Corn Muffins - Christmas 2011

Although I've made a sweet version of corn muffins before, I wanted this to complement the pork and chicken - kind of like a bread to go with the main meal. It sounded like a good plan and the pictures in my Le Cordon Bleu muffin cookbook looked really good too. I especially liked the fact that the recipe called for lots and lots of corn kernels. I could just imagine biting into soft muffins filled with corn.

Alas, this wasn't to be as I made one error. Not a terribly fatal error but an error nonetheless and an error that caused the muffins to be a little dry and not as delicious as it should have been. The error? Well the recipe called for Self Raising flour and since I didn't have any, I did my usual 'make your own' by adding baking powder to plain flour.

This is the recipe from Le Cordon Bleu Muffins. The original recipe also has a pinch of cayenne pepper but I left that out.

Ingredients
225g Self Raising Flour
150g Cornmeal (polenta)
60g Cheddar (grated)
240g frozen corn kernels
250ml milk
2 eggs
100g butter, melted

Method
Preheat oven 20 210C. Brush a 12 hole muffin pan with melted butter or oil.
Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in Cornmeal, cheese and corn. Make a well in the centre.
Whisk milk and eggs together and then pour into the well in the dry ingredients together with the butter. Stir with a metal spoon till just combined. Do not overmix as the mixture should be lumpy
Fill muffin pans three quarters full and bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in centre of muffin
Leave muffins in tin for 5 minutes before lifting out to wire rack to cool

In the heat of the kitchen and the rush for time however, I miscalculated the measurements and added in half of what I should have. The result - not a well risen, rather dense and semi dry muffin. It still tasted good although it didn't have the correct texture. Still, it was passable and eatable and my son even asked for one the next morning for breakfast.

I just wonder how delicious the muffins would have been if I didn't screw up...

Simplicity is Corn on the Cob

I've mentioned before that my kids love Corn - especially my son. His favourite though is corn on the cob, the kind that you find at restaurants that accompany a steak or chicken chop. Juicy, crunchy and packed with goodness!

I recently bought The Lovely Wife an electric steamer and ever since then we've been steaming corn on the cob for the kids ever so often. While Christmas shopping, I stumbled upon a set of corn skewers that were also shaped like corn on the cob and I bought a set as a gift for The Lovely Wife from my son.

The skewers certainly make eating corn on the cob a lot easier - and also a lot more fun!


Making corn on the cob is really, really easy. I normally cut the corn cobs into smaller pieces rather than whole corn as it is easier to eat smaller cobs and there is less wastage. How to make Corn on the Cob? Simple!

Ingredients
Corn on the Cob - as many as you like!

Method
Remove husks and cut each corn into three. Steam for at least 30 minutes until kernels are tender. Toss in butter and season with a little salt and pepper.

Have you seen such a short or simple recipe? Anywhere??



What could be easier or simpler than that?? It's a great way to eat corn, it's filling and its healthy. So what are you waiting for? When are you going to make Corn on the Cob?

Corn Muffins

My son has recently developed a love of corn. He loves Corn on the Cob, buttered corn kernels, basically anything with corn in it. With this in mind, I offered to make him some corn muffins. He wasn't sure whether he would like them but my little princess was game to try - and once she said she was game, my son willingly agreed.



I surfed the web for a recipe for corn muffins and I found a few but decided to try the one at Bakespace.com

The recipe is really quick and easy and produces tasty corn muffins.

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 lrg egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup corn oil
8 oz can cream style corn

Method
Combine dry ingredients. Combine all wet ingredients. Combine the two mixures and blend just to eliminate the dry spots. spoon into 12 buttered muffin cups. Bake in 220C degree oven. 15-20 min until they test done.

Serve hot with butter and honey

I had made a stew to serve together with the corn muffins but the kids preferred instead to just devour them - first plain and then with honey! My son really liked these muffins and has learnt that when Daddy offers to make something, never say no. Who knows, it may turn out to be a favourite!

Roasted C3 = Loge(Carrot.Capsicum.Corn)

Okay, Okay, so mathematically that just doesnt make any sense. I know that. Sorry. Just trying to have a bit of fun. Trying to act smart....

It's a good thing cooking is not as complicated as Maths can be. It's been a really long time since I did any complicated Math and although I did enjoy my Math and Physics, I have to admit it was all rather complicated. Sometime I wonder how I managed to get through my Engineering degree!!



So anyway, having gone off tangent (once again), let me just say that off late, I have become quite fixated with corn. I love the crunchiness, I love the sweetness, I love the taste. I just love it. So any opportunity I have to use it to throw together a vegetable dish, I grab very quickly.

Not too long ago, I posted my Steamed Vegetables tossed in butter and my Snowy Vegetable Combo - both of which featured corn. This is along the same lines except that this time I roasted everything, including the corn.

This is what I did.

Ingredients
Rosemary
Oregano
2 Carrots
2 green Capsicums
1 Can of Corn
Salt
Black Pepper
Method
Cut the capsicum into large pieces
Cut the carrots into strips
Add in the Can of Corn. Toss together with rosemary, oregano and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Place in a baking dish and roast in a preheated 200C oven for about 20 mins or till carrots are tender. Some like the carrots crunchy, some like them soft - your choice!

I've always loved roasted vegetables and adding corn to it just gives it that little bit of an extra kick. See how simple this is? If only Math and Physics were just as simple - although when you really think about it, cooking DOES rely a lot on Physics - especially Thermodynamics and Heat and Mass Transfer but I guess I'll leave the analysis of that for another day...

Snowy BZC Combo or Snow covered Broccoli, Zucchini and Corn

To go with the Burgers we had the other night, we needed a vegetable dish. If it was completely up to me, I reckon the tomatoes and lettuce in the burgers were enough vegetables. The Lovely Wife however, had other ideas. She offered to make a salad but I thought that would just be more tomato and lettuce. So instead, I decided to stir fry a combination of Broccoli, Zucchini and Corn.





Now where in the world did the idea for snow come from? Well, I must admit it was an afterthought when I saw how nice it looked. You see, I had some extra egg white from the Portuguese Egg Tarts I made and so rather than keep them for another day, I opted to throw them into this dish. The result, as you can see, is small specks of white that look like snow!

This is what I did.

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic - chopped
2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp basil
2 zucchini - julienned
1 Broccoli - cut into small florets
1 can corn
2 egg whites

Method
Fy the garlic with rosemary and basil. Add in the broccoli and zuchinni and cook till just tender but still a little crunchy. Add in the corn and stir well. Season with salt. Add in the egg whites and quickly stir everything together to break up the whites to form the small specks of 'snow'.

The Lovely Wife and the kids enjoyed this vegetable dish. In particular, both the kids loved the corn. I have to admit that I loved the corn too! My princess was excited to learn that there was egg in the dish as she just loves egg but was a little disappointed that there was no runny yolk - another thing that she takes after Daddy.

All in all, a very simple yet tasty dish and eye pleasing too.

A Nob or Knob of butter?

Usually for Christmas Eve Dinner, no matter what we have, there is the obligatory salad. The Lovely Wife is normally tasked with making a salad as her salads are oh so wonderfully good. This year however, I chose to do something different. Something simple yet tasty and satisfying. As the old Kellogs Corn Flakes advert in Australia goes - The simple things in life are often the best.


Before I proceed on to the dish I made, I want to relate a small 'argument' that ensued between The Lovely Wife and me. We were playing a game of Boggle with the kids and The Lovely Wife wrote down nob. I disputed the word and she raised her haughty eyebrows and condescendingly asked me whether I had ever heard of a "Nob of Butter." I snorted at her and said that it was a "Knob of butter and not a Nob." To which she insisted that she was correct. I was quite adamant that I was correct as I pride myself in speaking and spelling according to British English - which as far as I'm concerned it the only English there is...Nonetheless, I let it go for the sake of family unity!

For the record though, it IS knob of butter which is a very British term describing a lump of butter about the size of a walnut maybe or a teaspoon. Quite an arbitary measurement really much like a splash of olive oil or a dash of oregano or a swig of rum. You get the idea.

There is a reason for my ranting as you will soon see.




What I decided to make was simply some steamed vegetables tossed in butter.

All I did was to steam some broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and throw in a can of sweet corn kernels. Then I threw in a couple of KNOBS of butter, a little salt and black pepper and tossed the whole lot together coating it evenly.

So now you know why it was important to hear the story about a Nob versus a Knob of butter.



This dish was very well received and few believed it was nothing more than steamed veges tossed in butter. Simple, yes? Delicious too! It's true that the simple things in life are often the best!

Corn Bread with Whipped Herb Butter

Back in the days when I was scared of yeast, actually terrified would be a better word, I longed to make bread. How though to make bread when you are terrified of yeast? Well, I happened to come across an old, old recipe book at my mom's house that had a few recipes for 'yeast-less' Bread in it. The book in question is the Australian Women's Weekly New Cookbook. Obviously not so new now since the book is dated 1978.

I tried quite a few of these 'yeast-less' breads including Beer Bread and even Coke Bread - the kind of Coke you drink and not the kind you sniff. Although sometimes when you drink it really fast, it goes up your nose and you can always say that your snorting coke...? Ha Ha. I used to tell that joke many years ago. I was young - so shoot me!

Anyway, after many abject failures, I tried the Corn Bread recipe. It turned out really nice although it didn't rise quite as much as I thought it would. I reckon it you wanted a higher bread, you'd just need to double the recipe.

This recipe soon became a favourite of mine and I've made it quite a few times.


Corn Bread
60g Butter
1 Cup Cornmeal / Polenta
1 Cup Self Raising Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Cup Milk
1 Egg
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Method
Put Cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Sift Flour and baking powder together into the bowl. Mix all dry ingredients together. Heat milk and butter together in a pan until butter melts. Pour into flour and mix well. Add in egg and mix the whole mixture well. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake in a pre-heated 220oC oven for 25 minutes or till done.




I like to serve the Corn Bread with whipped herb butter. This is how I make my herbed butter.

Whipped Herb Butter
100 g Butter
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp basil
Olive Oil

Method
Pound or grind the spices till fine and set aside. Beat Butter on high speed until light and creamy. Add in the spices and continue beating together. Slowly drizzle in some olive oil while beating. This makes the butter light and more flavourful
Pipe onto serving bowls.