corn cakes with chili and feta. oh, and easy black beans

Tuesday night I was laying in bed thinking and I realized I've only posted one recipe that features jalapeño or any type of chili pepper. And the truth is that I eat something spicy almost everyday. And much to my husband's dismay, I cover most of my food in cayenne pepper or Cholula sauce. I figure it's because most of the food here lacks spice and my body is used to spice so I have to keep up. Imagine being in Texan in Texas and not eating something because it's "too hot." That just not Texan. I'd have my statesmanship revoked (is there such a thing?). So I have to keep up. And I do.
Another thing I miss here is corn tortillas. I haven't been able to find masa harina in the stores so I can't even attempt to make my own. I make due with flour tortillas most of the time. But sometimes I crave that corn flavor.
Back in Fort Worth there was a famous diner called Ole' South. It was opened 24 hours and was famous for their dutch babies which are really good at 2:00 am. They also served belgian waffles in the shape of Texas and hoecakes which are pancakes made with corn meal.
So Tuesday night I was laying there thinking about chili peppers and Ole' South and hoecakes. I decided I wanted to make a savory hoecake. And I did.

Corn Cakes adapted from Epicurious
1 cup of stone ground yellow corn meal (Swedes, you can find this at ICA easily)
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of butter, melted, and cooled- plus more butter for the griddle
1 large egg
1 cup of buttermilk (or filmjölk)
1 cup of canned corn
1 fresh chili pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 a yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
1/2 cup of cubed feta cheese


In one bowl mix together the cornmeal, the flour, the salt, baking soda, pepper, and sugar.
In another bowl mix together the butter, the egg, and the buttermilk. Mix in the corn, onion, chili pepper, cheese, and feta cheese. Add the flour mixture and then mix all until just combined.
Heat your griddle on medium high heat with a small dab of butter. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter to the griddle and cook each side for about 2-3 minutes or until golden
I am terrible at the cooking part and had G took over. He's great at making pancakes and can even do the flipthing.
Read further for another (quick) recipe.

I also made black beans to go with the pancakes. It's hard to photograph black beans.
I make these easy ones when I'm in a hurry but you can make them fancier if you want.


Easy Tex Mex Black Beans
1 can of black beans
1 seeded and minced chili pepper*
1/2 a yellow onion, diced
A few dashes of lime juice
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste


Throw the beans with their juices into a sauce pot. Let simmer on low heat while you dice your onion and mince your chili pepper. Throw those in the pot too. Bring to a boil for just a few minutes, keep an eye on it. Bring back down to a simmer and then get out your potato masher. Or a wooden spoon. And start mashing the beans. Let it simmer and mash every few minutes. Just until the beans fall apart a bit. 
I keep my pot on a low simmer while I'm cooking other things but if you can always speed up the process. 
Reduce the heat even more and add in your lime, salt, and cayenne until you're happy with the taste.


Notes
*If I have salsa on hand I usually just use about 1/4 a cup (or a bit more) of that in lieu of the chili peppers, unless I'm feeling extra spicy.