Gluten Free Cornbread

Some days I just want comfort food.  Something warm, and filling.  I want to feel and taste my blues away.

Why does food have the ability to offer comfort when sometimes a hug or a kind word does not?

I think of corn bread as comfort food because it reminds me of days spent with my family growing up in California.   It stirs a memory of my family being snowed in to our home in Utah during a winter storm.  I am instantly thinking of the chili recipe that my brother n law shared with me last year.  He was so proud that he created a dish that won first place.  I was able to recreate it for my family and make this cornbread to go with it.

This past week we have, as a nation and country, felt great sorrow and pain.  We see ourselves in the shoes of those parents that lost loved ones.  We remember a time that fear was felt in our spines.  I, for the first time, thought about my safety and that of my family, in greater detail.

I became more aware of my surroundings.  I noticed every person in line.  I watched with an uneasy eye as I entered the grocery store.

I cried.  I tried to reason in my mind why something of this nature could and would take place.  I was at a loss for words.  It hurt to my core.

All this emotion and I was someone on the outside looking in through the media, internet and personal stories being shared with friends.   I cannot even begin to understand the emotion and loss that the town in CT felt or those affected by the Clackamas Town Center shooting in Oregon.

Clackamas Town Center is a place that I worked when I graduated from high school, I sat numerous times on Santa's lap, I enjoyed ice skating with my family and friends on weekends, I visited See's Candy more than was necessary; this was my neck of the woods growing up, and yet, I have not lived there for many years and the shock of what happened still confuses me.

I never heard of Sandy Hook Elementary before Friday but I can guarantee to you that I will never forget the school or the poster of those that lost their lives.

This week has left me questioning everything.

With this questioning I know some things for certain.  I know that I love my family.  I know that there are many many good people in this world.  My hope is that I and my family will not live by the fear that is so easy to feel at times like this.  I want my kids to understand that bad things happen but from them we must learn and see the good.  I know that the loss and heartache will ease with time.  Never forgotten, not buried but put into a special place that can be visited with fond memories and joy deep within our souls.

Our world is changing.  I would hope for the better but I don't know.

Words are hurtful and mean or they can be comforting and caring.

I have seen the hurtful words a few times this past week and it makes me sad especially during such a sorrowful time.  We all have opinions and ideas of what should be the change to come and how it should manifest itself; we all have varying ideas that make discussing these items challenging.  We all come from different experiences and lives.

So it is because of the events of the last few weeks that I needed some comfort food.  I wanted to escape for a few minutes into a few memories that brought a smile to my heart.

Enjoy this easy cornbread recipe the next time you make chili or beef stew.  It would also make a great brunch item served with honey and butter.

Enjoy

Recipe:  Gluten Free Cornbread

1 cup of corn meal
1/3 cup of sorghum flour
1/3 cup of tapioca starch
1/3 cup white rice flour
1.5 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup of oil, I used sunflower oil
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup of corn, drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  If using a cast iron pan, put into oven now with 2 tablespoons of butter.

While your pan and oven are preheating, combine the dry ingredients in one bowl.  Whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, fold in the corn.

Remove hot pan from oven and add cornbread batter.

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown on top.  the middle should be firm to the touch.

Written by Sherron Watson