Cornbread

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CORNBREAD

Adapted from Monique Volz by My Little Blue Heron

Dedicated to my dear old friend, Max, who wants to bake now because it’s becoming Covidld again in NYC.

This cornbread is my favorite cornbread (so far.) It’s just perfect (so far.) It has no gums or gritty rice flour and no cup-4-cup stuff. This is old-timey baking. And it’s not a recipe for gluten free people. It’s a recipe for people. 

It’s simple to make, not overly sweet, great on its own or as an accompaniment for a meal or with tea. 

Oat flour is easy to find in the U.S. Arrowhead Mills or Anthony’s are two great brands. In a pinch, you can grind your own oats in a power blender. It works!   

You can use regular (medium grind) cornmeal, or combine it, half medium and half coarse grind, if you like that texture. I like that texture. 

I buy pure ground vanilla. I used to buy Authentic Foods’ vanilla powder, but there’s other stuff in it. Pure vanilla powder is very great. It’s not inexpensive, but a little goes a very long way. Here’s a link. 

You won’t need a mixer or any power appliances other than your oven.

For vegans, this recipe calls for eggs (you can sub the butter). I haven’t tried this with flax eggs, so if you do, let me know if it works. 

Make sure you bake your cornbread long enough. Under-bake it, and it’ll be gummy and leaden. Remove muffins or loaves from their tins as soon as you can handle them so they don’t steam themselves to gloppiness.

These will keep for a day or two, wrapped well. They freeze very well, and if you heat them, please keep them wrapped in foil while in the oven. You can microwave them, too. Some people don’t like microwaves. I probably shouldn’t like mine, but I use it for melting, popping and occasionally, for heating up my cornbread.

MLB truc: In choosing a mixing bowl: opt for the one that’s two times larger than your first pick.

Stay in and bake. If you go out, wear a mask.

peace, love and cornbread,

jane

Cornbread

Ingredients:

“Dry”

1 cup gluten free medium grind cornmeal 

OR ½ cup medium grind and ½ cup coarse grind cornmeal

1 cup oat flour

2 tsp. gluten free baking powder

¼ tsp. vanilla powder

½ tsp. sea salt

“Wet”

1 cup dairy free milk of choice (almond, cashew)

n.b.: If you want a richer cornbread, use FULL FAT OATLY

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 eggs, size large, room temperature

¼ cup honey

14 cup butter, melted and cooled

(you can use vegan butter, but if it’s salted, be sure to omit the salt in the dry ingredient mix.)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375º F. and prepare 12 muffin tins, lining them with cups, or greasing them generously. Or, if making a loaf, grease a loaf pan. (Nonstick is fine, but still give it a spritz. I use ghee/oil spray.)

In a LARGE bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well combined.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until combined.

Take you whisk and mix well, making sure all dry ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Divide into prepared muffin tin or pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in the middle of the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until the sides come away from edges and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it (poor dears.)

Pumpkin Chia Pudding - Ayurvedic for a change?

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Pumpkin Chia Pudding

Adapted from The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook by Kate O’Donnell 

by Blue Heron Kitchen 

I like this recipe so much. It’s gluten and dairy free. It has no processed sugar. It has protein! Enjoy this pudding as a meal, for breakfast, lunch, or as dessert. It’s not too sweet. Of course, you may wish to make it sweeter. I had some date issues (the Medjool date kind, thank you), so I left them as chunky treats in my pudding. They didn’t blend (in my Vitamix, go figure.) I recommend that unless your dates are extremely moist fresh, soak them in warm water for about 10-15 minutes before adding to the blender. Or, you can add date or coconut sugar or a tablespoon of raw honey. 

The spice mix (recipe below) is a great one to have on hand. It’s so nice to change it up and substitute it for your conventional pumpkin pie spice. Add it to your seasonal baked goods. It’s really lovely and an added perk is that it'll aid your digestion!

Ayurvedic cooking is a world that I’ve just begun to explore. Seasonal cooking is integral to this world. It makes sense to eat what’s in season, doesn’t it? When it’s cold, have soup. When it’s hot, eat cooling foods. When it’s Thanksgiving Indigenous People's Day, eat pumpkin.

Kate O’Donnell writes cookbooks for westerners. I recommend you look at her books.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe. 

peace, love, pumpkin and

thank god for Joe and Kamala!

jane

Pumpkin Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. chia seeds (I use organic)

½ c. non-dairy milk (almond, oat, cashew)

½ c. pumpkin puree (homemade is best, but if using canned, organic is best)

½ tsp. vanilla extract or ¼ tsp. pure vanilla powder

1 Medjool date or 2 deglet moor dates, pitted, soaked for 10 minutes and drained

1 tsp. pure maple syrup, organic is best

1 tsp. ‘everyday sweet spice mix’* (recipe below) (or pumpkin pie spice)

optional dash of freshly grated nutmeg for garnish.

Procedure:

In a small bowl, soak the chia seed in the non-dairy milk, for five minutes, whisking frequently to make sure they don’t clump.

In the container of your blender, put the remaining ingredients except the nutmeg. After five minutes of soaking, put the chia seed mixture on top.

Blend on high for two minutes, until smooth and whipped.

Put into two dessert bowls or one bowl for a main dish. 

Serve with a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.

*Everyday Sweet Spice Mix

(You can halve this recipe if quantity is too large.)

2 Tbsp. ginger

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. ground cardamom

mix together with a whisk and store in a small jar.