Cornbread Supper

Carrot soup in a splendid green bowl seemed the visual essence of the way the seasons fold into each other: winter-rootsy carrots, elevated with creams and nutmeg and looking like the returning light of the sun, in a bowl the color of new green sprouts. Other lovely, tasty foods also graced our Winter Solstice edition of Cornbread Suppers. Squash and potato stew, w/cumin, almond, sesame seeds ground. Chili - HOT! Veggies: KY Proud! Vegan! made with ground almonds and spices, veggies with lemon-herb-mayo dip, Salad with apples, walnuts, and honey balsamic dressing Black Skillet/Buttermilk Cornbread - not sweet, no gluten, vegetarian New England Double Corn Muffins: Sweet, Contains Gluten, Vegetarian Chocolate-Walnut Toffee: no gluten

I may have lost the little Food Identification Slips from this week -- after all, I was quarantined in the upper reaches of the house so I wouldn't pass along a gift of winter malaise. I heard there was pumpkin flan!!!! And I see from photos -- Thank you, JKL -- that there was salad, and, of course, a giant savory cornbread pudding and some classic Black Skillet cornbread. I can also say that the sounds of the party suggested a good time appeared, and that some little people with lovely bell-like laughs were part of it all.

We have the reds - and the Casey County greens (see below) of the season on the Cornbread Supper table this December. In addition to these cheery Cranberry Bars (with pecans and almond extract), we had other delicious foods on December 7, 2009: Really Very Hot & Spicy Experimental Pumpkin & Turnip Curry Soup (Vegan) Trader Joe's Hummus Quartet (..."hum us a few bars, please, Joe".......) Baked Penne with Cheese Butternut Couscous Bluegrass Salad from Creating a Stir , (Kerry Zack) Buttermilk-Cheese Grits Casserole - slightly spicy - vegetarian Black Skillet/Hot Water Cornbread - vegetarian Homemade Local Cottage Cheese (pasteurized milk) very lightly salted Casey County Greens + Dill Vinaigrette

I'm thinking of a Kentucky version of this dish, reportedly invented for an "All Maple Syrup" meal three friends cooked up in a Vermont cabin. Prosciutto-Feta-Maple Cornbread To bring this cornbread home to the lower midwest/upper south/western Appalachia, we'll try getting that flour out of there. To localize the flavors even more, we'll try sorghum instead of maple syrup, though I believe the maple syrup flavor would be fantastic with cornbread. We have homemade feta from fine local Jerseys, and, as the article suggests, the feta is plenty salty. We'll try local country ham or bacon instead of the prosciutto. And we'll see! And report back.

The Monday after Thanksgiving we promised simple, flavorful, nutrient-rich food -- cornbread and multi-beans & greens soup. An after-Supper photo shows what a fine night it was for soups and stews. Energetic groups planned fine things for downtown this Monday, both to the east and west, round about Cornbread Supper time, 6 PM. So we encouraged people to go the 5:30 PM tree lighting at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden or to the 5:00 PM petition signing at the Distillery District , or both, and then come by Campsie. We promised there would be plenty of cornbread, hearty warm foods, and conviviality. People took us up on the promise, and we had a fine group, some of whom came in with cold cheeks and hands, and double-Santa flexi-straw-whistles, from the East End's first ever tree lighting ceremony. What they brought to and found on the food table: Beef Stew Grandma's Meat Loaf Multi-bean Soup with Greens and More; vegetarian/vegan, very little salt/fat Pumpkin & Turn