My Favorite Cornbread

   One of my favorite childhood memories is eating fresh baked cornbread from the table of our neighbor, a sweet older lady that was like a grandmother to us. She seemed to always have it sitting there for us to run inside after playing, and grab a piece to take back outside and play. Her cornbread was probably the best I have ever had. They would grind their own cornmeal every year from an old stone wheel corn grinder that was more than 100 years old.
    After years of trying to cook cornbread like my sweet neighbor, I finally came up with a recipe that was close to hers. I do hope to grind my own corn mill in the near future, so hopefully it will taste even closer to hers with the fresh cornmeal.

Buttered Bread Homestead's Country Cornbread

1/4 cup of cooking oil

2 cups of white or yellow cornmeal

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 cup of buttermilk

1 cup of milk

1 farm fresh egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour oil into a cast iron 8" skillet and put into oven as it is preheating. 

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Combine buttermilk, milk, and slightly beaten egg. Whisk to combine.

Pour wet ingredients into bowl containing dry ingredients and whisk to combine. 

Remove skillet from oven and carefully swirl oil inside pan to coat sides of pan.

Pour batter into hot oil, stir slightly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove and serve hot with butter and raw honey. 

Wood Chip Gardening

   
      I have been very busy lately hauling wood chips to the Garden. If you have not checked out  www.backtoedenfilm.com you must. This free film on gardening with wood chips just blew me away! This method of gardening mimics the nature floor of the forest. If you have ever looked at the forest floor you will notice how rich the soil is, and how well trees and bushes grow with out any work.
    I have been using wood chips on my flowers for years, but never thought about using them in the veggie gardens. I always had great results with my flowers using the wood chips, so I am so excited about my 2013 veggie gardens. The wood chips are a very low maintenance way of gardening, keeping the garden moist underneath the chips, so watering will be very minimal. While weeds can easily take over your garden, this method keeps weeds down. The wood chips act as a tea compost, giving your plants natural fertilization. This method requires no tilling, and the only garden tool you will need is a garden rake. How wonderful is that? One more bonus is, it also keeps pest down, because the pest literally drown when they bite on the plants, because of the high water volume.
   Wood chips are pretty easy to get for FREE (my favorite price), usually by tree trimming companies that are in need of dumping them, while trimming trees for electrical companies. Another place you might find them is through your near by cities department of maintenance, which would only require you go pick it up at their location.
   

But Somehow one never had time to stop and savor the taste of life as the stream of it flowed by. It would be good to find some quiet inlet where the waters were still enough for reflection, where one might sense the joy of the moment, rather than plan breathlessly for a dozen mingled treats in the future.

                              Kathleen Norris~