I have yet to discover a vegetable that I don't like. Don't get me wrong though, it usually all depends on how it's cooked and what it's cooked with. When I was younger however, I had a strong dislike for avocado and eggplant (aka aubergine), but now I'd happily eat avocado in salads, sandwiches, wraps and even in desserts. The recipe that changed my feelings towards eggplant was this one from the awesome (awesome awesome) site My New Roots. I have a long history with this website. It's where all my vegan exploring started. It's not a vegan website in itself, but there are so many vegan friendly recipes. It was the starting point that got me interested in finding new and exciting never before tried recipes. So even though I have many other websites that I go to frequently for get my recipe ideas, My New Roots will always be my first love.
On the topic of vegetables, I have come to appreciate the unique taste of a vegetable called okra. It kind of looks like a furry jalapeno, and when it's cooked it becomes quite slimy (so if you're not into slimy things, maybe this one isn't for you). It's widely used in Indian and other Asian cuisine. There's quite a delicious okra dish at the restaurant Little Lebanon which I've mentioned in a previous post.
I came across a huge bag full of okra in my fridge and figured I better eat it before it goes bad. I hopped onto Google and found a recipe for okra cornbread. It does sound a bit strange, but I like okra, love cornbread and am always keen for trying new things.
The recipe turned out to be really nice. It just tasted like jalapeno cornbread to be honest. But yummy none the less. I made mine with corn flour, so it doesn't have that lovely orange colour that cornbread usually is. I've yet to actually be able to find any cornmeal in the shops over here :( When I do though, there will be cornbread in the oven that same night!
When I was in Los Angeles, my cousin took me to Native Foods Vegan Restaurant. It was there that I ate cornbread for the first time. Unfortunately for me, cornbread is normally made with eggs and so is not vegan friendly. I did however happen to come across vegan cornbread at a salad buffet in Dallas.
I bought the Native Foods Vegan Cookbook while I was in LA and today I baked the cornbread recipe from there. Cornbread is usually eaten with southern soul foods like friend chicken, beans, collard veggies and just anything that's comfort food really.
Those who know me know that bread is my favourite food. Cornbread is definitely included.
