Life Eternal. Free writing. 9.29.08 (Corn Bread)

Sepia pictures
Some torn
Some stained.
Some ripped
from the frames
That held them
prisoners for ages.
Smiling faces,
nameless now.
Destined for some antique shop?
Or maybe Goodwill?
Ticket stubs of
old movies,
plays,
and concerts.

Scraps of paper with
Old phone numbers
Meaningless dates
Nonsensical scribbling.

All that
Remains
Of lives
Lived long ago.

Long before
I ever thought
Long before
I ever dreamed
Long before
I ever breathed
Long before
I ever was.

Black and white
Sepia toned.
Unfamiliar
Yet familiar faces
The noses
The eyes
The full lips smile.
That smile could be mine.

Later,
I look in the mirror
With my grandfather’s eyes
Furrowing my great grandmother’s brow
Wrinkling nana’s nose.
I carefully put my mother’s hair
up into a bun on my head.
I laugh my father’s laugh
When the realization hits--

The past lives on.
The present reflects
What came before.
There is continuity.
There is eternal life
For my ancestors—
Those I never
got a chance
to meet;
All I have to do
Is look
at myself
And
Smile.


Recipe: Corn Bread
I'm very connected with my past. When I think of my family, I think of cooking. My family LOOOOOOVES carbs. Especially in the form of corn. Corn fritters, corn tamales, corn casserole...corn muffins and CORN BREAD!

My dad makes a mean cornbread...mine is better, though I don't tell him that. :)

Melissa's Homemade Corn Bread (adapted from an old Quaker Corn Meal Recipe)

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup Corn Meal (I use yellow corn meal)
¼ cup of sugar (you may use Splenda sugar substitute aka sucralose—just make sure it is the kind that is equivalent cup for cup to sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup of milk (I use buttermilk for a nice flavor. You may also use skim milk.)
¼ cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil, better flavor.)
1 egg, beaten.
½ cup of fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 small can of diced green chiles (optional—IF YOU ARE NOT USING CORN BREAD FOR THANKSGIVING STUFFING.)
1/3 cup of cheese (I use cheddar or Monterrey Jack) + a little more to sprinkle on top of bread. (Cheese is optional...I only use it when I'm making corn muffins/bread to go with chili.)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease 8-9 inch pan OR muffin tin if you decide to make corn muffins. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, egg, and oil. Stir in corn and cheese. Mix. Pour into prepared pan/tin. I top the corn bread/muffins with a little cheddar cheese before I bake them. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.