Vegan Cornbread and Giving Thanks

Vegan Corn Bread--so simple, so delicious!

Today was a beautiful day for a run! A seven miler. . . only it was an accident that it ended up so long. I felt like Calamity Jane in Nikes, in the wild--I tried to find a path through a park I live near by--which I have been told on numerous occasions connects through one of my running neighborhoods--taking me about a mile from home and keeping me off busy streets. I got lost! Lucky for me I had my Nike+Ipod to keep me posted on how far off my goal of five miles I was! Lucky for me, too, that the bears, wolves and wild dogs weren't out! I was proud to have navigated myself from the direction of the sun, the topography of the path I had once seen and finally found a home I recognized at the end of this journey.

Last night we had chili and vegan cornbread. Cornbread is a big deal in this household. I almost had to enroll my husband in a twelve-step program to wean him off the blue box kind--he loved it! Until I read the ingredients to him and noted that it includes animal products, thus, a no-no in this house. I have attempted vegan cornbread from scratch many times. Each time, I find something new about the recipes available. One may be really bland, flat, too moist, too fudgy or too dry. It has been difficult. But then I turned to my favorite new cookbook, The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger and was completely smitten with our outcome last night--creating my own take on one of her cornbread recipes.

The leftovers, of course, will find their way into my stuffing (if we don't eat it tonight). And let me say, that having lived in the south for quite some time, I don't think I've ever tasted better cornbread stuffing than when I once had it served to me in the south. I had my share of Yankee bread stuffing (my mother's) and until I broke free of tradition and felt that there was no rule guiding me--that the stuffing police were not going to show up at my door, I really never knew how fun making stuffing could be. So, with this great cooking day upon us, I am ready to conquer all of the traditional dishes we know and love--including the stuffing.

While we enjoy our bounty of vegan eats, I will be thankful for the food we have, for our health, for my husband, our dogs, my friends, my sense of humor--because it has saved me several times, trust me. And, finally, I am thankful for my ability to run and find my way home.

Vegan Corn Bread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Florida Crystals Sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons water
1 cup soy milk mixed with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons melted Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a round 9" cake pan or pie plate--either would work. Mix the Egg Replacer with water and set aside. Melt the butter amount in microwave for about 30 seconds--it melts fast, so watch it! Mix the soy milk with apple cider vinegar, set aside. In a medium sized bowl, add the dry ingredients and sift well. Then, mix the soy milk mixture with the egg replacer and melted butter. With a fork, add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix just until it is all moist and combined--having dry pieces in it is okay. This is not something you want to over mix! Place in oven and bake for about 22-25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then slice away!