Mellow Yellow

I usually use boxed corn muffin mix when I make corn bread. Sad, but true. It's not that I don't have recipes, but the boxed stuff goes together so quickly and with little mess. Even so, there are so many interesting corn bread recipes that when I read about the Taste of Yellow for LIVESTRONG event, hosted by Barbara at Winos and Foodies, I decided that my yellow food would be corn bread. Not just any cornbread, of course, but Very Corny Corn Bread. As you can see from the photo, it finishes up a very mellow yellow inside, with extra zip from the corn kernels.

LIVESTRONG Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s (LAF) grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country. LIVESTRONG Day 2007 will occur on Wednesday, May 16.

My mom is a cancer survivor, more than 5 years after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Her doctor, a very uptight fellow, danced when she survived 3 years. His lung cancer patients don't usually survive that long. I also have two people in my family/friends circle going through diagnosis procedures right now to see if they have cancer, or how extensive it is. This terrible disease affects so many. I am blogging for the event to raise awareness of cancer. However if you wish to make a donation you can do so by visiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation donation page.

This cornbread is almost like a spoonbread. The corn meal is stone ground whole meal so it has a nice rough texture, but since the recipe also uses creamed corn, butter, honey, egg substitute, and buttermilk, this bread has moisture to spare. The crust is crisp and the interior is soft and tender with whole kernels of corn. It was hard to not eat the whole pan of corn bread at one sitting.

I based this recipe on one in the book Bake Sale Cooking by Sally Sampson. I substituted buttermilk for a cup of the milk, added a little baking soda, and whisked the butter and honey together, but otherwise followed her recipe, without the cheese. The recipe below is how I made it. Hope you find time to make this, too, in honor of cancer survivors like my mom.

Very Corny Corn Bread

Serves 9

1 1/4 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup low fat milk

1 cup creamed corn (canned)

2 eggs, at room temperature or 1/2 cup egg substitute

Preheat the ovent to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter and flour an 8 inch x 8 inch pan.

Place the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt ina medium sized mixing bowl.

In another bowl, place the honey, then whisk in the melted butter until it is fully incorporated.Add the buttermilk, milk, creamed corn, and eggs or egg substitute. Mix well.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and blend quickly using as few strokes as possible. Immediately pour into the prepared pan and place in the preheated oven.

Bake until firm to the touch and light gold on the edges, about 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve while still warm.