I’ve been feeling super blechy the last few days. Headache, stomachache, sore throat, the ague. I’ve got the ague, I tell you!! So I wanted to make something spicy and flavorful to clear the sinuses and get past my dulled palate. So I made this stew…red beans, zucchini, hominy and some spices – lots of spices. Hominy is, as I understand it, corn kernels, skins removed, treated with lime. Round here, you can buy it in cans (Goya! Oh boya!). It has a mysterious taste and a lovely texture. Soft but firm. It makes a very very nice addition to a saucy spicy stew. This stew was so pretty when it first started cooking – red, green and white. Lovely.

To go with it, I made these tasty little…good golly, I’m not sure how to describe them! They’re not popovers, not muffins. For all the world, they’re like tiny little quiches. They make their own crust…of cornmeal toasted in brown butter. And the inside stays very dense and eggy and ridiculously comforting and tasty. They’re quite magical! They’re not hard to make, and I think they’re gluten free. I might try them next time with some grated cheese stirred into the mix, to make them more quiche-y than ever.

Here’s Old Corn Liquor, by Joe Thompson. He’s remarkable! And this meal really did include corn in just about every form but liquor.

STEW

2 T olive oil
1 can hominy (about 15 oz)
1 cup small red beans
1 cup diced fire-roasted canned tomatoes (or chopped fresh)
1 zucchini chopped in 1/4 inch dice
1 shallot – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – minced
3 T white wine
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1/2 t sage
1/2 t (or to taste) red pepper flakes
1 t smoked paprika
2 t balsamic vinegar
salt and plenty of pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large soup pan over medium heat. Add the shallot. Cook till it starts to brown. Add the garlic, oregano, basil and sage. Cook for a minute or two. Add the zucchini, and cook till it’s soft and starting to brown. Add the small red beans and the wine. Cook till the wine is syrupy and add the paprika and the salt. Mix well, then add the hominy. Cook for a minute or two. Then add the tomatoes. Mix well and cook again. Then add enough water to cover by about 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until everything is hot and cooked through. About 20 minutes. Add vinegar, taste for salt and add plenty of pepper.

I served this with grated sharp cheddar. If you’re vegan, you can obviously omit this step!!

QUICHE-Y POPOVERS

1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup conrmeal
3 eggs
3 T butter – melted
1 t salt

Mix the cornmeal and the salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the milk and butter and break in the eggs. Whisk till everything’s quite smooth.

Preheat the oven to 450. When it’s hot, put a sliver of butter in each of 12 muffin tins. Put the tins in the oven. WHen they’re melted, pour a ladelful of batter in each one.

Cook for 15 minutes at 450, then turn the heat to 350 and cook for another 15 minutes. The muffins should puff up, and then sink, and be quite dense and eggy in the middle.

Let them cool for a few minutes so you can handle them, then turn them out and eat them! Good the next day, too, toasted.