Begging for Cornbread

That's right, I made cornbread for dinner to go with a great Fagioli.  I love cornbread and have had several different kinds.  My ultimate favorite and the only cornbread I usually make now is Honey Cornbread.  Skip the boxed cornbread mix and buy cornmeal instead. You can find the recipe here.  The honey makes this cornbread delicious!!!  I have even substituted the sugar for more honey and it gives the cornbread a sweeter honey taste (and a bit of a stickier texture).  So why did I say begging for cornbread.  Well my dogs have noses, and I mean noses like Detection dogs trained to find drugs or other contraband.  And tonight they smelled my cornbread. 

Now I am not of the school of thought that "people food" or scrapes are bad for dogs.  There are many things dogs should not have for example grapes and alcohol, but there are plenty of things dogs can have.  I typically vary my dogs' food and treats.  This includes baked treats (I have a few dog cookbooks) and other "snacks".  So I see nothing wrong with a bite of cornbread being shared with my dogs.  I will say that there are dogs with corn allergies, so if you have a dog that is, then this is not to be shared with those dogs.  Both my dogs LOVED the cornbread, and the small piece they each got wasn't enough in their opinion because they sat at my feet drooling for more.  I won't give them very much mainly because too much corn upsets my youngest dog's stomach and there is little nutritional value in corn (or cornbread) for dogs.

Once my dogs realized that they were only going to have a bite of the cornbread they ate their dog food and now are contently sleeping at my feet, their bellies full.  This is such a great way to end a day.  A slight breeze outside on a crisp Autumn night and my dogs sleeping by my side.  They do teach us unconditional love.  May your evening be as peaceful as mine.

Making your own . . . Harissa

I don't know about you, but I am a lover of FoodNetwork shows.  A friend used to watch them with me several years ago and I enjoyed them.  It wasn't until I really got into cooking my own food that I truly understood the obsession.  Now I have a binder of recipes from their website that I have tried and other recipes that I want to try in the future.

My only complaint is that some ingredients are hard to find.  Maybe you have experienced this too.  One item I have NEVER seen, even in markets in the Bay Area is Pomegranate Molasses.  I know Bobby Flay loves this, but I can't find it.  My latest ingredient is harissa sauce (again another Bobby Flay recipe).  However I found a solution to this problem. . .  Make my own!

So here goes:

10-12 dried chilies (I used Guajillo and California chilies, but you can use New Mexico, Ancho or any combination that you have on hand or find)
3 garlic cloves
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander (or whole and grind yourself)
1 tsp ground caraway seeds (again you can use whole and grind)
1/2 tsp cumin

Soak the chilies in boiling water for about 30 minutes.  Remove seeds and stems and then process in a Food Processor (a Blender would also work).  I find that you can save yourself some time if you remove the seeds and stems before you soak the chilies, but try it both ways and decide for yourself.
Add garlic, salt, olive oil and process, then add spices (grind spices first if you are using whole spices).  Blend until you have a paste.

I did not need all of the harissa for the recipe, so I am freezing it for later use.  Otherwise store in a sealed container and use for other recipes (I don't know the actual time that this will be fresh in the refrigerator).

Once you really start cooking, even if you are a baker at heart, like I am, you will see it is not difficult to make your own substitution for recipes.  It is worth the time and a little extra effort as well.  This is also a great solution for those avoiding BPA, canned products or are trying to find organic substitutes.

Until next time . . .