Sweet Cornbread

This is the most amazing cornbread! The recipe is from an old friend, Wendy Smith. It is moist, sweet, and not overly crumbly like most cornbread tends to be. Sam had never liked cornbread until he had this kind--now he loves it!  It comes together very quickly, so it's a great last-minute side. We love it with a little honey drizzled on top!

Pictured with Vegetarian Chili

Cream together:

1 stick butter

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk***

Add:

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. flour

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in a square pan. (If doubled and put in a 9x13 pan, it is not as good.)

***I almost always use 1 Tbsp. vinegar+milk to equal 1 cup instead of buttermilk.

How to Can Pineapple

Canning pineapple had never occurred to me until I saw a post about it on my friend Melissa's blog. It's not much different than canning peaches or pears. When pineapples went on sale for $1 each here, I jumped at the chance and bought 20 to can.

1-Chop pineapple as desired.

Note:  I didn't let the pineapple ripen enough and my canned pineapple is really lacking in flavor. Make sure the pineapple is ripe before starting for best results.

2-Place pineapple in clean jars.

I used quart jars because they were cheaper, but pint and half-pint jars are the more ideal sizes for pineapple, since you don't typically use 4 cups at a time (at least I don't).

3-Add 1/3 cup white sugar.

4-Fill up jar with water, leaving 1/2 inch head space.

5-Bring lids to a boil.

6-Wipe rims of jars off, ensuring sugar grains are removed.

7-Place lids on jars and screw on rings.

8-Process in steam or waterbath canner for 20 minutes, according to your canner's instructions.

Melissa doesn't waste anything, really--she even dehydrates the rind and grinds it into powder to use in drinks and flavorings. She takes the cores and covers them with water, cooks them on the stove for several hours, and then strains the juice into jars to can as well.

The juice didn't have a particularly strong flavor, but it would add a nice punch to some Sprite or something.

Melissa also said she has a recipe for pickled pineapple cores that tastes like wassail. I'm hoping to get that recipe from her and try it for next time!