25: Double-Corn Skillet Corn Bread

One of my favorite parts of Project October, besides eating lots of yummy food, is sitting down with a pen, paper, and cookbooks, and planning meals for the week while jotting down my grocery list. I suppose that most people do this on a weekly basis, but A and I were never planners. Essentially, we'd discuss dinner at around 2 or 3 pm, and one of us would stop at the store and pick something up to cook that night.

I suppose we got into this habit when we lived downtown, right next to the only grocery store (that I know of) in downtown Cleveland, Constantino's. I swear, we went there at least once a day. Grocery shopping was strictly done on an as needed basis. This was not necessarily easy on the checking account, nor was it easy on my thighs (because EVERY TIME I walked into the grocery store I was already hungry...you can imagine how that turned out).

So, some time over the weekend I'll plan about three dinners (the rest of the week is spent eating leftovers or going out to eat) and fill in the holes with things we need for breakfast and lunches. I now hit three (THREE!) food suppliers, the Basketeria at the West Side Market for organic and local produce, Nature's Bin in Lakewood for tofu, tempeh, weird vegan ingredients, and bulk beans, rice, and lentils, and my neighborhood Giant Eagle, for canned goods, cooking wine, stuff like that. This week I asked A what he'd like for dinner this week, and he had only one request.

"Chili and cornbread. And not that mole chili. I'm tired of that sh*t," he said [or something like that.]

So I made the double-corn variation of the Skillet Corn Bread from Veganomicon. A is very picky about his garlic bread. He likes the boxed Jiffy cornbread, which I refuse to make (besides, I think it has lard in it). Thankfully, A took one bite of this cornbread, made a "mmmmmmmm" sound, and declared that "this is how cornbread is supposed to taste.

Score.

Skillet Corn Bread (double-corn)

2 c. plain soy milk
2 t. apple cider vinegar
2 c. cornmeal
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. oil
1 c. fresh or frozen and partially thawed corn kernels
1 T. oil

Preheat the oven to 350.

Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Saute the corn kernels in oil for about 7 minutes, until the corn is slightly browned. Transfer to a bowl. Don't wash the pan; you'll pour the batter right into it in a bit.

Combine the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle as you prepare everything else.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the soy milk mixture and oil. Use a wooden spoon to mix together until just combined; some lumps are okay. Fold the corn into the batter.

Pour the batter into prepared cast-iron skillet. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes, until a toothpick or butter knife inserted through the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool just a bit before serving.