Southern Style Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal;

1/3 cup boiling water;

3 or 4 teaspoons of granulated white sugar;

1 teaspoon baking powder;

¼ teaspoon baking soda;

½ teaspoon salt;

7/8 cup low-fat buttermilk;

1 large egg;

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled;

½ tablespoon flour;

1/3 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen);

cooking spray.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan or 8-inch square brownie pan with cooking spray. To a medium bowl, add 1/3 cup cornmeal. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 2/3 cup cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk it all together. Set aside.

Go back to the first bowl, with the 1/3 cup cornmeal. Pour water into it. Stir until it's thoroughly combined and stiff. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk until the mixture is lump-less. Whisk in egg and butter. Pour the flour mixture into the cornmeal mixture and stir until everything is barely moist. (If desired, before adding batter to the pan, stir corn kernels with flour in a small bowl until just covered. Then, add corn to the batter, stirring lightly until just mixed.)

Pour batter into pan. Bake 20 minutes or so, until it's risen slightly and top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Remove bread from pan. Cool on wire rack at least 5 minutes. Serve.