There are times when I like cooking and times when I loathe it. It’s all about balance ;-) In those times of enjoyment, the thing that pulls me in is the chance to be creative, so that aspect is right up my alley.
I truly enjoy watching cooking shows, especially Barefoot Contessa. Her food inspires me to want to cook EVERYTHING and do it well. Her variety of dishes that she cooks always inspires me to try something new and I’ve learned lots of cooking techniques from her, so I love me some Contessa :-) And as a fellow Georgia girl, I love to watch Paula Deen when I’m back home visiting. I can see the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network over here, but they don’t show Paula Deen here. So that’s where the website comes in handy. Anyway, that’s enough of my TV favorites for today. Pardon my detour ;-)
So this past weekend I cooked cornbread muffins…well actually cheese cornbread muffins. I had a taste for some. I’m not a really big fan of cornbread or any bread really, but sometimes I get the taste for it. It usually coincides with me thinking about home or back to the times when my parents were still alive. When I was growing up, my mom made cornbread everyday and I used to love to watch her make it. The memories that I have of watching her make cornbread stick firmly in my mind. I don’t know why. I guess it’s the everyday normal things that you may take for granted at the time, but when you look back, those are the things that are burned into your memory forever. As time goes by I realize that memories are TRULY the beautiful things in life :-) The simplest, beautiful things…
Over the Christmas holidays, I received a package from my sisters and I had mentioned to them when we were Skyping once that I couldn’t get cornmeal very readily where I live. So I’d asked them to send me a small bag if they could. Well, in the Christmas package there was the cornmeal…just like my mom used to use :-) The sight of the bag instantly filled me with nostalgia. Here it is:
Yeah, I took a picture of the bag of cornmeal…it’s an expat thing. LOL. Anyway, I made some cheese cornbread muffins and they turned out pretty good. My mom was strictly old school though…she just made straight cornbread and hers was great, but I love to play around with a recipe from time to time.
I’ve been nibbling on these muffins all week and yesterday I crumbled some up in a bowl of soup…mmmmmm. Now that was good! Next time I may try putting some other flavor in there to see how it turns out. See, it’s that creativity thing again ;-)
I realized the other day how much I used to love posting about my culinary creations in the earlier days of this blog and I realized that I don’t do that much anymore. Well that will definitely be a returning feature here. I’m no chef or even a really great cook, but I just love mixing stuff up and seeing what happens. And also I love photographing things…and that includes food, so I hope you’ll come back and see what I cook next :-)
Until next time…
14 comments:
Looking forward to reading about your culinary experiences!
MissChicago,
Yeah, it's going to be fun to get back into that again. Sometimes what I cook turns out hilarious and sometimes it's really good. I'm going to share it all...the good, the bad, and the ugly. LOL ;-)
which is as it should be! personally I like reading about "every day chefs" in their cooking attempts -- they're just more interesting and fun -- and I can relate better as well. :)
Yummy! That picture does look good enough to eat!!! :O)
we made a batch of cornbread the other day ourselves.I love's my cornbread.
Oh you bring back memories of college for me... I used to make cornbread muffins all the time because they were easy to eat and very filling. I still like them but don't eat them as much. Good to see you back :-)
Eliz
"Yeah, I took a picture of the bag of cornmeal…it’s an expat thing." <--- I absolutely related to that!!! I always look forward to other people's cullinary adventures but I don't enjoy cooking myself. Having said that, there is one South African dish I wanted to try out this year.
I grew up on cornbread. My mom or grandma would make it in a big cast iron skillet & when it was ready it'd get passed around the table & we'd all break a piece off. Been awhile.
Oh, I love corn bread because I'm a Southerner at heart. Can't cook though so I shall share the recipe with Mountain Man.
Loved the imagery of the blogging hot tub :-)
Welcome back to the blogging hot tub! :)
I enjoyed reading about your cornbread muffin experience. It reminded me that one of the things we can't get here (easily at least) are grits! Sometimes I want to make shrimp and grits and I have to settle for shrimp and polenta. I guess some foods really are regional.
Hope all is well, Dori.
I've never seen white cornmeal. It looks realy good!
MissChicago,
Absolutely! The only way to be is real :) And I hope you enjoy all of my kitchen triumphs and non-triumphs. LOL.
Diane,
So glad you enjoyed it. I wish I had a portal to pass food through the internet. Then we could all share ;-)
Mike,
I'd love to try your recipe! :)
eof777,
Yep, aren't cornbread muffins great. As my mom used to say, they stick to your ribs so you're not hungry again so quickly. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs! :)
Emm,
You know what I mean for sure :) I'm glad to hear that my culinary adventures might go over well here. Yay! I'd love to try making the South African dish. I'll have to check in at your blog to see if you post about it :)
Valdese Blogger,
Yep, my mom would use the cast iron skillet too. It tastes best that way :) Those memories and the food are great, aren't they?
Mountain Woman,
So true, that Southerner gene is strong :) I know that Mountain Man can probably cook me under the table. LOL. You know, I had a visual when I wrote "blogging hot tub" of bloggers all climbing in with laptops. LOL.
Jennifer,
Thanks! :) It's good to be back! I can relate to the grits for sure. I can't get them here either and from time to time my sisters will send some over to me. I have gone the polenta route too :) Mmm, I bet your shrimp and grits/shrimp and polenta is wonderful!
The Coupon Sista,
Yeah, we would have yellow and white cornmeal where I come from, but my mom would most often use the white. It's very light and makes really nice cornbread :) I love talking about food. lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Of course, I loved *this* post! I'm all about food memories. The best memories of my childhood are connected with food. I did a post about cornbread -- the Northern versus Southern "thang." The Southern (on my Dad's side) comes out in me when I make cornbread. Of course, my mother's (English) side of the family wasn't into cornbread. I was shocked to read of your lack of enthusiasm for bread. Wish I could say that--I'm a breadaholic!
Jean,
Aren't those food memories the best? :) Even though it's for different reasons, you and I share that Southern/English thing ;-) Yep, I've never really been crazy about bread, but I do get a hankering for cornbread from time to time and I love buttermilk biscuits. I'm a selective bread eater I guess. LOL
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