This was first published in The Tassajara Bread Book in 1970, and I have been making it ever since.
Baker Edward Espe Brown writes, “Discovered quite by accident; one batter makes three layers. The corn meal settles. The bran rises. In the middle an egg-custardy layer. Easy! Glorious! Amazing!” Maybe a bit of hyperbole.
Ingredients
1 cup corn meal (medium or coarse ground)
1⁄2 cup whole wheat flour
1⁄2 cup unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
1 egg
1⁄4 – 1⁄2 cup brown sugar or honey (I use 1⁄4 cup)
1⁄4 cup canola oil
3 cups milk (soy or almond milk are fine)
Instructions
Combine wet ingredients. Stir in dry ingredients. It will be very watery. Pour into a greased 8×11″ Pyrex pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40+ minutes or until it rises and top looks set. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Butter beans are a southern classic. By classic I mean 5,000 B.C. and by southern I mean Peru. They’re also one of my mom’s favorites, but I didn’t grow to love them until a few years ago when I snuck into a show and heard Cornbread & Butter Beans. With the song stuck in my head, I began cooking them up the next day.
I’ve since tried them creamed, with tomatoes & peppers, and also plain with a bit of salt & pepper, but my favorite is pan fried. It’s something I can whip up in 20 minutes, and low-maintenance enough to prepare veggies & cornbread at the same time for a quick, complete dinner.
The beans are dry, so if you’re having them with other dry dishes you may want to moisten them up with some diced tomatoes.
You also have to listen to the song when they’re cooking.
I’ve yet to find my ideal cornbread recipe, if you have one, please contribute!
Crinkly crackly beans with simple herbs and spices.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can butter beans (15 oz, drained, rinsed and patted dry)
2 cloves garlic (peeled and bruised)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary (or thyme, cilantro, any fresh herb)
2 pinches red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook and stir beans (be gentle, you don’t want to squish them) into hot oil until the skins are golden and crispy, about 10 minutes.
Stir garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper into beans; continue cooking until crispy, about 5 minutes.
