WHAT'S FOR DINNER? (Monday)

SJG usually makes a pot of soup on Sunday for the week. She consults with me, and this week, I had a vision of red beans and rice, so that's what she made. She adds dinosaur kale, for the dark green leafies, and heads over to the other side of town for smoked ham hocks. We serve this soup with homemade cornbread, the recipe for which I've posted below.

CORNBREAD

1-1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 oil (melted butter is even better)

1 egg, beaten (2 eggs is even better)

1 cup frozen corn (creamed corn is even better)

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.

2. Stir in the buttermilk, oil, and egg. Add the frozen corn. Do not overmix.

3. Pour into a greased cast iron skillet (8-in diameter) or other low, flat baking dish of about the same size. (Greasing the pan with canola oil is good for you, but melted butter is even better.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and the cornbread has started to pull away from the sides of the pan.