Buffalo Chili with Savory Corn Cakes for "Souper Sunday"

How did Sunday get here so soon this week? It is Souper Sunday time again, time to slow down and enjoy a bowl of something comforting and filling. It is actually what most people consider to be "normal" soup weather here in Hawaii this weekend; windy, pouring down rain yesterday and still pretty cool today, perfect for a hearty bowl of chili.

Since I had a pound of ground buffalo that needed to be used, I decided to substitute it for the ground turkey in this quick and easy recipe I posted back in May. It's a simple recipe, about 30 minutes to a hot bowl of chili, nothing fancy but good flavors from the cumin, oregano and chili powder and texture from the combination of black beans and pinto beans. I topped it with some shredded jack cheese and green onions.


In looking for something to serve with it that wasn't cornbread, I happened upon a recipe for Savory Corn cakes from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven. (One of those those small cookbooks that are on your shelf and when you open it you think, "why don't I ever cook from this book?" In fact next week's soup will be from this book too). The corn cakes also looked quick and easy (going with a theme here!) and Molly says you can "whip them up in 20 minutes, any time of day" from breakfast, a light supper, etc.


Savory Corn Cakes

Molly Katzen's Vegetable Heaven

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2 tsp butter

1/4 finely minced red bell pepper

2 cups corn

1/4 cup minced scallions

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

oil or butter for the pan
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Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the bell pepper and corn, and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the scallions, and set aside. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center. Beat together the eggs and buttermilk until frothy,. Pour this and the corn mixture into the well in the center of the dry ingredients, and stir briefly until everything is combined. Don't over-mix.

Lightly grease a hot skillet or griddle with butter or oil, and fry the corn cakes for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Serve hot, topped with a few cilantro leaves and a drizzle of sour cream or guacamole.

Yield: about a dozen 4-inch corn cakes.
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Results: Yum! These little cakes are easy and delicious. I halved the recipe and used frozen corn and they turned out great. Good flavor and texture from the cornmeal, they are a perfect accompaniment to a bowl of soup or chili. A keeper recipe, I would make these again.

Let's see who stopped by the Souper Sunday Kitchen and what delicious dishes they brought:

First up and making her first appearance at Souper Sunday is Laurie from That's Not What the Recipe Says with a bowl of Hearty Ham and Bean Soup. How incredible does this soup look?! I love me some beans (this soup has 15 kinds of them!) and a big bowl of this soup would hit the spot. Laurie's food always looks incredible and this soup is no exception!

Hearty must be the theme for today, because here comes Natashya from Living In the Kitchen With Puppies, with a drool worthy Baked Potato Soup from her slow cooker. Loving both soup and baked potatoes this looks like a little bit of creamy heaven in a bowl. I am going to have some of this one too!

Who says hearty soup has to be warm soup? Not Suzie from Munch & Nibble. Because of the warmer weather "down under", she did a follow up to her wonderful red gazpacho last week and by making a hearty, delicious green Cucumber Gazpacho. Although her weather turned a bit cooler than she thought it would, she still enjoyed this soup and with the cucumbers, dill, and mint, I can see why. I'm going to have to have a big cup of this one too.

Wow! Such great soups again this week! Thanks Laurie, Natashya and Suzie for joining me for Souper Sunday. (If you don't know this wonderful group of bloggers by now, go check out their soup recipes and blogs). We will be back for another Souper Sunday next week so if you have a soup, stew, chili, stoup, slow cooker dish or other meal in a bowl you want to share send me a comment or email by next Sunday. (You don't actually have to make your soup or post on Sunday, that's just when I round them up!)

Have a wonderful week!