Chili and Cornbread

This is American food! Not French food.
And probably not Mexican food either.

I had some leftovers from the other night from a chicken roasted with some of my new Provencal salt and herb mixture inside. This made a good basis for white chili, including corn, white canellini beans, onions, chili spices, flour-thickened sauce, and a can of medium-hot peppers. The white-chili recipes I found -- surprisingly -- start with raw, not leftover, chicken, so I just guessed at how to do it. The result was quite nice. I also made cornbread; though I've given a nearly-identical recipe before, I'll include it here anyway.

Cornbread Recipe

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4-6 ounces of cheddar or similar cheese, grated & divided into 2 oz and 4 oz parts

3 small medium hot peppers from the farmers market (or jalapenos or bell peppers)

¼ cup chopped onion (optional)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan.

Remove seeds from the peppers. Mince 1 of the peppers. Slice the other 2 peppers. Or prepare the bell peppers similarly.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and 4 ounces of the grated cheese in a medium bowl. Combine the 1 minced pepper & optional onion, eggs, milk, & oil, in a small bowl; mix well. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until blended. Pour into the prepared pan.

Arrange the pepper slices evenly on top of the batter and sprinkle with the remaining 2 ounces of cheese (this extra cheese may be omitted). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Turn oven to broil and briefly finish browning the cheese on top. Serve warm or room temperature.

Makes 8-12 servings.

And a Walk in the Woods

Now that we are home, our walks are in local parks. Today we discovered a new natural area under the curatorship of the Natural Area Preservation group in Ann Arbor. It's called "The Bluffs." It's pretty, though there are other prettier walks in the area. A few photos: