Cornbread Supper

Vicky Schankula brought a carrot cake to Cornbread Supper on June 18. This proper British cake, from Vicky's mother's collection, turns all the gooey American notions about carrot cake on their icing-covered heads. It was a toasty brown circle, a single layer, looking chewy and dense, looking a lot like a carrot cake might look if it were flourless. Sadly, we have no photo. No, wait! That's a good thing, because it means Vicky will need to bring this cake to Cornbread Supper again. Vicky's—or Isabel Fairbairns's, or Gangy's—carrot cake astounded all who tasted it, and left them hoping for more—or at least for the recipe. Vicky's son, David Schankula, kindly supplied the recipe, and we have Vicky's permission to share it here. GANGY’S CARROT CAKE 8 ounces of light brown sugar 6 ounces of vegetable oil 2 eggs 4 ounces of whole wheat flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 5 ounces of coarsely grated carrots 2 ounces of chopped walnuts...

Warm night, and some—ick—bugs appeared on the front porch, driving most people inside. Small crowd, only four children. Many beautiful foods, particularly green things, and even more particularly, green beans. Mashed Potatoes Pesto Pasta w/Cottage Cheese Black Bean Southwest Salad: black beans, pico de gallo, corn, cilantro, chili powder, cumin Green Bean From Garden, Blanched, w/Rosemary/Garlic Balsamic Ving. Reduction Quinoa w/Dried & Fresh Fruit Cornbread: All Veget, Gluten Free Blueberry-Cornmeal Muffins Green Bean Salad Ramen Salad Plum Upside Down Cake (from backyard!!!) Whipped Vanilla Ice Cream <} Summer Peach Ice Cream Mango Sorbet Carrot Cake

Big, wonderful group, with lots and lots of wine, and fewer foods than usual, though still plenty. Windy Corner 3-Bean Salad w/Corn Windy Corner Grain Salad Green Beans Cooked in Ham-Based Broth Cole Slaw with Vidalia Onions & Mango Fennel/Apple/Onion Salad Pasta Salad (Greek) Assorted Local Veggies & Herbs NYT Best Cornbread Corn Muffins w/Black Raspberry

Beautiful people assign themselves tasks during Cornbread Supper (and, in the case of Jake Gibbs, beforehand, as prep dishwasher). We hosts consider all of you angels. This week some of the most exquisite food ever brought to Cornbread Supper seemed to cover all surfaces. Yet we have no little food description slips as records. Cleanup was complete! So, from memory, just a few of the wonderful foods: Salads: at least four, maybe as many as six, each fresh and inventive Roast Local Asparagus Lasagne Bowtie Pasta Chicken Soup Potato Frittata Baked Beans with Bacon Crumbs New York Time "Best" Cornbread Janice Kay's (Berry) Corn Muffins Kentucky Bourbon Ice Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies ...and so much more

By request, here is a link to the recipe for the dark, ultra-sweet, moderately spicy, definitely pork-y (Browning's country ham and their bacon, too) baked beans served on June 4, 2012: Bon Appetit's Baked Beans with Bacon Crumbs . The Cornbread Supper version included two changes. First, the addition of 1/2 cup of chopped roasted sweet peppers. Second, the substitution of Nut Thin crumbs (Pecan and Hint of Sea Salt varieties) for the Panko, making the beans gluten free.

We make this amazing, moist, gluten-free, nearly fat free cornbread often. In 2012, it is the standard, go-to savory type cornbread for Cornbread Suppers. It is marvelous. It comes from the Low Country, coastal South Carolina and into Georgia. New York Times Best Cornbread Steve and Rona, Cornbread Supper hosts, love the Low Country. We are happy our signature cornbread has roots in a region we esteem, respect, and cherish. Here's the original story for which our cornbread recipe was an accompaniment: Food; Coastal Legacy , by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, January 22, 1989. Thank you, New York Times and writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins.