Hot mess!
What a month it's been....
I’m a little late in getting this newsletter out because it’s been an intense month!
Intense, meaning that it’s been incredibly HOT in Kentucky, as I know it has been in many other places. I had previously thought I’d do a lot of cornbread recipe testing this month and bring y’all some cool new recipes.
However, due to the heat, I have not wanted to warm up my house by having the oven on for extended periods of time. So, please be patient…new recipes will be coming soon, once it cools down a little bit.
This month has also been intense because I moved! Yes, as in, moved my household. It’s been a few years since I have done this, and I forgot how it takes a realllllly long time to find a new place, then to pack everything up, and then actually move it.
Oh yes, and then you get to the new place and you have to….unpack everything. ARGH!
Anyways, all of my kitchen stuff is currently packed up and moved, the floor of my new kitchen looks like this. It’s a frustrating state of affairs for a person who likes to cook!
Ah well. Since you came here to read about cornbread and not to hear about my personal chaos…..let’s get back to it.
One of the things I love about cornbread is how versatile it is. You can make sweet cornbread, spicy cornbread, cornbread with fruit or veggies or cheese mixed in….there are endless options.
I am constantly trying out new recipes for cornbread and tweaking them, so when people ask me for my recipe, I tend to dither, not sure which one to share with them. I have so many! I also tend to think that making great cornbread is more about technique and great ingredients than it is based on the perfect proportion of ingredients.
I didn’t grow up eating cornbread. The first time I recall eating it was when I was in college. I was using Mollie Katzen’s brilliant Moosewood Cookbook, the only cookbook I recall owning at the time. I was living in a house with 9 other people, sharing a kitchen (we had 2 refrigerators, which was helpful).
You can find this cornbread recipe on Mollie Katzen’s website via this link. I wanted to share the recipe here (and even requested permission from the copyright holder) but haven’t heard back yet.
I made this recipe in college so many times that after a while, I had it memorized! I baked it in a square ceramic Pyrex dish I had inherited from my grandmother. That cornbread, drizzled with a little bit of honey, helped me get though many long nights of writing papers in college.
Today, I made that cornbread again for the first time in many years, in that exact same pan. It is delightful! This wonderful comfort food is now getting me though many late nights, unpacking in my new house. I hope it will give you the strength to do whatever you want or need to do!
CORNY JOKE!
Question: Who is the leader of the corn army?
Answer: The kernal.
I hope you have a great month! Send me any tips, requests, or ideas for future newsletters! I want to provide content that’s fun and interesting to my readers.