Fritter Style Cornbread

This is not a light and fluffy cornbread. It is a dense, moist, and totally delicious treat. You can add butter or honey or both, but the muffins are also delicious all by themselves.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup corn meal

1/3 cup soft butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons diced green chilies or diced jalapenos

1/2 cup cooked corn

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Put all ingredients into a glass mixing bowl; stir well, brush the bottoms of a muffin tin, and scoop batter into the tin. This recipe makes 12.

Bake at 375 for 18 - 20 minutes

Cool slightly before removing the muffins from the tin. The cheese can make these stick a bit. Use a plastic knife to separate the muffins from the sides of the wells. Most muffin tins are nonstick, and the plastic will not scratch the coating.

You can also bake this in a cast iron skillet. The baking time will be slightly longer. Test for doneness by pressing the middle to see if it springs back.

We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane. Kurt Vonnegut

Marinade for Roasted Vegetables

Because I like to cook with whatever is in the house, I have formulas for some things rather than recipes. A recipe implies that you should have certain ingredients to make the food taste right or to make it work. Most of the time, that isn't the case. Most things have a ratio that will allow you to substitute a whole array of ingredients. In addition to using up what you have around, formula cookery results in some novelty and discovery. 

We like to roast vegetables rather than steam or boil them because the flavor is concentrated and intensified in the roasting. With some of the water content gone and a bit of caramelization, new flavors emerge. The best example of this is how many people like roasted Brussells sprouts, but do not care for them cooked with any other method.

The sauces can be drizzled over the vegetables in whatever quantity you like. I like to drizzle a little when I first put them in the oven and then again about 15 or 20 minutes before I remove them from the oven.

Formula for Marinade

Tang - wine vinegar, rice vinegar, cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice - about 1/4 cup

Sweetness - honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, jelly - especially pomegranate - about 1/3 cup

Fat - butter, avocado oil, olive oil, ghee, or some combination of those - about 1/2 cup

Liquid - broth, wine, fruit juice, water, beer - about 1/3 cup

Flavoring/Umami - soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chili pepper flakes or powder, caraway seed powder, dill weed, mustard, coriander, fennel, ginger, garlic, etc. How much of these flavorings you use is totally unique to who's doing the eating. But all of these are generally measured with spoons rather than cups.

There is no reason not to use the same formula for meat marinade, as well.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

Jaryd Clifford

Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Muffins

This quick bread recipe has a distinct holiday feeling, but I can also envision serving it at a springtime brunch. Days are getting longer and soon we will be eating on patios and porches again. The cranberries in this recipe give the sweet bread a lively tartness that will complement any breakfast entree.

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1 cup of cooked pumpkin

2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts or whatever you might have on hand

1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries (You can use the dried version, if it's not the season for fresh.)

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup soft butter

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 rounded teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

This recipe will make 18 medium sized muffins. Four or five small loaf pans might be an option, too.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (muffins) or 30 minutes (loaf pans). Test for doneness by pressing on the middle. It should spring back and feel fairly firm.

The more efficient you get, the more you become a limitless reservoir for other people's expectations.

Jim Benson