Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

Okay…I know what you all are thinking…who the heck CAN’T make a simple corn muffin? I would be thinking the same thing, but hear me out.

Have you ever had one of those culinary mishaps that looked like it was going to be a complete and total disaster? The kind that you think is not recoverable, but in the end turns out to be one of your best dishes ever?

Well—that was me the other night.

I had gotten off late from work and for some ungodly reason I had been thinking of cornbread muffins for most of the day. Not just a slight pang of interest, but an uncontrollable urge to scarf down an entire batch of corn muffins slathered with butter and dripping in honey. It was ridiculous, actually.

So, when I got home, dropped my gear and got into the kitchen I began pulling out the ingredients. I quickly realized, much to my horror, that I had soy milk, but not regular milk, and lots of butter, but no canola oil. (I primarily use olive, avocado or nut oils). I thought right then and there that my long craved for muffins would be just another unfulfilled dream. As I starred in the fridge at the butter and soy milk I thought, “What the heck, what do I have to lose”.  I grabbed the two misfit ingredients, melted the required amount of butter to substitute for the oil and began whipping up a batch of muffins. As I spooned the batter into a muffin pan lined with papers I tasted the batter. Not bad, I thought. I couldn’t really tell the difference. Was that a good sign, I wondered. Would all be well, I thought.

Into the oven they went. Now—I have to say cornbread muffins are a quick bread to make, usually done in about 12 to 15 minutes. I set the oven timer for 15 minutes just to accommodate the less than normal ingredients and began cleaning up the kitchen. In a few minutes I could smell the muffins. The aroma was sweet and fragrant. When the timer went off I pulled the muffin pan out. They were slightly golden, but not too golden. They had risen well and looked like every other cornbread muffin I had ever made. I gently pressed the top of one of the muffins to see if they were done and my finger went right through the top.

DANG!!! Completely mushy!!

That was it…disaster, a waste of good food, a waste of time, and I still didn’t have my longed for muffins. I was disappointed.

But, something told me not to give up. After all they looked fine. The batter tasted fine. I slid them back into the oven and set the time for another 5 minutes, then another, then another. After they had been in the oven for a full 30 minutes their tops were a deep golden brown, but not burned. A toothpick inserted came out clean and they smelled heavenly. I pulled them out to let them rest for a few minutes. The proof would be in the tasting, though.

When the muffins had cooled just a bit I pulled one out of the pan, gently removed the paper liner, pulled off an edge and popped it into my mouth.

SUCCESS!!

It was divine; light like a cake, slightly sweet and buttery. I cut the muffin in half, spread some soft butter over the top, drizzled it with wild clover honey and took a huge bit. It was heaven.

What started out with a craving, skated the edge of disaster and finally reached a wonderful end would now become my dinner.

I heated up some soup I had made earlier in the week, stacked a few muffins on my plate and nestled down in front of the fireplace for a perfect winter meal.

Not every supposed kitchen mishap turns out to be a disaster. Sometimes they turn out to be a brilliant alternative to the norm.

Check out this recipe for making cornbread muffins with soy milk and butter instead of milk and oil.

Golden Corn Bread Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup corn meal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup honey

4 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup soy milk

1 large egg

¼ cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients then stir in milk, egg, and melted butter. Beat until fairly smooth. (the batter will be fairly thick).

Line muffin pan with muffin papers and fill each paper about 2/3rds with batter.

Bake for about 20 minutes and then check every 5 minutes until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes about a dozen.