It's been kind of an up and down emotional week for me. I just got the news that a long time blog friend of mine now has cancer and it looks really bad. So have been praying for her and thinking about her. Our family pet Nikita of 15 years is losing ground, So we love her every day still, make sure she knows that-and will be calling our vet soon.
It has been quite cold here during most of the week, but looks like a little warming trend again-and sunshine. We always enjoy the deer and all the wild birds here. I feed cracked corn and seed every day-so sometimes we will have as many as 10 or more deer. It has been too cloudy for me to take a photo from inside our bay window this week.
Yesterday decided it was a good day for homemade chili and of course homemade cornbread.
Here is my go to recipe I found it years ago on King Arthur Flour's site:
Not Northern Cornbread
4 teaspoons bacon drippings or 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or a combination of bacon fat, oil, butter
1 cup yellow cornmeal divided
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup boiling water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg lightly beaten
decide what fat you are using put into 8" cast iron skillet. Place the skillet in a pre heated 450 degreef oven while you prepare the batter.
In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk 2/3 cup of the cornmeal the sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda In a small bowl combine the remaining 1/3 cup of cornmeal and the boiling water stir to blend. add the buttermilk to the cornmeal water mixture, whisking til most of the lumps are gone, stir in beaten egg
stir together the wet and dry ingredients mixing til just combined. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and pour any excess fat into the cornbread batter (I always forget to do that part) spoon the batter into the skillet spreading evenly over the bottom. return the skillet to the oven and bake 20 minutes til its starting to brown around the edges and the center springs back when lightly pressed with your finger tips. (also test with a toothpick in the middle) remove the skillet from the oven, and transfer cornbread to a cooling rack. enjoy
For the size skillet above in my photo-I double this recipe. this also takes about 5 more minutes to bake.
for the cornmeal I use half cornmeal (a good quality one) and the other half I will sometimes use a toasted cornmeal, or a blue cornmeal, or popcorn meal they are all excellent.
for us I do not put in the salt, and I use a sugar-stevia blend for the sugar.
This week I made several new soaps for my etsy shop
I also made more animal critter soaps for kids that I don't have photos of yet. I made one batch with lavender essential oil and the other batch with chamomile-neorli essential oil-these are just too sweet-they make me smile and laugh. I also made more roses with a really pretty sparkling red for the base and sparkling white highlights on top.
Hoping in the coming week to get back into sewing. Thanks for visiting and enjoy your weekend!
It sure has been a sobering week for me also. But it has also been such a treat to talk with you by phone! Your new soaps are beautiful!! It is really snowing hard since yesterday afternoon, Got to go out and help Bill stack the firewood we bought into the shed, but I'm not going anywhere else today! Ice is under all the snow!
ReplyDeletegood morning, wow more snow? glad you got some wood in. You are so right Karen-the highlight of my week was our phone conversation-hugs
DeleteThat sounds like a very tough week... chili & cornbread are a go-to comfort food in our house too.
ReplyDeletethank you so much for visiting
DeleteChili and cornbread sounds like the perfect comfort food....
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy-thanks-yes one of our favorites in the cold months
DeleteHi!!! Sending hugs and prayers!! Your cornbread and chili looks delicious!!!! I love to watch deer!!! We only see a few here and there!!! Thank You
ReplyDeleteHi Carla, thank you for stopping by-
DeleteSo sorry your week has not been so great. I will say a special prayer for your friend... hope she gets the help she needs to beat this evil monster. My hubby had a Saint Bernard who lived almost 13 years. he was very close to her as it seems you are to your baby. It is hard to know that it is getting close to having to give them up. But there is a special place called pet heaven where they roam all day, free from pain, where they are going. We have to remind ourselves of that to help us get through the difficult times. Will keep you close as you journey through your struggles.
ReplyDeleteYour chili and cornbread look delicious. I am making Taco Soup tomorrow and Mexican cornbread. Taco soup looks real similar to chili. yum!
Thank you for linking up to It's A Saturday Sharing Day on my blog!:)
hugs-thank you
DeleteSending prayer and hugs your way! Your chili and cornbread look awesome and it's alway such a good combination. I don't think I've ever seen popcorn meal or blue cornmeal, but I've not looked either. Your soaps are lovely. Thanks for sharing and I pray that you have strength in the coming weeks. Remember, you are never alone.
ReplyDeletehugs-thank you. If you happen to have an amish store near you-that is where I found the popcorn flour-it is really good-comes in yellow or blue, and the blue cornmeal I found there too
DeleteOh kathy I am so sorry to hear about Nikita. I know she has been not up to par for awhile but I didn't think it had gotten that bad. Hope she can hang around till spring comes. Poor baby. You know I want you to pile all kinds of love on her from me.
ReplyDeleteMy question is what times dinner.....? sorry bout your lively Nikita it is so hard they say so little and are so brave my furface of 16 had other prob. but I had to make that decision, she told me one day She'd lost her wag..and I knew what she meant... This has been a rough week for us yes Kathy..first the blog friend news and on top this morning I lost my dear friend of 30yrs to Cancer.. she was ready but still it's hard on those left behind...take care and keep warm we've getting snow as I type..
ReplyDeleteNikita will always be with you by your side. My heart goes out to you. Please accept a hug from me.
ReplyDeleteI hope your friend in not in too much pain. Send her my love and maybe she can be happy today. X Kathleen S
Hi Kathy. I'm kinda behind on my blog-reading and commenting. So sorry to hear about your friend, will keep them in my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHow's Nikita doing? It's the hardest thing to do, deciding when it's time to let go (((HUGS))).
I love chili and would certainly like some of that. Corn bread is not something you see much in the UK, but I have eaten it when visiting the US and really like it.