Corn Bread Recipes

The other day, I decided to make corn bread. I haven't done so for a long time because I have always had a hard time finding corn meal (corn flour in Canada) in the U.K. I went into my usual source, a health food store, only to discover that they don't stock it anymore. I also found out that it wasn't called corn meal by them but maize meal. Whatever it's called, it wasn't available. I then went to several supermarkets without much hope since I had never found it there before. Today, I had luck in Waitrose and discovered that they called it polenta. Funny! I often wondered what polenta was. It does say on the package that it is 'fine' and I wonder if the cornmeal/cornflour/maizemeal/polenta I'm used to is supposed to be coarse! I'll soon find out since I'm going to try and make corn break tonight! Wish me luck and below is the recipe I'm going to try from the website: http://southernfood.about.com

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups stone ground cornmeal
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
* 1/3 cup canola oil
* 1 large egg

Preparation:
Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Heat oven to 350°. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or large cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and egg. Combine the two mixtures until blended and spread in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned.


I'll let you know how it turns out!

Later!

I'm still waiting for it to come out of the oven but I just wanted to add that I decided to put 1/2 a red pepper in it. I think that the colour will look great and the flavour will add something to it. We shall see!

A few cans and et voilà! Dinner!

1. A can of corn: Corn Fritters: Your starter

Make a pancake batter (English or American? I imagine that bother would work!). Drain the corn of all the liquid, keeping some to mix into the batter. Add the corn and some chopped coriander (not absolutely necessary). Mix. You could also add chopped spring onion and green chillis. Fry in vegetable oil (each should be about 5 cm in diameter...quite small actually). Serve 3 person. Top with yogurt or sour cream. I wonder what they would really be like. Definitely a starter.

2. A can of Smoked Oysters and a can of tomatoes: Conchiglie with smoked oyster sauce: The main course

Sauté some plain white onion in a little olive oil. Chop in a c an of good, plain Italian peeled plum tomatoes and add to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and chopped parsley and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low simmer. At the end, add a tin or two of smoked oysters. Mix into the tomato sauce together with the oil they were marinated in. Add more chopped herbs for colour. Serve on shell-shaped paste. No cheese.

3. A can of pineapple: Griddled pineapple: Dessert

Heat griddle for 5 minutes. Lay out the pineapple on a tea towel or paper towel and lightly sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Cook on he griddle until the sugar is caramelised. Put pineapple on a plate, top with sour cream/yogurt/cream. You could top with chopped nuts of your choice.