Linda’s son Alex is in the hospital. Hold a good thought for both of them today. Even with all she has on her plate, she always seems to find time for us. Thank you, Linda.
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Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “difference.” Whatever the word “difference” conjures first in your mind, write about it. Enjoy!
Growing up in the country, most of our food was pretty simple. Most of our bread consumption centered around cornbread and biscuits. I have very vivid memories of watching my paternal grandmother prepare and bake cornbread. She always melted butter in the bottom of a cast iron skillet, added the cornmeal mixture to the skillet, and spooned the butter that eased up around the edges across the top of the bread. It was luscious.
But even as common as cornbread was, there were differences in how it was made and eaten. We always made it with buttermilk, but some people made it with regular milk and some even added water. We often had cornbread and milk for supper. Warm cornbread was crumbled in a bowl and topped with milk then served with a side dish of raw spring onions with a plate of salt to dip them in. My grandfathers both ate theirs with buttermilk, a taste I never acquired. I decided to eat cornbread and milk one night recently. It was not as I remembered. There are certainly differences in our tastes as we age and move around.
One of my favorite ways to eat cornbread was fried in a hot cast iron skillet. It looks much like a pancake and slathered in fresh churned butter – well, there is nothing better. Unless perhaps it is hot baked cornbread with a little apple-butter on top.
Then there is cracklin’ bread which is basically cornbread baked with the addition of cracklin’s – small pieces of fried pig skin and fat – a byproduct of rendering lard. Our families did not butcher hogs, so we rarely had it.
One big difference is also whether cornbread should be sweet or more savory. This decision can be regional or cultural. Mine is always savory, but my son loves it sweetened.
While not really cornbread, my favorite southern side dish is without a doubt, hushpuppies. Hushpuppies are a fried cornmeal/flour mixture, seasoned usually with onions and other spices and then deep fried. Trust me I know every place that serves hushpuppies and the differences between their recipes. (My all time favorite comes Pinky’s West Side Grill in Charlotte, NC.)
I remember going to my maternal grandmother’s house when I was very young. She made a huge 12” pone of cornbread and served it upside down and cut into slices. At my paternal grandmother’s we always broke the cornbread. I was so excited because I thought we were having cake for dinner!
I’d like to taste that cornbread. Sounds great
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It was always so yummy!
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peace and healing thoughts for Alex. oh, your grandmother’s cornbread sounds great, Maggie!.
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Thank you, Wilma. The cornbread was always a staple we all enjoyed. I make it some now, but not at all with the frequency we enjoyed as children.
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You are making me so hungry 🙂
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Oh heck, I could have shared some of our pancakes and bacon!
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Dang.
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I have never had any of those things you mention, but I would happily try them if I was in the right place where they are served.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It was considered such a common food, especially for southern people who lived off the land. You might enjoy it, Pete.
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Buttermilk is not my favorite. We had cornbread make in a cast iron skillet st home. But when we visited family in Texas, it was a very different dish.
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It can vary drastically.
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Mmm, I was enjoying this whole thing but when you said hushpuppies? Pretty sure I actually drooled at that one. Soooo good.
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Hushpuppies are the BEST!
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My mouth waters thinking about any kind of warm bread. Thank you for mentioning Linda and Alex and inviting good thoughts for them. I am in admiration for her consistency here with Alex in the hospital and appreciate the prompting of good energy for them.
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I am an unabashed carb addict. Especially warm carbs. I continue to pray for Linda and Alex. I hope others keep them in their thoughts as well.
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❤
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Hushpuppies! Believe it or not, the local grocery store that carries interesting food recently started selling hushpuppies with their chicken. I fell in love with them all over again.
I have yet to find any cornbread as good as my grandmother made…that and her corn pudding for the holidays.
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I am afraid ‘good’ cornbread is drenched in lots of fat, Victoria! How fortunate you found a supplier of good hushpuppies! Yum!
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I regularly make cornbread to go with our favorite vegetarian chili. I started using coarser ground corn meal, sometimes from local sources. I like the crunch it adds.
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That sounds good. I love the extra crunch.
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There is a mill in Rhode Island that stone grinds it with water power. Lots of fun.
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