Easy Corn Bread

Bluebird Gardens honey on freshly-baked corn bread - yumm!

Easy Corn Bread Recipe

It was one of those Missouri spring days, warm at midday but cold by evening, reminding me there could still be a frost. I had painted all day – bee hives, bird houses, inadvertently even my neighbor’s two dogs. Hard to miss them now, they both are wearing hot pink tails after brushing against my paint projects.

A hot cup of canned New England Clam Chowder and homegrown salad was on the menu but something was missing. I brushed off my recipe box and found my dog-eared, all-time favorite corn bread recipe.

When I travelled for work, it was fun to try the variety of textures and flavors of corn bread from different regions. I thought of myself as a bit of a connoisseur, not that it was worth a hill of corn to anyone but me. Two criteria determined that the corn bread was not up to standard: some crumbled when cut open; others were far too dry.

After maybe far too much testing, I have decided I prefer mine simple yet flavorful, something with the right combination of corn taste and moisture. No gravy or jam, I still wonder at the cook who slathered a spicy cheese on a square of corn bread in Washington D. C., then broiled it. It wasn’t bad with the salad but I have always wondered what the cook was trying to hide. In my world, the corn bread has to taste good on its own before I enjoy it with my favorite additive, drizzled with honey, preferably freshly-harvested.

Here is my favorite corn bread recipe. You can substitute just water if you don’t have milk, and using eggs whites instead of a whole egg makes them just a tad lighter. Stay true to the ingredient amounts to get the right texture and moisture. If you add a smidge more of flour than the recipe calls for will make the corn bread dry. Also watch the timing, you don’t want to over bake.

Charlotte’s Easy Corn Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ? cup flour

? cup corn meal

? cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

? teaspoon salt (optional)

1 cup skim milk

? cup vegetable oil

2 egg whites of 1 egg beaten

To make, heat oven to 400F. Prepare baking pans; I like to bake in cupcake pans. This recipe will make 12.

Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing dry ingredients until moist.

Pour into baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until light golden brown and wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

You can also freeze these. I place them on a cooling rack in freezer until frozen, then store in a plastic bag so I can remove individual servings when I need them.

Charlotte