Food Friday - Kasha Mexicana

Kasha Mexicana is a pantry recipe, onion is the only fresh ingredient. It's good for the end of the week when you've run through all your fresh stuff or those peppers you were planning to cook have gone all mushy on you. However, if you have some extra, still fresh peppers, they would be good in this.

This is one of the few recipes I have that calls for a brand-name mock meat. I use Morningstar Farms Crumbles. I try not to use them too much because they're expensive and they seem a little like frankenfood to me. Crumbles came out of a food lab somewhere; they weren't developed in someone's kitchen. I try to follow the rule that if your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, then you probably shouldn't eat it. (Or at least someone's great-grandmother, my great-grandmothers probably never ate fresh ginger or tofu.) There are more natural recipes for home-made ground beef substitutes but I haven't tried one yet.

Kasha is a whole grain (roasted buckwheat groats). It's traditionally eaten as porridge in Slavik cultures or as a filling for Jewish knishes. I like it here because it bulks up the casserole and adsorbs the flavor from the spices.


Kasha Mexicana

1 onion, diced
½ package of Crumbles
1 cup kasha
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can chopped green chiles
1 package taco seasoning
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
½ can sliced olives
1 can black beans
1 ½ cups water
1 cup cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Saute onion 8-10 minutes. Add grounds and heat through. Stir in kasha.

Add tomatoes, chiles, beans, olives, taco seasoning, corn and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer covered 5-7 minutes, until kasha is tender and water is absorbed.

Sprinkle cheese over mixture. Cover until cheese has melted.

Serve as a casserole or to fill tortillas.