“If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
I know my dad’s answer would be dimsum. That is a bit of a cheat answer because within dimsum, there are so many different types of food. My elementary school-self would’ve probably answered with sushi; I adored sushi as a kid and would ask for it every time my birthday rolled around. Now, this is a much more difficult question to answer. Pancakes or stuffing? Almond butter or pumpkin? I have too many favourite foods to count and it would only be discrimination if I picked just one. To provide a concrete (yet still a bit of a cheat) answer, I would have to settle on Sweet Tomatoes, aka Souplantation. Whaaaat?! A chain restaurant? Hear me out on this one.
For those that aren’t familiar with Sweet Tomatoes, it is essentially a salad and soup buffet. With a build-your-own salad bar, about eight different soups made from scratch, hot pasta, unlimited soft serve frozen yogurt, and warm baked goods, this is where I would dine for the rest of my life, if I ever had to make such a decision.
Amongst the baked goodies that periodically emerge from the oven are buttermilk cornbread squares. With a generous smear of honey butter (the only time I’ll voluntarily use butter), my dad and I go bonkers for this mildly sweet cornbread every time we visit Sweet Tomatoes. I make sure to save room for one or two squares of cornbread, and a mountain of chocolate lava cake à la mode. (My ideal way of indulging)
Since the closest Sweet Tomatoes is a six-hour drive away from Vancouver, I set out to create a vegan (beegan, to be exact) and gluten free cornbread to enjoy at home. The bit of crunch from the cornmeal amidst the fluffy and moist bread, the bursts of sweet corn kernels, and hint of honey make this rendition of “buttermilk” cornbread irresistible. Enjoy one with a bowl of Easy Vegan Chilli!
Note about pan size: I have tested this recipe in an 8-inch square pan, baking it at 400⁰F for 20 to 25 minutes. This works just fine but may not be ideal for packing into plastic baggies; they will crumble in your backpack! Once cut into squares, I found that the edge pieces held together better than the middle pieces, which is why I ultimately opted to bake them in muffin tins.
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ¾ cup oats, ground into flour
- ¼ cup quinoa, ground into flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup honey*
- ½ cup cooked corn kernels
- Preheat oven to 400⁰F and spray a 12 cup muffin pan with coconut oil or another non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine vinegar with almond milk in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes; this will act as "buttermilk".
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, oat flour, quinoa flour, salt, and baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
- Melt the coconut oil with the honey in a microwave-safe bowl and whisk to combine. Add the coconut oil mixture to the "buttermilk" and give it a rough mix.
- Add the wet mixture and cooked corn to the flour mixture and stir until well combined. Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan with a large ice cream scoop and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Remove from oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack to continue cooling. Best enjoyed warm.
Leave a Reply