Vegan Black Beans & Corn Over the Fire

Black Beans and Corn is one of my favorite combinations-  low in fat, full of protein, and just makes me happy. I don't really have an exact recipe I follow, but I rarely follow those anyway. It's a super easy combination that I usually make on the stove, but made perfect sense to translate to cooking on the open fire. Plus, the recipe is typically vegan.

Ingredients

• can seasoned black beans (or regular drained black beans)
• can regular corn, drained (or any other can of corn you prefer)
• fresh garlic (because I love it)
• fresh diced red & orange peppers
• fresh diced onion (red or white, I had both pre-cut in my cooler)
• dried veggie soup blend (mine had dried onion, peppers, spinach, & tomatoes)
• seasonings to taste (hot sauce, pepper flakes, chili powder, curry, salt, pepper, etc)
• Hard cider (or any other preferred liquid - cider, beer, veggie broth, tomato juice, water or whatever you choose) - the alcohol cooks out
• Optional - hot peppers; can stewed, canned, or diced tomatoes; fresh tomatoes; cooked rice or any other grain; any other vegetable

I used an olive oil spray in bottom of pre-seasoned cast iron Dutch oven. (This was just for my sense of mine as much as anything.) In the Dutch Oven, I mixed together can of seasoned black beans, can of drained corn, diced fresh peppers, diced fresh onion, fresh garlic, dried vegetable soup blend (optional, of course), seasonings to taste (mine included pepper flakes, hot sauce, pepper, & onion powder) and a splash of hard cider (maybe 1/2 cup).  I mixed everything together with splash of hard cider to taste. I secured the lid and lowered the the entire pot into the fire ring along the coals, ashes, and burning wood. I checked it a couple times and turned the pot to ensure equal heat, cooking about an hour. I moved it further from heat within the fire ring and let keep warm until the rest of dinner was about ready, then let cool outside fire ring about 10 minutes.

Serve plain, with rice, on a tortilla or topped with any preference. I ate mine at the campsite along with a Tofurky brat & foil packet vegetables. I have also eaten in a tortilla with black olives.

Camping with Omnivores: The MIni Vlog

For an Overview of  "Camping with Omnivores" & a sneak peak at my most recent camping adventure check out this video:

Keep reading for more!

Camping with Ominovores: Part VI - The Trip

I love waking to the sounds and smells of the campground. They are familiar and relaxing. The smell of campfires and cooking fires fill the air as the sounds filter of fires crackling, people talking, children playing, the occasional car door. As the progresses the sounds of radios filter through the air, mixing with the sounds of talking, laughter, and children playing. As busy as it is, there is also something simpler as people just breathe and live in a slightly different way. Chores still need done. Wood gets chopped. Meals get cooked. Dishes get washed. Life still moves forward, but it is different. I love waking up to as I stretch and emerge from my tent. (We don't just camp in fall weather, we tent camp.) I didn't get as much time camping during a recent trip, but I did get enough to give me a bit of a fall pick me up. We set up and slept in tents, we ate, we enjoyed time by the fire with family and friends, the kids played, and we took a nighttime hay ride.

I kept the meatless menu this weekend fairly simple, complementary to the menu the omnivores were eating. There were two of us eating meat- free (which pretty much never happens with my camping trips).

Friday Night (arrival): Tents and canopies were set up, the camp kitchen was set up, beds were made, and a fire was started. I grabbed a pre-dinner snack of roasted red pepper hummus with fresh veggies & pita chips.

The first night menu was just dinner and OYO (On Your Own). Most of my family had planned on hot dogs or pie iron sandwiches over the fire with pre-made pasta salad. I made a Tofurky beer brat in a foil packet with onions, peppers, and mushrooms cooked in hard cider over the fire, topped with homemade pepper relish, then served along side pasta salad.

In the evening, I enjoyed my a couple s'mores made with vegan marshmallows. Oh, so much yum and full of such happy memories form by childhood.

Saturday (full day): I packed oatmeal for breakfast with peanut butter, dried cranberries, maple syrup, agave syrup, nutritional yeast, sunflower seeds, and almond milk as options for it. This camping trip was mixed with time off camp for work responsibilities. I didn't feel like breakfast, making or eating, but it was enjoyed by my fellow Veghead instead of waffles.

Lunch was OYO. Thank goodness for hummus cups.

Dinner I made black beans and corn with dried veggies, onion, pepper, garlic, and hard cider in my mini Dutch oven with Tofurky beer brats cooked in foil packet with assorted veggies in place of the families smoked meat selection. Smoked macaroni and cheese was also on the menu.

Sunday (packing for homemade): Oatmeal happiness.

Camping with Omnivores: Part V - Packing

Something unusual happened this fall camping trip- surrounded by my meat-eating family, my cooler looks a little different than usual. I'm not the only one. This rarely happens. This never happens. This is someone who has little idea how to pack for camping, especially as as vegan.

I stick fairly close to the menu my family plans, it usually makes everyone's life a little easier. Being a short fall camping weekend, we had do OYO (On Your Own) Meals, two breakfasts (one includes waffles), and one big dinner that is going to involve my brothers smoking a bunch of meat with macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and whatever is left of pasta salad.

In my own not-exactly little cooler and dry box, I packed a selection of raw veggies pre-cut, tofurkey beer brats (they stand up to cooking over the fire pretty well), a Halloween-inspired vegan pasta salad, pickles, beverages (adults and otherwise), oatmeal, peanut butter, tortillas, hummus, a few crunchy snacks (including pita chips), tea & hot chocolate, fixings for black beans and corn, and everything I needed for s'mores (yay vegan marshmallows) . It's only two of us, but food eaten outdoors and near a campfire usually tastes the best. It's going to be a tasty weekend and the weather is supposed to be lovely.