Posts from — February 2009

Change is hard.

For many years, I’ve made the same favorite cornbread recipe from a cookbook that’s been highly influential on our understanding of food, the More with Less Cookbook by Helen Janzen Longacre. (This cookbook is so significant that it deserves a post or two all its own.) Cornbread is the perfect accompaniment for so many of our favorite winter meals, like chili or soups. Everyone in our family likes it and it’s easy to prepare. Why mess with a good thing?

Two ideas I encountered challenged my status quo (but well-loved) cornbread philosophy. One came from Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish. What if we could make delicious cornbread with a lower fat content? I’m not sure where I first came across the second simple change: what if using a cast iron pan really did make a crisp crust? It doesn’t hurt to try something new, and surprisingly enough, I’ve ended up adopting some new cornbread habits.
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