I Finally Posted My Cornbread Recipe!

But before I go any further, there is something I would like to mention. Teniesha of Vegan on the Go-Go gave me the Liebster Blog award! I love Teniesha's blog and I read it regularly. Her food is always full of color and nutrition and her posts always are friendly and honest. I just happened to stumble across it one day, and I've loved it ever since!

Anywho, liebster is German for “dearest” or “favorite” and is an award given to lesser-known blogs.

When receiving a Liebster award, you're supposed to do the following:
1) Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.         (CHECK)
2) Link 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.     (UM...)
3) Post the award on your blog.                                                                             (CHECK)
4) Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people.

Okay, so I know you're supposed to link 5 of your favorite blogs, but I always keep links to my favorite blogs on the right-hand side of the page. I like to cruise around the blogosphere and as soon as I find some goodies I post them on the side. So, I hate to be a party pooper, but I'm gonna take the easy way out and tell you that my links are on the side of the page (don't hate me!!! lol!). I've just been unbelievably busy this semester. I don't have enough to to cook, or bake, or read blogs, or even hardly workout!

Now, to divert your attention, I shall show you pictures of foodz...

Some mighty fine ears you got there.

My family is a cornbread family. Everytime we ate beans (which was quite often), we had cornbread. When I made beans or Mexican food or hearty bean stews, I made cornbread. Sometimes I just wanted cornbread... so I made cornbread. I've been using this recipe for years, so I can guarantee that this recipe is tasty and delicious. I actually tried to go out of the box a couple months back and bake a cornbread recipe from a certain well-known vegan cookbook author and I did not like it at all! I was so disappointed that I vowed I would use my recipe from now on (unless of course, I find a super decadent one to try).

MY cornbread is slightly dry and crumbly, but in a good way. It's not so dry you can't eat it by itself (with peanut butter...) but it's dry enough that it does a good job soaking up soupy deliciousness. It also stays in one piece so you don't have it crumbling all over the place. It's a tad sweet, but not too sweet. I've never been fond of sugary "Northern" cornbread. It's also not too high in calories, which I think is something a lot of health-conscious people look for in a cornbread (of course, it kind of depends on how many muffins you decide to make out of the batter...).

For this recipe I used melted (vegan) butter to give it richer flavor, but feel free to use the same amount of oil. I also used liquid sweetener instead of granular to add some moisture to the final product. I've found that most vegan cornbread tends to be unpleasantly dry, but using liquid oils and liquid sweeteners help remedy that.

Good ol' Cornbread:
1 1/4 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
1 Tb. baking powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 Tb. flax meal +2 Tb. warm water
1 c. unsweetened original almond milk + 1/2 Tb. rice vinegar
1/4 c. liquid sweetener of your choice (agave, maple syrup, etc.)
4 Tb. Earth Balance, melted

1. First, preheat the oven to 400F. Stir together the flax meal and the warm water and set aside. Stir together the almond milk and rice vinegar and set aside.

2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and sea salt until well-combined.

3. Stir in the flax "egg", the melted Earth Balance, the almond milk mixture, and the liquid sweetener until completely combined. Pour into muffin tins that have been sprayed with nonstick or pour into a 9" x 9" round pan (also sprayed with nonstick). You can also you an 8" x 8" square pan or muffin tins, but adjust the time as necessary.

4. Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!

If cut into 16 squares or wedges or made into 16 muffins, you get: 98 calories, 3.3 grams of fat, and 1.6 grams of protein per serving (1 muffin/square/wedge). Not too shabby for a cornbread!

I love, love, LOVE retro/vintage/antique kitchen things. I have literally been looking for a cornbread pan that made "mini-corns" for ages! I mean seriously, corn-shaped cornbread?? Bwahaha!!! I've probably seen about a hundred of them, but all the ones I've came across have been pretty beat up or rusted all to heck. I found this pan at a thrift store for $1.48 yesterday and I seriously went home to make cornbread and try it out. It was everything I dreamed it would be! The little corns came out looking like, well, corns, and with a nice coating of nonstick, they popped out of the heavy cast iron just fine. My boyfriend got a kick out of them and I have a now have a new favorite vintage kitchen item!

Anywho, I've been living off a lot of vegan convenience foods because I've been so busy with work and school, but I've only got about a month left. I've been MEGA craving some vegetables and I'm sick of the sodium overload I've been feeding myself. I'm DONE. I'm going to make the time to start cooking again because I miss having veggies and leftovers around the house. I've also gained a couple "stress" pounds since I tend to munch while I study and I haven't had the time to workout. Blech. I miss being my active, healthy me, so this week I'm gonna step it up a notch. I'm gonna start running again on Tuesdays and Thursdays (hey, two days a week are better than none!) and I'm working on a list of meals for next week. I'm for sure going to post my recipes. For now, I've got roasted veggies with balsamic-flavored orzo as well a Morroccan stew planned. Teniesha's blog has got me craving squashes and chickpeas so I'm going to make sure I get a hefty dose of those this week.

I'm so ready for a change!