Appalachian Buttermilk Cornbread

This cornbread is the pinnacle -- it's easy, requires only 4 ingredients, and is always a hit! My grandmother made it and always had it around her house for snacks. The scent of warming buttermilk-laced bread makes me incredibly nostalgic. I share her recipe and technique here.

Note: Remember that trick a couple of posts ago where you make buttermilk using vinegar or lemon juice in regular milk? That will not work with this cornbread. You must use real buttermilk!

First, the ingredients:

1 3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 1/4 cup white cornmeal (yellow will be too sweet)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp oil (vegetable, olive, canola)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Pour the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mix with a spoon. Add the buttermilk slowly, mixing as you add. Once all of the flour is mixed and the dough is a wet, sticky texture, it is ready.

Coat the inside of an 8-inch cast-iron skillet with the oil, and dump in the dough.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once the bread has cooled, cut into eighths for serving.

Homemade Croutons

Nothing makes a salad more flavorful (or if you're not a fan of salads, tolerable) than some delicious, crunchy croutons. But did you know that you can make these at home, easily, while at the same time using valuable food that you might otherwise throw out? You can!

Getting rid of leftovers the tasty way!

You will need:

Bread -- homemade or store-bought*

Spray olive oil

garlic salt

pepper

other seasonings of your choice

*Not moldy, but stale or close to stale. Leftover bagels are my favorite and can create some very interesting flavors, but any bread is fine. Note that the texture of the bread will reflect in the texture of the croutons.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

While it is heating, cut the bread into 1-inch squares.

Spray a baking sheet with the olive oil, and spread the bread squares onto it.

Spray the squares lightly, then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper and any other spices that you feel like -- paprika, chili powder, lemon pepper, parmesean cheese, curry powder -- the possibilities are open!

Bake for 15 minutes, then enjoy on a salad, soup, or as a snack by themselves! Will keep for a week in an airtight container.