Blueberry Cornbread -- Baked in the Skillet That Holds Us Together

Back to school. Year thirty-three. I stood in my kitchen at Hodge Elementary at five-thirty on Monday morning and turned on the lights and the ovens and the vent fans, and the room hummed to life the way it does every August, and I thought: thirty-three years. That's longer than some marriages. Longer than some lives. I have spent thirty-three years in this room making food for children who need it, and I would do it for thirty-three more if my knees would let me.

Four hundred and thirty-eight students this year. The hallways were loud and the cafeteria was louder and the new kindergartners looked like baby birds — wide-eyed, mouths open, not sure where to go. I stood behind the counter and smiled at every one of them because the first lunch at a new school is terrifying and a smile from the lady with the spoon can make it less so. One little girl — I swear, she could not have been more than five — looked at her tray and looked at me and said, "Is this all for me?" I said, "Every bite, baby." She said, "Thank you." I said, "You're welcome." And there it is. The contract. I feed you. You eat. We do this every day until June. That's the deal.

The quiet girl is in fourth grade now. She walked into the cafeteria like she owned it — not loud, not showy, just confident. She had her friend from last year and a new friend too, and they sat at a table in the middle of the room. Not the corner. The middle. I noticed. I noticed everything about that girl, and the fact that she chose the middle of the room instead of the corner told me more than a report card ever could.

Kayla goes back to Savannah State next week for her senior year. Her last year. She's going to graduate in May with a BSN, and then she's going to take her boards, and then she's going to be a nurse, and I am going to cry at that graduation so hard they'll need to bring me a towel. She spent her last Saturday of summer here, in my kitchen, making cornbread with me. She doesn't need me to show her anymore — she makes it perfectly, in Hattie Pearl's skillet, with the right amount of buttermilk and the right amount of heat. She makes it because she wants to. Because the kitchen is where we are together. Because the skillet connects us to everyone who came before.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Kayla doesn’t need me to stand over her shoulder anymore — she knows the weight of the batter, the smell of the butter browning in Hattie Pearl’s skillet, the exact moment the edges pull away from the sides. This blueberry cornbread is what we made together that last Saturday before she went back to Savannah State, and every bite of it tastes like pride and buttermilk and the particular sweetness of watching someone you love become exactly who they were meant to be. Make it in a cast iron skillet if you have one. Make it with somebody you love if you can.

Blueberry Cornbread

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, well shaken
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus 1 tablespoon for the skillet
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen work too — do not thaw)

Instructions

1. Heat the skillet. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 400°F. Letting the skillet heat with the oven is what gives the cornbread its crisp, golden bottom.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and honey until smooth.
4. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix or the cornbread will be tough.
5. Fold in the blueberries. Add the blueberries and fold in carefully with a spatula, two or three strokes only, so they don’t burst and streak the batter.
6. Butter the skillet. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven using oven mitts. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. The butter will sizzle — that’s right.
7. Bake. Pour the batter into the hot buttered skillet and spread it evenly. Return to the oven and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool and serve. Let the cornbread rest in the skillet for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve warm, straight from the skillet.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 245 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 37g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 310mg