Dear pregnancy jeans,
Thank you for continuing to be a major comfort four months and three weeks after my daughter was born. Even though I can now squeeze my ‘new’ body and it’s +7 lbs into a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans, I choose to wear you. You provide extra warmth across my belly in the winter, don’t give me a muffin top, and never scoff at me for eating things as delicious as cornbread with salted & browned honey butter.

With sincerest gratitude,
T

This cornbread is good, but the salted and browned honey butter is outstanding. I could forego the cornbread and eat the butter solo. When diving into the jar I have to continually remind myself that it is butter so as to not eat it in its entirety. Basically, what I’m saying is make this. Make this now. If you don’t have the ingredients for corn bread, screw it and just make the butter. (Unless you are vegan, I know you have butter in your fridge.) Put it on anything and everything: a slice of toast, a piece of chicken, a morning muffin, pancakes, a cinnamon raisin bagel, a ham panini with gruyere and thyme. The list is never ending.

CORNBREAD – adapted from Grandmother’s Buttermilk Cornbread

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup salted butter + a little more for greasing
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs (BOOBY BOOST: kill the eggs and substitute 2 Tbsp flax seed meal mixed with 4 Tbsp water)
• 1 cup buttermilk (No buttermilk? No problem. Substitute 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp whole milk. Add 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or white vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes.)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 or 9×9 pan with parchment and grease with butter. Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl on medium until fully melted. Wisk in sugar and eggs (or flax concoction). Wisk in buttermilk. Wisk in baking soda. Wisk in cornmeal, flour, and salt. Batter will still be lumpy and this is fine. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

SALTED & BROWNED HONEY BUTTER – barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sticks salted butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 pinches of Maldon Sea Salt, Sel de Guerande or other flake or thick crystal salt

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan, melt one stick of butter over medium heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. The butter will melt, then foam. The foam will stay, but underneath, the butter will first turn clear golden and then start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently with a silicon spatula, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. While it is cooling, leave the other half of the butter out to soften slightly (semi-firm is fine).

Whip softened butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the room temperature browned butter, honey and salt continue whipping until thoroughly combined. Chill butter in fridge until a nice spreadable consistency, or until needed.