Great Food, All Day Long_ Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart - Maya Angelou [22]
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a large bowl.
Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers until the ingredients are about the size of green peas.
Add the milk, orange juice, and egg, mixing only enough to dampen the flour mixture.
Stir in the grated rind and nuts, being careful not to overmix.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan, spreading the batter to the corners and leaving a slight depression in the center. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake for about 1 hour or until the top is golden and a knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Let stand for 5 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool.
Store overnight in the icebox before slicing.
SERVES 8. Serving size: 1 slice.
Enjoy with tea or coffee at any time, day or night.
Corn Sticks
¼ cup melted shortening or vegetable oil, plus more for pans
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ cup milk
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease cast iron corn stick pans.
Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Add the egg, milk, and melted shortening or oil, stirring until just blended. Mix only enough to dampen the cornmeal mixture.
Heat the greased corn stick pans in the oven for 20 minutes.
Pour in the batter and bake for about 30 minutes or until done and beautifully brown. Pierce 1 corn stick with a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean, the bread is done.
SERVES 4. Serving size: 1 corn stick.
Serve with mixed green salad or as a snack with a bowl of hot chicken broth. Enjoy one!
Orange Syrup for Waffles, Pancakes, or Toast
2 cups orange juice
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter
Boil the orange juice in a medium saucepan and reduce it to 1 cup.
Add the honey and butter. Stir well until all the ingredients are blended.
Pour over pancakes, griddle cakes, waffles, or pastries for a company-pleasing trimming.
Makes about 1½ cups
All Day and All Night Corn Bread
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cups white cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 egg, well beaten
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Melt the butter in an 8-inch square pan.
Sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl.
Stir in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the milk and the egg, mixing only enough to dampen the cornmeal mixture.
Pour the batter into the pan. Pour the remaining ½ cup milk over the batter and stir.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
SERVES 9. Serving size: 1 square.
When the corn bread has cooled, one 2-inch square can be removed. Open the square horizontally so there is a top and a bottom. Put in one slice of Swiss cheese or Monterey Jack cheese and warm in a toaster oven. Serve for breakfast with the hot beverage of your choice.
The Presiding Elder—his title is spoken of in ALL CAPS—is, in the Methodist Church, a man of great stature, whether he is a six-footer with great confidence and a booming voice or he is a short roly-poly person with charming ways and a melodious voice.
In Arkansas, where I was growing up under the care of my loving paternal grandmother and her other son, my Uncle Willie, the Presiding Elder’s visit was heralded almost as a holiday, no matter that such visits were part of his formal responsibilities, to be done once every three months at each of the churches under his charge. He would preach a fiery sermon, go over the books with the church trustees and preacher, give pep talks to the usher board, and have a glorious scrumptious dinner, always cooked by my grandmother. It was on one of his visits that I began a lifelong love affair with salad.
One Sunday morning, the Presiding Elder had preached until you could smell the very embers of hell burning for those who had disobeyed