Cornbread

How is everyone doing? We’re ok here, adapting to the stay at home rule. Granted, Jeff and I have been working from home for some time now so this wasn’t any kind of huge transition, but staying away from grocery stores, restaurants and people has proved to be more challenging than I expected. Last week we could not get deliveries through Amazon PrimeNow for several days, rather than the same-day 2-hour window we’ve relied on. And all delivery services had massive delays. I was down to two eggs by the weekend and figured I would have to go to the grocery store. But I was able to find a local grocer that uses Instacart for delivery service and got a delivery on Saturday night! I was so happy. It really is the little things in life, like food! I’m trying to reserve my trips out to the store for only things I can’t get online or get delivered (hello Bourbon!). The less contact we have now the faster we can get through this Pandemic, and hopefully return to something somewhat normal. But I think that will be a long time from now. We’ll be toting around hand sanitizer until we’re like “Corona who? what?” Well, that day will never come because nobody in the whole world will forget this.

So, Cornbread! This recipe is adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Club. I’ve made Cornbread maybe a few times and it’s generally, ok. Nothing to blog about. But I’m really happy with how this came out. Not sure if it’s the type of cornmeal I used or what, I get very confused about cornmeal, there are so many different kinds, fine, medium, course, corn grits, corn polenta, grits/polenta, Masa Harina, it’s almost endless. I had Course Grind Cornmeal on hand so I used that. I was worried the texture would be too sandy, but it came out great, I really love it.

I made a couple adjustments to the original recipe, I didn’t have a can of green chiles and I forgot to add the cheese! I’ll keep those in the recipe as optional. I added some defrosted frozen corn which I highly recommend. Also Sarah’s recipe is for Cornbread Muffins, I’ve adjusted the recipe for a 10” cast-iron skillet, but you could make muffins instead, it will be about 10 minutes less bake time.

I made this for a Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens dish we had the other day and I’ll be posting that recipe soon, it tasted so good! Take care friends.

Cornbread

• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk or to make it: mix in 1 tbsp white vinegar to 1 1/4 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 1/3 cup avocado oil or other neutral oil

• 3 Tbsp. butter or ghee, melted

• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

• 1/3 cup cane sugar

• 1 cup cornmeal (course grind)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted to room temp

• 1 4 oz. can mild green chiles, drained well (optional)

• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

• A grind of fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375’ and grease a 10” cast-iron skillet or equivalent baking dish. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs together really well. Add the oil, melted butter, salt and sugar and whisk until combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stir to just combine. Add the corn and some fresh ground pepper. (if using add the drained chiles, cheese and stir one more time). 

Pour into the cast-iron pan, top with a bit of sugar or honey if you like. Bake for 30 minutes or until done in the center (muffins will take 20-25 minutes). Remove and allow cool. 

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad. I hadn’t planned on posting this but damn, it came out so good I decided to take a few photos and do a blog post. I made this based on what I had on hand and what needed to be eaten pronto! And we’ve had a mini heatwave these past couple days so I wanted to cook as little as possible. I put the corn and peppers on the grill early in the day before it was unbearably hot. I can’t complain though, this summer has been remarkably mild. So salad. There is so much flavor going on in each bite it’s just a complete joy. Make sure to chop the vegetables small, close to the size of corn kernels but they don’t have to be that small. Recipe below, enjoy!

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad

• 2 ears of corn, charred

• 2 bell peppers, charred

• 1 red chili pepper, chopped small

• 1 small cucumber (about 1/2 cup chopped small)

• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

• 1/4 cup feta cheese

• 3-4 tablespoons Dijon vinaigrette 
  

Husk the corn and place it in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove corn and place on a large dish with the 2 bell peppers. Brush the corn and peppers with avocado oil (or any high heat oil), and sprinkle with salt. Place them on a preheated grill (400°-500°F) for about 15-20 minutes, turning them every once in a while so they char on all sides. Remove vegetables from the grill and place the peppers in a bowl topped with plastic wrap for 15 minutes or so. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, core and seeds, then chop into small pieces. 

Cut the kernels off the corn cob by sliding a knife down the side. When the corn and peppers are completely cooled add them to a large bowl. Add the chili pepper, cucumber, and basil and mix to combine. Add the feta and Dijon dressing along with salt and pepper to taste.