Honey Cayenne Cornbread Muffins & New Goals
Hello again and Happy New Year! I hope the first few days of 2012 have gotten off to a great start for all of you. I've enjoyed my blogging break, but as nice as it is to be away for a few days, it's even nicer to be back here in my little space on the Internet. I am fizzing with energy and excited about the possibilities that lie ahead in this new year.
I can't say that 2011 was a great year for me on the blogging front. I let some personal matters affect my enthusiasm and motivation for blogging and lost sight of one of the activities that has brought me such joy over the last three years. I didn't post as often as I wanted to and I didn't cook as often as I wanted to, either. I also didn't do much to improve my photography and food styling skills.
But 2011 was certainly not all negative. It was another year of good health for both me and Peter. It was another year filled with the love, support and encouragement of family and friends. It was the year I went to my first blogging conference and met several of my food blogging friends. It was the year Peter and I traveled to San Diego to see my cousin graduate from Marines Reconnaissance Training. It was the year I met Lidia Bastianich, my most favorite celebrity chef. It was the year that one of my cookie recipes was featured in the debut issue of Foodiecrush Magazine {thank you, Heidi!}. It was the year that Peter and I celebrated being married 12 years. And, it was the year Peter and I welcomed a new furry friend into our lives, who turned 1 on New Year's Day. For these things, and so many more, I have many reasons to be thankful.
I just couldn't resist buying Sienna a party hat for her birthday!
Although I took a few days away from my blog, I've hardly been idle. Relaxing isn't exactly in my DNA. I took the time to reflect on all of the things I want to continue improving on, both for myself and for my blog. Like last year, I sat down to write out my goals for the new year, and once again, I'll be sharing them with you here. I also baked some delicious Honey Cayenne Cornbread Muffins the other night to accompany a big pot of homemade chili, and I will share the recipe with you at the end of this post.
Flavia's Flavors 2012 Blogging and Food Goals
Dream big.
Last August, the food blogging community grieved alongside Jennifer Perillo when she lost her husband unexpectedly. Despite her heartbreak, she has maintained an optimistic outlook and has kept encouraging others through her friendships and the thoughtful posts on her blog. Her biggest piece of advice has been to "Dream Big", and it's something I plan on doing for both my blog and my personal life.
Clean and Mindful Eating.
I have been a healthy eater all my life. I grew up eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and always ate balanced meals. I don't need to make any drastic improvements to the way I eat, but last year, I fell into some bad eating habits: I drank soda {and too much of it}, I stopped taking my multivitamin, and consumed too much sugar. I started to wean myself from these three things during the holidays and it was surprisingly easy. I think it was because I was actully tired of consuming these things, so it wasn't hard to turn them down. I've replaced soda with sparkling water with a wedge of fresh lemon or lime. I started taking my multivitamin. I'm not going to give up sugar entirely, but I'm consuming much less of it. It's amazing how much better I'm already starting to feel. 2012 will be a continuation of my efforts to cook and eat as cleanly and mindfully as possible.
Go Meatless.
Not completely--otherwise, my carnivorous husband would form a one-man picket line in the kitchen. Although I'm pretty sure I could live very well for a while as a vegetarian, I'd be lying if I didn't mention how much I love a good burger. And bacon. But we have all heard that too much animal protein in our diets can be detrimental to our overall health and that the majority of our food consumption should be plant-based. So this year and beyond, I am making it a priority to cook meatless at least once a week, but hopefully more often. If you are thinking of doing this, check out Meatless Monday for some excellent articles, tips and recipes. I also highly recommend Pam Anderson's new cookbook, Cook Without a Book: Meatless Meals. I bought a copy last year and love it.
For the times we will buy and eat meat, I plan on making it a point to buy higher quality meat, pork and poultry. Yes, it's more expensive, but it's also healthier because the animals have been raised on a proper diet, have not been given hormones, and have been raised and slaughtered humanely. I am also planning on researching local meat and poultry purveyors in my area so I can support local farmers.
Waste less food.
I don't consider myself to be incredibly wasteful with food, but there's always room for improvement. Last year on her blog, Lidia Bastianich asked her readers to join her in her commitment to waste less food and it's something I am committed to doing every year.
Develop more original recipes.
This is my biggest challenge as a home cook and food blogger. I'm not very experienced at creating my own recipes, and it's something I want to learn to continue expanding my cooking and baking skills.
Learn to bake bread.
This was a goal I set last year and I never followed through. I'm hoping 2012 will be the year I spend a lot of time making homemade bread. Goodnes knows I have plenty of wonderful cookbooks to learn from!
Improve my photography and food styling skills.
Last year, I didn't spend as much time as I wanted using my camera or studying food styling. The other day, I bought a binder to hold pictures of beautifully styled food, so I can study how other bloggers and food stylists arrange food on plates and use light and color to make a beautiful food photograph.
Introduce variety.
This year, I will be continuing the "Flavia's Fundamentals" feature on my blog, but I will now be presenting it to you in video! I'll be honest, I am very camera shy when it comes to being on video, and after some cajoling {and several panic attacks on my part}, Peter finally convinced me it would be a great feature to add to my blog. I am in the process of creating a YouTube channel for Flavia's Flavors so you can subscribe. I will also announce all video posts on both my Twitter profile and my blog's Facebook page, so stay tuned...my "Welcome" video will be airing soon!
And there they are in black and white--my blogging and food goals for 2012. I'm looking forward to another year of sharing recipes, stories and photographs with you. Thank you to all of you who take the time read my blog. I appreciate it more than you know.
Now for the first recipe of the new year!
Honey Cayenne Cornbread Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal {I used stone-ground because I like the crunch, but finely ground works too}
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper {use 1/4 tsp. if you want less "bite"}
4 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 cup corn kernels, canned or frozen {drain and rinse the canned ones; defrost the frozen ones}
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.Sift the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper into a bowl. Set aside.
Melt the butter and set it aside to let it cool slightly.
In a medium size measuring cup or bowl, combine the buttermilk, honey and egg and whisk with a fork to combine. Add in the cooled, melted butter and whisk to combine.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together. Do not overmix. Fold in the corn kernels.
Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.
Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Using an ice cream scoop will help you distribute even amounts of batter.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the edges are a light golden brown and crisped lightly. A toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin shoud come out clean. Let the muffins stand for 5-10 minutes in the muffin pan before removing and serving. Serve warm with butter and honey if desired.
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YUM!! Honey and cayenne! Greta flavors! Love these :)
These are all fantastic goals, Flavia - ones I'm sure you will reach this year. It was such a pleasure to meet you at EVO and I hope we have another chance to see each other in 2012.
buon anno tesoro
Happy New Year, and happy birthday to Sienna; she's gotten so big!! I just want to reach into the photo and squeeze her little cheeks. I love all of your goals, and a lot of them are similar to mine (especially more meatless meals)! Here's to a wonderful and prosperous 2012. :-)
All of your goals sound great! I've been trying to waste less food lately too. It can be tough sometimes. I need to try that cornbread recipe. The sweet honey and kick from the cayenne sound awesome together!
Love the addition of cayenne in the muffins! I would LOVE those!
Happy 2012 to you, Flavia!
I'm so proud of you for giving in to Peter's idea of video! I think it will be an exciting feature and I'll definitely tune in. And thanks for sharing the link to Meatless Monday! Love the idea and will take on that goal as well.