bloggy summer camp. . .sharing a recipe

Day 10 – Share your favorite recipe (or two) (see! You CAN be a food blogger!)

i made a yummy new recipe last week, and after posting a picture on Twitter, several people asked for the recipe - so here it is:

Crispy Black Bean Cakes (from The Family Dinner)

ingredients
2-3 Tbls olive oil
1 med onion
4 cloves of garlic minced (I used the frozen from Trader Joe's)
2 Tbls of cumin (I didn't have any so I used chili powder - we like things mild)
2 15-ounce cans of refried black beans (if you can't fine refried black beans, use regular refried beans) (i used 1 can of refried black beans with jalepenos & 1 can of regular refried beans)

1 cup of cornmeal

1 egg

2 Tbls vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)

1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

Guacamole

Cabbage or Broccoli Slaw

Salsa

Fresh Cilantro

To-Do (makes 16 cakes)

Heat up a medium-size skillet and drizzle enough olive oil to cover the bottom.  Saute the onion until golden brown and soft.  Add the garlic, 1 Tblsp of cumin and the green chilies, stir until fragrant and most of the moisture has evaporated.  Dump the mixture into a large bowl.

Add the black beans, cornmeal, egg, vinegar, salt, and cayenne.  Stir well.  If the mixture seems a little loose, add some more cornmeal.  Let it rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes of up to a day.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the crispy rice cereal with 1 Tblsp olive oil and the remaining cumin and pour into a large shallow bowl.  Scoop up a heaping Tablespoon of the bean mixture and plop it into the bowl of rice coating.  Gently pat the cake down so the bottom gets covered in the coating, then flip, making sure the edges are covered as well, shaping it GENTLY into a small, round, flat patty.  Put them on an oiled sheet pan and repeat the process witht he remaining mixture.

Spray or drizzle the cakes with a little olive oil then stick the sheet pan in the oven for 30 minutes.  (You can also saute them in oil on the stovetop for a crispier cake).

I took the book's suggestion, and grilled some corn on the grill, removed it from the cob and sprinkled a layer on each plate.  Then I placed a bean cake, topped it with a dollop of guacamole and arranged a spoonful of Brocoli Slaw (from Trader Joe's) on the top.

My kids actually tried them (although they did NOT eat them) and I thought they were delicious! In hind-sight, I wish I had taken more pictures of making the cakes - they were easy, but I'm a nervous chef so I get easily overwhelmed in the kitchen! 

catch you soon -