Cornbread Recipe with Actual Corn

I was looking for a cornbread recipe that uses actual corn and it was a near impossible task. I remember having cornbread with corn kernels in the past, although, where that was escapes me. What I do remember about it was how delicious the cornbread was and the addition of some corn gave it that extra something special that I'd been missing in other cornbreads I'd had since.

I ended up finding a recipe online and modifying it for my own purposes. I had no idea how this was going to work, but figured how badly can you screw up cornbread by adding corn, right?

Here is my modified version:

Ingredients

1 C cornmeal
1½ C cut kernel corn

3 C flour

2 C sugar

2 tbl baking powder

1 tsp salt
⅔ C olive oil
⅓ C melted butter
4 eggs
2½ C half and half

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking dish. This recipe makes a large cornbread so you'll want to use a 9 x 13 baking dish or something comparable.

First, mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking power, and salt. Pour in the oil, melted butter, eggs and half and half, then stir until moistened. Lastly, mix your corn into the rest of the ingredients.

Pour the batter into your baking dish and bake for approximately one hour. Use a toothpick to check that it's cooked through in the center by inserting it and checking for it to come out clean.

cornbread right out of the oven

cornbread sliced to eat

You can serve this warm or cold, with honey or butter, or even just plain. The bread itself does bake up rather dense which causes the corn kernels to mostly be at the top of the bread (as you can see in the photos), but it's still very moist and also very delicious.

I've made this a couple of times now, once substituting some of the sugar with honey as the original recipe calls for. I didn't notice much difference. I also substituted gluten free flour at Thanksgiving to accommodate my niece and it was still very delicious and not noticeable that the flour was gluten free.

Cranberry-Apple Sauce

homemade cranberry-apple sauce

It's almost Thanksgiving and I decided I'd like to try my hand at making a cranberry sauce for my family instead of relying on the canned version. I looked around and finally hit on this recipe. Here is my slightly altered version:

Ingredients

5-6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

12 oz package fresh cranberries

1 lemon, sliced and seeded

1½ C sugar

½ C water

¾ C sweetened dried cranberries

cooking the ingredients

Mix first five ingredients in large saucepan, bringing it to a boil. Reduce heat, then continue to stir until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in dried cranberries. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

When I mixed the first five ingredients to put in the saucepan, it looked like I had way too many apples and not enough liquid. But the apples cooked down pretty quickly. 

It did take several minutes to bring it to a boil (and I did wonder at one point if it would ever boil!) but once that happened, it started to thicken up fairly quickly as well.

The ¾ cup for the dried cranberries is equal to about a 5 oz package of Mariani dried cranberries. I wasn't sure if I was going to put the dried cranberries in or not, but I did and now I can't really tell the fresh berries from the dried berries.

The recipe is very easy to make. The most work is first peeling and prepping the apples, then continually stirring the mixture until it thickens, but it can easily be whipped up within a half hour and it will keep for up to two weeks, according to the original recipe.

I have the sauce chilling in my refrigerator right now, but I did take a quick taste. There is a nice blend of tartness and sweetness that you would expect from cranberries and Granny Smith apples. It's going to be the perfect sauce to complement turkey and mashed potatoes in a couple of days. Much better than anything out of a can.

Pumpkin Face Throw Adapted

getting started

I started making this Pumpkin Face Throw (a free pattern from Red Heart) because I had a lot of vehicle passenger time when my husband and I recently took a quick trip to visit my BFF from high school. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do with it when I got finished, but the squares were very easy to make and worked up quickly enough, so it was perfect for working on while traveling.

Somewhere around hour number four of our trip, it dawned on me that I was making these squares up so quickly, I could probably crank one of these throws out every month or so just working on them in my spare time. That got me to thinking about who would love to receive a piece of handmade love and my mind instantly went to our deployed servicemen and women.

weaving in the yarn ends

I finished my throw last night and am sending it out tomorrow to a soldier who can use a little pick me up.

the finished throw!

As a military mom myself (my youngest son is active in the U.S. Army) and a member of the Military Mama Network, I know how important it is to our troops that they know we support them and appreciate their sacrifice for our country. The very least I can do is send them something to remind them of that while they are so far away from home. That is why I've decided to coordinate an effort to gather squares from around the country - or even the world! - and put these throws together, working with the Military Mama Network to identify servicemen and women who are needing some love.

If you'd like to contribute squares for future throws, please click here for instructions.

The Tale of Two Hats

About a month ago, I was between projects, waiting for yarn I had ordered for my next project to arrive. So I figured I'd grab a skein from the yarn stash and make up a hat. 

I just wanted an easy and free crochet hat pattern. Searching around the Internet, I landed on a Ribbed Crochet Hat Pattern that looked easy enough. It called for worsted weight yarn, but I had some Red Heart Baby TLC yarn that I had bought on a whim when it was on sale and really wanted to try, so I used that instead even though it's sport weight yarn.

Well, of course, that made working up this pattern feel like it was never going to end. I finally decided to finish it off even though I knew the hat size would be rather small and fit for a toddler. The hat actually turned out really well. Cute enough, for sure. And will make some toddler all snuggly warm this winter.

At some point during my down time, I had to run out to Joann and pick up a couple of quick supplies. Like I normally do, I walked through the yarn rows. Because, you know - YARN! I focused on the Red Heart With Love yarn and I think literally fell in love. I decided I wanted to work on a pumpkin hat since it's fall and all, so I picked up a couple of skeins, one mango, one evergreen.

When I got home, I started the search for an easy and free crochet pumpkin hat pattern. I found a really nice pumpkin hat with a cool looking stem called Ribbed Pumpkin Hat Pattern. 

It worked up quickly and I really love this pattern. The only problem I have with it, though, is it seems a little bit tight for an adult, or even an older child's head (I had my grandsons try it out!). That might be because I tend to crochet rather tightly so when I try this pattern again, I'll increase the length of the original chain, and then increase the number of rows because I like my winter hats to be a little bit on the loose side. All in all, I'm really happy with the final outcome. 

Hot Plate Mat in Star Stitch

Because I was between projects and waiting for yarn, I decided to work on a vintage pattern that used a stitch I wasn't used to making so that I'd get some more experience with it. That brought me to the Hot Spots Plate Mats pattern which uses the beautiful star stitch.

The first thing I'll mention is that because this is a vintage pattern, the instructions are rather...minimal. After the third row, it just directs you to repeat the rounds, increasing as necessary to keep the work flat. Not having worked much with rounds, I ended up doing a lot of frogging trying to figure out when I needed to increase, when I didn't. Eventually I got into a groove and started increasing for several rows with the same pattern, like three star stitches as one would work normally work a star stitch, then creating a star stitch increase by drawing up your last loop through the fastening ch of the next star st. After several rows, you will notice that the piece isn't working flat again, so you'll need to modify the pattern you'd been using such as make four star stitches, then create a star stitch increase. Continue to do that until your hot plate mat is the size you desire.

To make the hot plate mat, I just pulled out some yarn I had on hand (which wasn't rug yarn as the pattern suggests). I had some pretty variegated Red Heart Super Saver worsted, and I love the way the star st looks using variegated yarn, so that's what I ended up using. For practicality, I would probably go with a heavier yarn if I was going to make more of these because this mat came out rather thin using the worsted, but it's still functional.

I finished off the pattern with a border of sc around. As per usual, I didn't use a stitch marker and had some difficulty figuring out where to end, but I ended up folding the mat in half and giving it my best guess.

All in all, my goal was achieved - practice using the star st which is really a beautiful looking stitch on a finished item. Now that I've practiced and gotten somewhat proficient at it, I think I might actually work up a baby blanket using this stitch!

Blueberry Muffin Recipe

Delicious 2nd attempt using longer recipe

I was looking for a quick and easy blueberry muffin recipe to use up the plethora of blueberries I had bought before they went bad. I found this recipe:

Seemed simple enough. I gave it a go. This was what the muffins looked like out of the oven.

First attempt at blueberry muffins using easy recipe

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. They weren't as sweet as I like my muffins to be and were really quite bland (even though several family members said they were delicious).

So the next time I had way too many blueberries in my fridge, I looked for another recipe to try that had more sugar! And found this one.

I changed it up a bit and this (because SUGAR!) was the revised recipe I used:

INGREDIENTS

1-½ c flour
1 c white sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
⅓ c olive oil
1 egg
⅓ c half and half
1 c fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping

½ c white sugar
⅓ c flour
¼ c Crisco butter flavored baking sticks
1½ tsp ground cinnamon


METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line muffin cups with liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add and mix oil, egg and half and half to flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar, flour, Crisco, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.


I substituted half and half for milk in the recipe because we have skim milk in the house and I always like some milkfat in my cooking. I also substituted the Crisco for butter because I think it's easier to work with and bakes better than butter.

The amount of crumb topping made from the recipe was too much for the number of actual muffins the recipe made. Fortunately, I was making banana bread muffins at the same time and so I used the leftover crumb topping from this recipe to top the other muffins too.

The final result of these muffins really was to die for. This is now my go to blueberry muffin recipe...and I've decided this crumb topping needs to be put on everything and will use it when I try making eggplant bread again.

Mashed Cauliflower Recipe

We had my stepkids and grandchildren over the other night for dinner. I had a large head and a small head of cauliflower in the fridge so for something different, I decided to make mashed cauliflower as one of the veggies with dinner. The recipe that I followed ended up close to this:

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• ⅓ cup cream
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• ½ tsp salt
• Pepper to taste
• 8 oz shredded cheese

Method

1. Steam cauliflower and garlic until tender.
2. Mash cooked cauliflower and garlic.
3. Add cream, oil, butter, salt and pepper. 
4. Add shredded cheese and stir until melted.

The original recipe did not call for cheese, but cheese makes everything delicious so my stepdaughter and I decided it absolutely needed cheese!

While it does look like mashed potatoes, do not think that it tastes like mashed potatoes. They definitely still taste like cauliflower. Even though I mashed them completely until they looked like mashed potatoes, the texture while eating was still a bit different as well.

Overall, very delicious and I will be making them again.

Groovy Loops Lapghan

Many years ago, when the Crochet Dude came out with his free Groovy Loops square pattern, I made up a few squares because I thought the pattern was totally cool. Then I got busy with some other life thing and I put them away with the rest of my UFOs.

About a month ago, I pulled the few finished squares back out and decided I would make a lapghan with them to donate to the annual Stride to Save Lives event in my hometown which raises money for SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education), an organization that is personally close to my heart since the loss of my dad to suicide almost five years ago.

So I'm back making Groovy Loop squares. I had about half the number I needed sitting in my UFO stash made from yellow Red Heart Kids yarn, so I crocheted up the other half in a couple of other colors using the same yarn.

Once I had the squares completed, I decided to join them with a variegated color that included the colors I had used for the squares. Settling on the variegated Crayon in Red Heart Kids and using the rounds of the patterns, I continued around the squares in the variegated color.

Joining the squares

I joined the squares using the single crochet method from the back to give it a little personality on the back since the front was very busy with all of the groovy loops and the back was looking rather plain.

Reverse side of lapghan

Around the border, I added one more round of groovy loops, and continued the pattern around until I finished up with the double crochet round. Once finished, it measured about 29 x 38½" and it's very heavy. It makes a really nice throw to keep you warm on a chilly evening!

Close up of corner of finished lapghan corner

Eggplant and Walnut Bread Recipe

I decided a couple of weeks ago to supplement our grocery buying with organic fruits and veggies from a local farm, Grindstone Farm. In order to save a few bucks, I decided to order the prepackaged boxes that the farm puts together. With that decision, I knew I was going to get some vegetables I didn't normally buy, but I figured it was an opportunity to try to cook them in ways I'd never had before.

Cue the eggplant!

I received an eggplant in a box and wanted to do something different with it rather than the old eggplant parmigiana dish that I've had before dozens of times over the course of my life. With a quick Bing search, I found an Eggplant Bread with Honey recipe and was intrigued. I figured it would be similar to zucchini bread, and even the recipe says it's a twist on the carrot cake, so I decided to give it a go.

I substituted sugar in the original recipe for the honey because I didn't have any honey in my pantry, and I used walnuts as my nuts because that's what I had on hand. Following is the recipe I ended up with:

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated and drained raw eggplant
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray loaf pan with Pam.
2. Beat together the eggs, sugar and oil until well blended.
3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until moistened.
4. Fold in the eggplant and walnuts.
5. Pour into pan and bake for 40 minutes.

During prep, I found that it was actually a bit more difficult to grate the eggplant than I originally thought it would be. I peeled off the purple skin of the eggplant before I started grating even though I wasn't sure if that's what the original recipe expected. I was worried that leaving it in would be tougher to chew in the bread, so might as well discard it beforehand. Then I tried grating it from the bottom. No go. Once I shifted my eggplant onto it's side, it was much easier to grate. I did not remove the seeds.

After it came out of the oven and cooled a bit, my husband and I cut pieces off to try. Our first thought was that it was somewhat bland. I even considered this when I was making up the batter because there are no spices included like cinnamon or nutmeg. My husband thought it could use a crumb topping.

Regardless, it actually is quite good overall. I like it even better after it's fully cooled and has set for a day. It's very moist while still being firm, and does remind me of a zucchini or banana bread type recipe. If I have the opportunity to make it again, I will definitely use some more spices and add a crumb topping to make the husband happy. I'd like to try it with honey instead of sugar, and add dates, too.

How to Make a Carnation Flower

I took the original vintage carnation pattern, modified the materials using the following:

Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, 0724 Baby Pink
Miscellaneous green yarn I had on hand
F-5 aluminum crochet hook
Paper stem wire
Fiberfill
Yarn needle

I also changed the way the ring was made to start it off because using worsted weight yarn, ch 3 to form a ring made it too small for me to work with and get 10 s c into the ring. Instead, ch 5 or 6, then follow the rest of the directions. 

BEGIN PATTERN

With Green ch 3, join to form a ring, ch 1 and work 10 s c into ring, join.
2nd Round—Ch 1, 2 s c in each s c, join, ch 1 and work 6 rounds even.
Attach color, * ch 7, skip 1 s c, s c in next s c repeat from * around row. (10 loops.)
Next Round—Sl st into loop, ch 5, 20 d tr c in each of the 10 loops, join.
Next Round—* ch 2, s c into next st, repeat from * all around. Break thread.
Fasten a knot into wire and pull through calyx, fill calyx with cotton and sew to­gether under flower.

END PATTERN

For the stem, I followed the instructions for the stem wire to attach it to the flower itself. Then I finished it off by making a long chain in the green scrap yarn I had and winding it around the stem wire.


Pictures of the process follows:

Finished carnation up close:

And the full finished carnation in a bud vase for show:

The carnation is actually very real looking. In fact, after I finished it up, I had to take off and go to work. So I cleaned up and left it sitting in the vase on the kitchen counter.

When I got home from work, my husband told me that he had come in the house, saw it on the counter and wondered who had gotten me such a beautiful flower. Then he noticed that the vase didn't have water in it, so he walked over to pick it up and fill it with water and didn't realize that it was created out of yarn until he touched it!

This pattern is very easy to make, doesn't take many materials or much time at all to complete.