Have you ever treated yourself and friends or family to a "Double Blue Breakfast"?   Blueberries tucked into blue corn pancakes topped with wild honey and raspberry yogurt is a real treat.  Also, you can add toasted pinon nuts to the batter. And so-o-o good for  you.

Did y ou know that blue corn is the only food in the world that is 100% nutrition?  The ancients in Old Mexico believed corn was so special, that they deified corn and named the only goddess in their religion the corn goddess.  They learned that if they sprinkled  ground limestone on corn it would be preserved.  The only color of corn originally was white--so the white limestone on white corn seemed alright.

However, in northern Mexico, getting powdered limestone was very difficult or almost impossible, so they found that using wood ash would yield the same result and their favorite wood was pinon.  Not only does pinon wood burn to a complete and total light grey ash; it has a wonderful aroma, quite popular in New Mexico.  As an aside,  pinon trees are only native to New Mexico and northern Mexico,  and also in  the Israel/Palestine area.

The difference nutritionally between  white and blue corn is that blue corn possesses lysine, an essential amino acid.  White and other colors of corn have lysine content, but the human stomach can not assimilate it.

To make blue corn pancakes, we have a very flavorful mix, that I am now placing on a special 20 % off for the rest of this week or until Saturday, June 5.

We still have a few openings for our Classic Paella dinner class, our Chocolate and Chile class, the July 16 -18,  2021 weekend class our October 25 -26,2021 week long class  and we can even get you into our Oaxaca Culinary Tour which starts June 15 and lasts until June 21, 2021.

Here's a couple of blue corn recipes you may enjoy.  We also sell blue corn flour, blue corn muffin mix and blue corn masa.

BLUE CORN PARFAIT BREAD

The best blue cornmeal is smoked in adobe ovens and then lava-wheel ground to a fine flour consistency. With the popularity of blue corn, a lot of blue corn on the market is “filled,” or blended with white or yellow corn. For the best flavor, buy pure blue cornmeal or flour such as ours from Pecos Valley Spice Co.,  The moist quality of this bread has long made it a favorite with campers and picnickers.

Yield: 9-12 servings

1 cup blue cornmeal

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoons salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 cup dairy sour cream

2 cups cooked or canned whole-kernel corn, drained

¼ pound Monterey Jack cheese or Cheddar cheese, or a combination of the two, sliced ¼ inch thick

¼ cup sliced jalapeno chiles, either pickled or fresh

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9-inch round or square cake pan. Mix the dry ingredients together and make a well in the center. Add eggs, butter and sour cream and blend thoroughly. Fold in corn kernels.

2. Pour almost half the batter into the prepared pan. Cover with the sliced cheese and chiles. Pour the remaining batter over cheese and chiles and smooth to cover the filling. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes our clean. Serve warm.

CHILES RELLENOS de QUESO

The traditional chile relleno. Serve as a main dish or as a vegetable dish.

Yield: 4-6 servings

12 large, mild green chiles, parched & peeled with stems on, or you can use three, 8-oz. cans of

whole green chiles

8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 12 long, narrow strips

Vegetable oil for frying

Red Chile Sauce or salsa as desired, optional

1. Insert cheese strips into chiles, using the small slit that was cut for steaming (or cut a small slit just below the stem.) Make sure that the cheese strips do not burst the chiles or overfill them. Drain chiles thoroughly on paper towels to ensure that the batter will coat them well. Prepare your choice of batters.

1. For the Blue Cornmeal Crusted ones, preheat 3 to 4 inches of oil to 375 F in a deep heavy skillet, large saucepan, or deep-fat fryer. Dip the stuffed chiles in the batter. Place in hot oil and fry until golden. Tongs work best to hold and turn them. Drain well on paper towels. Serve piping hot with red chile sauce.

BLUE CORNMEAL CRUST: 

Crisp and crunchy. I like this batter best when made with blue cornmeal.

Yield: enough batter for 12 chiles

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cornmeal – blue, white or yellow

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal. Blend the milk and eggs, then add to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. If necessary, add a little more milk to achieve a smooth batter that will adhere to the chiles.