Thoughts About Cornbread

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Some Thoughts on Cornbread

 

May be an image of text that says 'The North thinks it knows how to make corn bread, but this is a gross SuPerstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as bad as the Northern imitation of it. Mark Twain Sonthern THE Voice'

 

 

 

 

I think Mark Twain got this right. I don’t think I’ve ever had true Southern Cornbread but I’ve had some pretty awful cornbread here in the North. Maybe my sister in law and I should have a cornbread bake off. My sister-in -law is from Charleston, South Carolina and is one of the most fun people I know.  But I digress.

Cornbread is something I don’t eat very often but every once in a while I get a craving for it. When I was working I’d buy the little mix packages that were just add water. Although easy and quick to make the result was  this dry, crumbly stuff that was really pretty bad.  Still bad cornbread is better than no corn bread so I kept doing that until someone gave me a recipe for Boston Market Cornbread. I’m always looking for ways to improve my cooking skills.

Boston Market Cornbread

Boston Market cornbread is a very moist, very sweet, cornbread that is served as a mini loaf.

No photo description available.

Photo credit- Boston Market

I think they are great but is it cornbread? 

When I got the “Imposter” recipe I could see why it’s so cake like. It uses a box of Butter Cake mix as a base. It makes a ton of these little loaves and they also freeze well. I used to make a batch for the office and we’d put them in the freezer so my co-workers and I could have them whenever we wanted.  

Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread

Boston Market cornbread aside, I still think there is nothing like cornbread that’s baked in a cast iron skillet. You get such a beautiful crust when you bake your cornbread this way. So  I set out to see if I could make a decent cornbread even though I am a Northerner. I think my effort was pretty successful. Here’s the result. 

Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

 

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

Photo credit- Deb Neumann

Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread Recipe

(Food Network)

 

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teas. kosher salt
  • 2 teas. baking powder
  • 1/2 teas. baking soda
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, Melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, and place a 9 inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Lastly whisk in all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.
  3. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and reduce the oven temp to 375. Coat bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (25-30 minutes) Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. 

Enjoy! 

 

 

 

The Retired Life

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A Day or Week in the Retired Life

A friend of mine once told me he had to retire because he had so many doctor appointments it was the only way he had time to keep them all.  I’m beginning to see what he meant. It was a  celebration when I finally got my insurance straightened out- Medicare parts A & B and an Advantage plan with my old insurance company, Aetna, Now it’s time to reschedule all of the appointments I missed while I was uninsured. 

Aetna seems to be afraid that I’m going to croak on them or something. They call me 2-3 times per week to see if I have any questions. They sent a visiting nurse to my home to check on me. And they email me every day! Oh and did I mention the letters? They’ve killed a few trees to stay in touch. 

As for appointments I’ve had an annual physical, am scheduled for blood work, scheduled an eye exam and a mammogram. My doctor suggested a follow up with my pulmonary guy, my nephrologist and my hematologist. She  tossed in a vascular specialist for good measure so I put my foot down. 

Update on the Cable Decision

I got my tax refund so I felt comfortable taking $100 to buy a Roku TV. It was so easy to set up. Just plug it in to an outlet and sign into my streaming accounts. I still have my old TV hooked up to cable but so far I don’t see any reason to keep it up. I have a couple of  my shows that will be adding new episodes so I just want to see how quickly the new ones hit the stream. If its a couple of days I won’t even add a live TV option. I’ll just stream what I have.

photo credit- Deb Neumann

 

Only Murders in the Building

The first day I had the new TV hooked up I checked out  the Hulu Original, “Only Murders in the Building” and ended up binge watching all the episodes.  So I think this may work out well. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Natural Wonders of the USA – Finale

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The Final Natural Wonders

The results are in and clearly I can’t count. I’ve compared the states we’ve covered with an alphabetical list of states and everything matches. I’ve gone back over each post and checked and can’t find  a counting error but I still come up with states 48 & 49 to finish off. Obviously I can’t count.  So aside from my challenge with numbers, we will wrap up this series with California and Texas. I am proud to say that I have been to both states. However I have not been to the Natural Wonders that are on the LIST. 

California- Yosemite National Park

California is a big state with so much to see and do. I’ve been to San Diego for work so didn’t get to explore much. I’ve been to LA several time. I got to visit the Queen Mary and take a harbor tour past Alcatraz. Neither of which can be called a natural wonder. The Channel Islands are on my bucket list as well as Big Sur and Redwood country but according to the Natural Wonders list the top Natural Wonder in California is Yosemite National Park. 

The massive national park extends into Tuolumne, Mariposa, Mono, and Madera counties, and covers about 1,169 square miles. Yosemite Valley is a 7 mile wide canyon with incredible rock formations, including El Capitan, the world’s tallest granite monolith and one of the world’s top rock climbing destinations. Yosemite Falls is the largest waterfall in North America with breathtaking views. Peak visitation at the falls is in the spring as it is comprised entirely of melting snow. The park is also known for its Giant Sequoia trees, which are estimated to be over 3,000 years old

 

Spectacular Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California - PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine Public Domain Search

Yosemite Falls – Photo from Internet

Texas – Palo Duro Canyon

On my trip to Texas, we stayed in San Antonio and explored the Alamo and the Spanish Missions. We dined on the River Walk but we didn’t explore the wilds of the state.

Spanish Mission San Antonio TX- Photo Credit Deb Neumann

The River Walk- San Antonio – Photo Credit Deb Neumann

 

Called the Grand Canyon of Texas, the Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the country. You don’t have to rough it to explore either.  Glamping (luxury camping) is now available! Each glamping site is fully furnished with air conditioning, luxury rustic furnishings, refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, games, bicycles, gas grills and gas fire pits, covered porches with rockers, porch swings, and much more. More information on glamping at Palo Duro Canyon.  

Lighthouse - Palo Duro Canyon, Texas | Thomas Shahan | Flickr

Lighthouse- Photo Credit Thomas Shahan Flickr

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for joining me on our exploration of the Natural Wonders of the USA.  As for me, I’ve added a lot to my travel bucket list. 

Happy Saturday

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It’s Saturday!

Yes I know Saturday is a post day but I didn’t do one this week. I had planned to wrap up the Natural Wonders series but I got distracted. I’m not sure on what. I don’t feel like I accomplished anything this week. but there it is. Saturday morning and nothing to say!  Not that it’s an excuse but I did spend over 2 hours yesterday at the dentist. I had a cleaning first then tons of impressions for my 2 implants. I left the office with a very sore mouth and $1000 poorer.  The good thing is that we are in the home stretch. I should get the finished product in my next visit. 

Mix of zirconia dental implants technical picture | Picture … | Flickr

The Storm

All week the weather folks have been going nuts about the BIG storm. 

Snow storm is coming. - Lolcats - lol | cat memes | funny cats | funny cat pictures with words on them | funny pictures | lol cat memes | lol cats

Maybe the north and west got it but doesn’t look like much here so far. When I got up it looked like we might have gotten an inch of snow and some ice. The temps have risen now and it’s rain and all the ice seems to have melted.  It looks like its going to be one of those gray, dull days with lots of rain. I think I’ll snuggle in with a book and be lazy all day.

Banner & Balboa

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

Both cats seem to agree with me. Usually after they have breakfast they run and chase like crazy until I finish with my emails and morning ritual on the computer. Today they are both just draped over the furniture. 

Balboa- Photo credit Deb Neumann

They are waiting for their morning treats. Maybe once I give them those they will get the morning crazies. Then again, maybe they see it as a lazy day too. 

Nothing to see here

When the boys roll up at area 51 : r/southpark

 

So sorry I have nothing exciting to report this week. I’m happy we are into March. That means that spring is approaching. Maybe there will be some day trips once we get some sunshine. Something to look forward to. Catch ya all later!

 

Natural Wonders of the USA part 13

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Natural Wonders Part 13

Wow We are headed into the home stretch on the Natural Wonder’s list! We’re at #45!  Only 5 more to go! As the saying goes, so much to see, so little time. We left off at Wisconsin and the Cave of Mounds. Which state is next and what’s the wonder?

#45 – Maryland – Muddy Creek Falls

It’s not as impressive as some of the other falls on the Natural Wonders list at only 53 feet but Maryland’s wonder is Muddy Creek Falls. You’ll find it in Swallow Falls State Park.  I think  what may be the most impressive thing about this pretty little falls is the surrounding tree growth. The Hemlock trees around the falls are as much as 300 years old. I’ve visited Maryland but not this Wonder.

 

Muddy Creek Falls | The Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls S… | Flickr

Photo credit- Flickr

 

#46  Missouri – Cuivre River

Cuivre River State Park | Missouri State Parks

Photo from internet

Looking for the Ozarks in northern Missouri? Cuivre River State Park is one of the state’s largest and most rugged parks!

Cuivre River State Park lends a wilder, Ozarkian flavor to the otherwise predominately agricultural landscape of northern Missouri. Although not far from St. Louis, the park is a nature lover’s paradise. It is an outdoor delight to stroll through the park in the spring when flowering dogwood is in bloom or in the fall when the trees are ablaze with autumn colors. (I stole this description from the Cuivre State park  web page. Since I haven’t been there myself I couldn’t think of any better way to describe it to you.)

 

#47 – Indiana – Indiana Dunes State Park

Now this gets my attention. I missed out on Great Sand Dunes in Colorado so maybe I can see some sand dunes if I get to Indiana. There are 3 miles of dunes along Michigan Lake in Indiana Dunes State Park. And 2000 acres waiting to be explored. Large sand dunes, located beyond the entire shoreline, have taken thousands of years to form, and tower nearly 200 feet above Lake Michigan. FYI, the State Park and the National Park are not the same thing. 

File:Indiana Dunes.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Photo Credit- Wikimedia Commons

Next time In our Natural Wonders series

We’ll wrap up. We still have Texas and California and unless I have counted wrong I’m missing one more state. I’ll need to review the list. Did I miss a state or just lose count? What do you think will be the Natural Wonders for Texas and California?