In the Hopi legends of the beginning of this world, the story is told of the tribes that had been cared for under the ground while the Earth was healed. When they emerged and gathered together in one place, each was asked to choose the seeds of a grain. The choices made determined where in the world the tribes would go to live in this new world.
In Roman mythologies there are over thirty deities that govern the planting, growing and caring for crops, some having very specific areas such as Imporcitor, invoked only when ploughing a wide furrow is necessary or Sterquilinus, responsible for the manuring of the fields.
Crops, whether, wheat, corn, barley, rice, oats or something else were vitally important to making it through the year. Used for breads and for alcohol brewing, loosing a crop would mean loosing lives in an agrarian community. So you will find grains honoured many times as the wheel of time turns.
This Fiesta Cornbread is a simple adaptation of the original recipe posted yesterday. Tuck this recipe away for a Day of the Dead celebration in early November.
You will need:
The full basic recipe found here http://mykitchenwand.com/cornbread-for-mabon/.
Olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped red and/or green peppers
Red pepper sauce to taste
1 cup fresh or canned corn niblets
2 Tbsp. dried onions or freshly sauteed if you prefer
2 tsp. sun dried tomatoes
seeded and finely chopped Jalapeno peppers to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and add enough olive oil to the loaf pan to coat. Swirl around and pop in the oven as it preheats. This will give added colour and crunch to the sides of your Fiesta Cornmeal Loaf but be quick in combining the ingredients or it will seem that you are deep frying the batter when you put it in the pan. Option number two would be to wait a few minutes and get started on mixing before heating the loaf pan.
I started with the basic recipe from yesterday and added loads of goodies to this Fiesta Cornbread Loaf. You can pick and choose what appeals to you or is readily available. I added them all.
The basic recipe will fill an 8 x 8 pan or two 5 x 9 loaf pans. ( You can probably squeeze it into one pan, just know it will take longer to bake.)
Once the last dry ingredients have been sprinkled on top add the ingredient list above, minus the cheese and fold together. Transfer to pan(s) and sprinkle with grated cheese. I like the old/aged variety as I find it has more flavour but choose what works best for your family.
Bake until firm in the centre about 30 minutes. You will find the sides of this version will be darker which is something many people like. It will also be crunchier, fresh from the oven.
Since Mabon falls on a weekday this year the thought of gathering around a steaming cauldron of chili with this fresh baked treat should hold off any concerns about nippy weather after an evening celebration held outdoors.
Cornbread for Mabon – Part Two from My Kitchen Wand
