As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of breakfast. When he was little, he lived near a delicious bakery, Le Boulanger. My family and I would hike on weekend mornings and have breakfast together before our day’s adventure. The place was always full of families, cyclists coming in from their morning ride, and neighbors walking their dogs. My mom and I always got the double chocolate muffin (it’s like a cake for breakfast!) and my dad always got a corn muffin and a big cup of coffee. I never understood why someone would choose corn when they could have chocolate.
I assumed it was something cultural; the corn muffin is the official muffin of his home state of Massachusetts (bet you didn’t know states had official muffins; by the way, California’s is the poppyseed muffin). Driven by curiosity about this fatherly foible, I tried his corn muffin one morning. And I loved it! From that point on, I was part of the Corn Muffin Team and have tried many more since. I find these delicious because they are small for muffins. Two make a great breakfast and one is perfect with afternoon tea. With jam, non-dairy or plain butter, these rolls have a light, crumbly texture and lots of chunks of whole corn. Make them and take them to the office, or surprise a friend. You can even throw them in the freezer and reheat them later for unexpected guests or a lazy Sunday morning.
1/2 cup coarse yellow cornmeal (for example, polenta)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of vegetable milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer
2 tablespoons of water
2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
3 spoonfuls of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup vegetable butter
1 1/2 cups whole kernel corn (canned or frozen)
Heat oven to 375ยบ. Prepare your muffin tins with paper cups or lightly grease them. Melt the butter and let cool. Combine the cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and milk in a small bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the egg replacer and water until thick and creamy. Combine flour, sugar, remaining salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the cooled melted butter and egg mixture to the cornmeal and stir. Add to dry ingredients. Add the corn kernels and stir. Pour the mixture into muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Chill before serving.