Quick Cornbread

My mom sent me this recipe last week. It looked like a nice accompaniment to the chili I was planning to make. I do think you should bake this the night you want to eat it. To speed up prep, put all the dry ingredients together on your prep day. Then when you bake it all you need to do it fuss with the wet stuff.

Cornbread

Preheat oven to 425 and put a 10" cast iron skillet in oven to preheat (no substitutes - cast iron really is the way to go here)

Mix together:

• 2/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c. coarse polenta meal

Whisk (or use a fork) together:

• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3 T. veg oil (canola or light olive or peanut)

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix with rubber spatula and add a little more buttermilk if seems too dry.

Remove hot skillet from oven and brush with oil. Scrape batter in and smooth the top to level it out (it will be a thin layer).

Sprinkle the top with:

• 1 - 2 Tablespoons dry roasted, salted pepitas (get them at Trader Joe's - I did not have any, therefore the top of my cornbread is nude.)

Bake 15 minutes. Run it under the broiler to brown if necessary (was not for this batch). Cut into wedges and eat.