The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

Thank goodness for tomorrow. And for butter.

January 19, 2010

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. Whipped up some buckwheat pancakes and buttermilk waffles as the music played, and served it with kielbasa and bacon and some cherries and whipped cream for the waffles and it all went over pretty well. After everyone cleared out I cleaned up the kitchen and figured I might as well clean out the fridge while I'm at it. I've cleaned just about everything else in the house since the New Year began, and when your refrigerator is in order, you know you're almost there.

And so I did. Didn't take long, though, as I'm one of those "clean-as-you-go" people. I don't often sit down to dinner without washing up the dishes, and you're not going to find an expired date among my yogurts or a ring of mold on my sour cream. You're just not. We are big eaters, yes, but on top of that, I pay attention to my cheese. When you pay money for a nice block of cheddar, why on earth would you let it go to rot? So every other day or so, I look through the fridge to see what we've got, and what needs using up, and what is good for a while, and I plan meals accordingly.

I'm thinking now about what I can do with 9 pounds of butter and 7.5 pounds of cheese. Not to mention a sack of Braeburn apples (on sale last week), 3 heads of lettuce, thirty flour tortillas, and a boatload of chicken breasts. I'm thinkin' spicy chicken wraps, with some apple crisp for dessert. That doesn't use up much butter, but butter keeps, and there's always tomorrow. Thank goodness for tomorrow. And for butter.

Pumpkin Cornbread
If you like bread, and corn, and pumpkin, and if you're feeling a bit stuck for something to serve on the side, give this recipe a try. It's good on its own, or with stew, or ham, or just about anything you come up with.

2 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups pureed pumpkin
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat together the eggs, oil, pumpkin, and milk.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula. The batter will be smooth and fluffy. Pour the batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan (or two loaf pans), and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick stuck in the middle of the cornbread comes out dry. Let cool for ten minutes, and then cut into pieces and serve.

Enjoy!

Previous article: « Not All Whacked Out and Fuzzy

Next Article: So much for the glory of falling »