Walk by, pick up a book, make a cornbread recipe
Cara Mangini’s "The Vegetable Eater" was the book, Buttermilk Cornbread with Honey Butter was the recipe, and it's all about FRIENDSHIP FOOD
Hello! Hello!
Well, in a couple of hours, our New York City apartment will be where Joshua, Linling and the girls live. As my letter to you is zipping through cyberspace, their moving truck is making its way to West End Avenue. When I left the girls last week, they told me they were going to be “uptown girls.” They were excited and I was excited for them. Also overcome. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the weight of moving out of the place that held 55 years of memories, of beginnings, of revelations, of friendships and family ties, of meal after meal, everyday cookies after celebration cakes. I’m not feeling sadness. I don’t think that I’m blue, as my mother might have said. It must be nostalgia.
Or some emotion I can’t name, the one that makes me want to bundle all the memories together and tuck them into a place where I can hold them, look at them when I want to, feel them when I need to. Because of course, it’s not the place, it’s not the walls — although it might be that one wall in my office, the one that’s covered in photos and clippings and small mementos and Joshua’s baby teeth in a tiny bag — it’s not even the light, which I’ve always loved, or the creak of the door, which I always thought would wear itself down, but the remembrance of things past. I know how lucky I am that I’ll see the people I love most in this world making their own remembrances in that place I held dear. In the meantime, there are boxes to unpack. Less than I thought there’d be (thanks to the great pre-move game plan and continuing help from Ellen Madere), but more than I want to face. For now, the garage is the holding bay and there are mountains of boxes, most of them holding books.
Hardly a pro tip: If you have too many vegetable peelers, now might be the time to give away a few of them. Truly. Also, how many knives does a home cook really need? Or plates? Or mixing bowls?
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From the bookcase to the kitchen counter
I don’t know when I’ll get to unpack the 200+ cookbooks that were in my bedroom, there’s no room in our Connecticut house. And so there’ll be more sorting, more triage. But until then, I’ve been playing a little game with myself — when I pass the books in the hallway, which I do a trillion times a day, I’ve decided that I’ll close my eyes, run my hand along a few spines, stop and pick up the last book I touch. (Think of me as a bookish Vanna White and my shelves as the Wheel of Fortune.) Bonus points if there’s a recipe that catches my eye and I make it.
The first book in my random grab was The Vegetable Eater by Cara Mangini [Bookshop // B&N // Amazon]. When I first met Cara — could it have been 20 years ago? — I was won over by her magnetic smile, spirit and enthusiasm. Soon after, I came to understand the talent, skill and intelligence behind that spunk and warmth — she’s the real deal and there’s something to learn on every page of each of her books. In The Vegetable Eater, I’m crazy about Cara’s sidebars. Almost every recipe has one or more: tips, takeaways, swaps, ingredient info, info on equipment, techniques, personal prefs. The recipes will pull you in, but the sidebars will make you sit down and pay attention.
FOR THE LOVE OF SUMMER VEGGIES
(from the archive)
Cornbread or muffins are Friendship Food
I’m an impatient sort and when I pulled down Cara’s book, I wanted to make something that instant. There were so many tempting “real” vegetable recipes, but I flipped to the last chapter, “Sweets,” found her recipe for Buttermilk Cornbread with Honey Butter, and preheated the oven (scroll down for recipe). The surprises in the recipe are the use of cornmeal with a bit of grit (think polenta) and the addition of corn (fresh or frozen). There is advice for switching up the pans (I made muffins and a small cornbread cake); adding berries (I did that in the cake); and the best way to use frozen corn. As for the honey butter — I meant to make it, but … Also, I was going to tell people that the honey butter was missing, but no one cared — they were so good that a bunch of them got eaten without anything additional. A sure sign of deliciousness.
Because there’s enough cornbread for a mini-crowd, it seemed perfect for Friendship Food. As you “regulars” know, each month when it’s Friendship Food time, I make a contribution to a helping organization in your name. This month, I’m donating to Meals on Wheels, a longstanding organization delivering meals to the elderly across America. And as always, I’m grateful to you for making these contributions possible.
Bake up a batch of cornbread or muffins. Share what you bake with friends, neighbors and family. The next time I write to you, the boxes will still be here, but I won’t — you’ll be hearing from me from Paris. A bientôt.
📚 📚 📚 You can find more recipes in my latest books, Dorie’s Anytime Cakes, Baking with Dorie, and Everyday Dorie.
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BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD WITH HONEY BUTTER
Adapted from The Vegetable Eater: The New Playbook for Cooking Vegetarian by Cara Mangini
