or was, my comfort place.  Look, spare everyone my tortured attempts at parallels here, and just go make some Corn Chili, ok?

Vegivore Eats | Blueberry-Jalapeno Skillet Cornbread

Cornbread purists, I know what you're thinking: Why mess with the traditional recipe when it's so damn delicious as it is?  I know you're thinking this because I used to be like you: anything straying from the ordinary was Not Allowed.
That said, as with many dishes, there's more to be done to cornbread to modernize it; give it a fresh perspective while still retaining all the good things we like about the original.  The crunch of a seared crust is a must, the cornmeal ought to melt into the batter while still presenting that crumbly crumb, and the whole thing should be solid and no longer batter in the slightest.

This recipe offers all that, and more.  Roasted off-the-cob corn kernels bring out the hazy taste of late summer, jalapeno pepper gives a new dimension of spicy oomph, sharp cheddar cheese nips at your taste buds in the background.  The real highlight here, though, are the blueberries.  Handpicked myself on Adam's Berry Farm (Burlington, VT), these Hardy Blue variety berries might seem like an odd addition but the mix of sour and sweet adds something this side of wonderful.

Above photo cred: OnePartGypsy, aka my talented sister

 ...And here's the part where you might be thinking, Cheese?  Hot pepper?  FRUIT?  What is Jules thinking?!  Try it. You'll like it.  There are a lot of corn and blueberry recipes, cheese and blueberry recipes, and blueberry salads -- the flavors will translate here.  This is a savory and creative way to use up (at least some of) the poundage of blueberries that comes hand-in-hand with this time of year -- without resorting to sugary baked goods.  The berries pronounce themselves versatile with a juicy pop of unmistakable flavor, lending themselves to what I dare call cornbread nouvelle.  Pair with a big green salad and a simple grilled fish to enjoy summer's waning bearings in a light and yet still unrestrained way.