Hoosier Daddy!!! Cornbread

Random Indiana Factoid: People from Indiana are called Hoosiers. Not Indianans or Indianites, Hoosiers. No one really knows where the word came from although legends abound. I only remember two from my high school history class. The first involved a drunken bar room brawl in which some poor fellows ear was chopped off with a knife. Afterwards when the bartender was sifting through debris he gingerly picked up the lost ear, and inquired, "Whose ear?". An interesting story...although perhaps it would be more feasible and food blog worthy if someone was cooking up pig ears and inquired whose ear it was he had just fried up. Probably not mine. The other story involves the fact that in the olden days Indiana folk would always call out , "Whose there?" When someone knocked on the door. Really? I think everyone would be called a Hoosier if that were true. Hmmm...perhaps I should do some more research into this pigs ear theory. Maybe Hoosiers were once known for their voracious consumption of pigs ears...we do have a lot of pork production.

Anyways, now that I have finished that diatribe, I shall explain my real purpose here which is to give you a pretty tasty recipe for Cornbread *Ahhhh (Angels sing)*. Corn is one of the chief exports of Indiana, mostly for animal feed, but we get great sweet corn in the summer, and it has always been one of my favorite foods. Corn on the cob, corn bread, corn pudding, corn muffins, corn mush, popcorn, could it get any better? Oh, and in case you were wondering we also export soy beans, pop corn (different from regular corn), and duck. Yes duck, we are the largest producer/exporter of duck in the United States thanks to Maple Leaf Farms : http://www.mapleleaffarms.com/1, but back to the cornbread!

This recipe was adapted from a healthy corn bread recipe I found online and Ina Gartens recipe for jalapeno cornbread. It is a coarse, savory bread with just a pinch of spice. Overall I would give it a 3/5 stars. I would have liked to have a bit more of the spice come through, and in the end I would like the bread to be a but more moist. Hopefully I will have a chance to improve upon it soon.

Hoosier Daddy Cornbread Recipe:

Servings: 12 Calories per Serving: 130

1 cup of flour
1 1/2 cup of corn meal
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease an 8x8 baking dish. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Stir in milk, eggs and jalapenos until it has just been combined. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test.

If you are worried about calories this is relatively safe! Made with 2% milk it is 130 calories per serving, which is good for a corn bread recipe! I hope you enjoy it, I certainly am, and Max said it was a great cornbread that was delightfully different from those he had in the past. That's all for now, happy baking!