:)
Lately, life has been beautiful. It’s November, but it feels like early June. In this burst of Malibu Indian Summer, the sun blazes so brightly that the Pacific looks a bit like the Caribbean. However, as usual, I’ve been too busy to blog. However, I’m on here, even though I don’t have time to be, because I volunteered to make cornbread to go with my friend Anna’s chili (yum) for lunch-and-movie day in one of my classes, tomorrow… and I’m pretty excited about it.
My attempts at cornbread-making in the past have yielded interesting results: sometimes dry, sometimes crumbly, usually palatable, and last time I chose a cornmeal so crunchy it felt like I was feeding Michael (boyfriend) ground-up popcorn kernels. He’s such a good sport.
I felt so compelled to write this because… I think I finally got it right, y’all. I don’t like to brag, but I finally figured out how to make cornbread that’s flavorful, fluffy, and moist enough to eat without any spread. I’m cutting it up to bring to class tomorrow because I’m a little embarrassed by how much of it I’ve already eaten. I’ve finally found the satisfaction to this Deep-South Craving. So, here it is, the veganized, slightly spiced-up version of my mama’s skillet cornbread!
The Alabama Herbivore: Vegan Skillet Cornbread
INGREDIENTS:
dry:
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1 cup cornmeal (the more finely ground, the better)
-2 tsp baking soda
-2 tbsp Tony Chachere’s (optional, if you’re a weenie about spicy stuff)
wet:
-1 and 1/2 cups soy milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, whisked and let set to curdle for about 5 minutes
-1/3 cup of canola oil
-about another tbsp to grease the skillet
-1/3 cup Smart Balance Lite, melted
-1 tbsp maple syrup
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease up your skillet, and put it in the oven to get nice and hot.
Sift the dry ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients in, and whisk until thoroughly blended; the batter should be bubbly and fluffy.
Now, very carefully and using either a nice, thick oven mitt or a folded up towel, pull the skillet out of the oven…
(I have to warn y’all, this isn’t the safest recipe to make at home by yourself if you have weak little spaghetti arms like mine. I’m not even Catholic, but I caught myself saying the rosary in my head every time I lifted my painfully heavy, hot-as-hades cast-iron skillet in and out of the oven. If you have some muscles, awesome, but if not try and find someone nice and strong to help you!)
Place it on a heat-safe surface, and pour the batter in. It’ll sizzle a little, which is how we get that delicious crispity golden brown bottom layer.
Place the skillet back in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes, and then using those muscles again, flip the cornbread onto a plate so the crispity side is up.
a skillet full of cornbread is like a flattened-out pot of gold... but tasty
Enjoy with chili, soup, or straight-up for breakfast.
I hope my friends in Literary Theory enjoy it, tomorrow.
Happy chowing, y’all!
oh girly, this was SO tasty!