This Chili Corn Bread Salad recipe was adapted from another recipe by Emily Carncross of Lodi, Wisconsin. She used Crave Brothers mascarpone (one of the world’s best—more about Crave cheeses) and Wisconsin Cheddar.*

Emily comments, “I was looking for something different to bring to a potluck and came across this salad. I did not have any sour cream, so I substituted mascarpone cheese and really liked the taste it added to the dressing.”

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*Why is Cheddar capitalized? It’s due to editorial style. Some publications capitalize the names of foods named after places. Cheddar is a place, as are Asiago, Brie, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Parmesan (Parma), Roquefort and many others. Other cheese names, such as blue cheese, chevre/goat cheese, cream cheese, and mozzarella, are descriptive rather than place names. THE NIBBLE thus does not capitalize them.
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RECIPE: MEXICAN LAYERED SALAD

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BAKE. Prepare cornbread batter according to package directions. Stir in the chilies, cumin, oregano, and sage. Spread in a greased 8-inch-square baking pan.

2. BAKE at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool.

3. MIX. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, mascarpone, and dressing mix; set aside.

4. LAYER. Crumble half of the cornbread into a 13x9x2-inch pan. Layer with half of the beans, mayonnaise mixture, corn, tomatoes, green peppers, onion, bacon, and cheese. Repeat for a second layer (the dish will be very full).

5. CHILL. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer. Yield: 12 servings.
 
 
WANT A BASKET CASSEROLE DISH?

These are currently available on Amazon. The selection changes (or disappears entirely), so if these links aren’t still active, you’ll have to look around:

[2] Bake cornbread from a mix, then layer the salad with convenience items like canned black beans…(photo © Bush’s Beans)

[2] …canned corn…(photo © Libby’s Vegetables)…

[2] …fresh vegetables, and bacon! (photo © iGourmet)

Try slices of queso blanco with a hot mango
salsa as a first course or even for dessert.
Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

There are fresh and aged Hispanic cheeses. The ones you may be most familiar with are the fresh cheeses:

 
Check out the different types of Hispanic cheeses. The terms “Hispanic” and “Mexican” are used interchangeably, but “Hispanic” more accurately conveys that the cheeses are used throughout Latin America.

All cheeses can be made more glamorous with cheese condiments. Among all the different condiments that can be served with Mexican cheese, salsa, not surprisingly, pairs well. A fruit salsa—mango or peach, for example, with cheese—is a spicy alternative to the conventional European fruit-and-cheese plate.

If you do want to go the salsa route, make this recipe from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Wisconsin cheese makers create much of the Hispanic-style cheeses sold in the U.S. A large number of Hispanic cheese makers have moved from Mexico and other Latin American countries to produce the cheeses in Wisconsin.

RECIPE: QUESO BLANCO WITH MANGO JALAPEÑO SALSA

Ingredients

Cool, sweet mango, contrasted with hot jalapeño, adds an exciting kick to Hispanic-style cheeses. During peach season, you can substitute fresh peaches. You can also use strawberries, which are available year-round; fresh blueberries in season; nectarines and plums; even apples and grapes.

According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86% of plastic water bottles used in the U.S. become garbage or litter. Four of every 5 bottles end in landfills, where they will not degrade for 1,000 years.

Today is the twenty-second Earth Day. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970 (here’s the history). It led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Twenty-two years later, the need to save the planet is even greater. We’d like to present some facts and propose a solution.

 
A BETTER WATER BOTTLE: A CARTON

A refillable water bottle is an excellent solution. But too many people can’t be bothered. Wouldn’t it be great to eliminate the plastic problem altogether?

We really like this idea from Icebox Water In A Box. The company, based in Norway, sells spring water in the type of packaging used for milk and juice cartons, a 97% sustainable pressed paper box. The carton, which includes a plastic drinking/pouring spout, is 100% recyclable.

Even with shipping from Norway, Icebox Water provides a 76% smaller carbon footprint than plastic bottles. The packaging has no BPAs and, because it’s not a bottle, requires no bottle deposit. The water, which is filled from an underground source, tastes wonderfully pristine. It’s available in three sizes, including a 500 ml (16.9 ounce) individual size.

ONE REASON TO GET A REFILLABLE BOTTLE: THE COST OF TAP WATER VS. BOTTLED WATER

According to the New York Times, if you drink eight daily glasses of water daily, the cost is 49¢ per year (possibly the biggest bargain in pricey New York City).

If you buy bottled water, you could spend 2,900 times as much: about $1,400 yearly.

For more information about Icebox Water, visit IceBoxWater.com.

MORE FOR EARTH DAY

But we looked it up: Culantro is a cousin to cilantro. They’re members of the same botanical family, Apiaceae, commonly known as carrot or parsley family.*

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), which looks like flat leaf Italian parsley, and culantro (Eryngium foetidum), which has elongated leaves, have a similar (but not identical) flavor and aroma. Culantro is much stronger in flavor, and is used in smaller amounts.

Easy-to-grow culantro is native to Mexico/Central America and is cultivated worldwide. It first grew wild at the edge of forests, so grows well in partial shade.

Culantro can be used as you would use cilantro, and is an essential ingredient recaito, a Caribbean green salsa used to flavor numerous dishes.

RECAITO & SOFRITO

In the Caribbean, culantro is commonly called recao, which gives its name to recaito, a popular green sauce/salsa used to flavor a variety of dishes. Recaito is an aromatic purée of culantro (recao), green cubanelle peppers (similar in flavor to to bell peppers but longer, with thinner flesh and lightly more wrinkled), onions, garlic and ajies dulces (small red bell peppers).

Recaito is used in bean and rice dishes, soups and stews, often added toward the end of cooking as a finishing touch to the recipe. Add a tablespoon of it to your next rice or bean dish; you’ll love the bright flavor.

Culantro is also the base of sofrito.

RECAITO RECIPE

Ingredients

If you can’t find all of the ingredients, substitute green and red bell peppers for the cubanelle and aji dulce peppers; and substitute cilantro for culantro.

 
Preparation

Let’s hope those folks don’t discover culantro.
  

Launching on Sunday. April 22—Earth Day 2012—the Do Something Reel Film Festival affords the opportunity to watch some of the best food-focused documentaries online.

It’s sponsored by Whole Foods Market and partners that include Applegate Organic & Natural Meats, Earthbound Farm Organic and Siggi’s Cultured Dairy Products.

Each year, a number of terrific food films are released but get limited distribution. Even we, who would love to see them for professional reasons, don’t have the time to get to wherever they may be showing.

But stream them online at DoSomethingReel.com, and we’ve got a whole month to tune in.

The Do Something Reel Film Festival is a much-needed showcase for provocative films about food and environmental issues. Viewing is on a pay-per-view basis. Ticket sales help to fund filmmaker grants for new projects.

Launching This Sunday

The online film festival opens on April 22, with a live screening of “The Apple Pushers,” narrated by the actor Edward Norton. It will be followed by a panel discussion with the film’s writer/director, producer and other experts.

While there is a charge to watch the film, the panel discussion can be viewed free online from April 22nd to April 30th.

The film follows five immigrant street-cart vendors who sell fruits and vegetables in New York neighborhoods where fresh produce isn’t widely available. The vendors personify what it means to be an American entrepreneur, and their stories shed new light on the nation’s food crisis and skyrocketing obesity rates.

Each month the festival will showcase a different film online. Following “The Apple Pushers,” the films currently slated are:

So mark your calendar for a monthly movie night with the Do Something Reel Film Festival. It’s your opportunity to connect with these important films and their thought-provoking issues. And you’ll see how your everyday decisions and purchasing power can make a difference.

For additional information, a complete schedule of events and details about the grant program, please visit DoSomethingReel.com.