Absentee

 It's not that there's nothing going on..it's just that...there's nothing going on. ;-)

From the living room, it looked as though my Rhipsalis (just found out what's it's called after posting a photo on HGTV garden forum - smart people there)...anyway, it looked as though it had a fungus. Upon closer inspection I realized that it was blooming! Either that's the first time it has ever bloomed, or I just forgot. :-D Sometimes I'm like a baby goose - wake up in a different world every day.

I just had to brag once again on my delicious cornbread from scratch AND my cast iron. I have four cornstick pans and the divided pan which I use for scones as well. 

Christmas rolled around and I didn't know what to give the four commissioners. I take phone messages for them, distribute their mail, etc. I finally hit upon the idea of giving them a coupon for a "Sweet Thing" - a cake, a pie, one batch of cookies, or one batch of candy. The lone bachelor in the group cashed his coupon in last week for a buttermilk pie.  

Because my boss is actually the judge and she's is a very good boss, I gave her four coupons. She cashed in one this week for a batch of oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips instead of raisins. 

The post with the buttermilk pie recipe also has a crust recipe. While that is a good crust, sometimes I had trouble getting it moist enough. Too much water is one of those things that toughens pie pastry. When I got my KitchenAid food processor, I did some sleuthing for a recipe. I found a delicious recipe! 

I've been doing some sewing and other sewing related stuff, but can't post until after Isabel's second birthday party on Sunday just in case her parents visit here. :)

All recipe links can be find in the right sidebar.

Aieeee

Gumbo night! I made gumbo Monday night. It was delicious! We had again tonight. I'll take the last bowl of leftovers with me to work tomorrow along with some homemade cornbread. Uuummmm-um. So good! Makes a possum hug a hound! :-)

My cornbread recipe has to be somewhere on this blog, but I didn't label it. So here goes:

Set out a stick of butter before starting.

Buttermilk Cornbread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg

Set oven on 425 degrees. Put a dab of bacon grease in each section of your cornbread pan(s). I use a cornstick pan and a 'scone' pan. Both cast iron of course! Set both pans in the oven.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine all liquid ingredients in order given. You can measure directly into the cup. Just remember to add the egg last. Beat with a fork or small whisk.
Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Stir well. If it seems dry, add a bit more buttermilk.

For the cornstick pan (bacon grease should not only be melted, but HOT so that the batter sizzles as you spoon it in), spoon enough batter into the compartments, spreading a bit. Pop this in the oven. Divide the remaining batter evenly in the scone pan. The cornsticks are going to take about 12-14 minutes. The wedges take about 18 minutes.

Slice your favorite piece of cornbread and slather with that softened butter!

You can tell from the size of the wedges why I also bake a pan of cornsticks. If my memory serves me correctly from when I baked cornsticks on Sunday morning for when we had our 5-Sunday dinners at church, this recipe makes somewhere between 4-6 pans of cornsticks.

You can also make this by pouring the entire bowl of batter in a greased and heated cast iron skillet. Or in a 9 x 12" baking pan - but I don't know why you'd use a baking pan when you have perfectly good cast iron. You DO have cast iron don't you? If not, go to thrift stores, second hand stores, some junk/collectible/antique stores. Look for American made. Some of that imported stuff is 'pert near' impossible to season correctly.

Gumbo recipe (with photos) here:
http://keepyouinstitches.blogspot.com/search/label/gumbo