As the holidays are upon us and things start getting extra busy, One-Pot Cornbread is a great meal option! It’s delicious, and simple to make.

I start with my favorite cornbread recipe (minus the sugar) as the base and add goodies from different food groups to make it a complete meal: black beans for protein; red bell peppers, zucchini, corn, cilantro, jalapenos and tomatoes for veggies; and cheese for dairy.

I just add all the extras to the batter and bake as usual. The photo shows a gluten- free version of this recipe; I use primarily sorghum flour to replace the all-purpose white flour, so it looks a little darker.

This cornbread is great for busy holiday shopping excursions, travel days or on days when you want to have something ready beforehand so that you can come home to meal that’s already cooked.

It pairs great with salad (I like pairing it with this one), soup or by itself. It tastes great toasted the day after for breakfast or lunch.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white or yellow corn meal

1c. all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 egg replacer eggs, beaten until foamy

1 cup corn kernels

1 cup diced zucchini

1/2 cup red bell peppers, finely diced

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

1 can black beans, drained

3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 jalapeno, cut into 9 thin rounds

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine meal, flour, baking powder, herbs, black pepper and salt in medium bowl.
3. Combine the buttermilk, oil and egg replacer eggs in small bowl; mix well.
4. Add the buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended.
5. Fold in the corn, zucchini, red peppers, cilantro and beans.
6. Pour into prepared pan. Top with tomatoes and cheese, then place the jalapeno rounds on top, spacing them so that when you cut the corn bread each piece will have a round on top.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature. Refrigerate for later consumption.

ENJOY!

GENERAL NOTES

• Recipe may be doubled. Use greased 13×9-inch baking pan; bake as above.
• For muffins, batter into 10 to 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake in pre-heated 400°F oven for 15 minutes.

VEGAN NOTES

• To substitute the buttermilk: add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup almond or coconut milk. Let sit for 10-15 minutes and then use in recipe as is.
• Omit cheese or substitute with your choice of vegan cheese.

GLUTEN-FREE NOTES

For a gluten-free version, substitute the all-purpose flour with:

• 1/2 cup sorghum*
• 1/2 cup Betty Hagman’s Four Bean Flour Blend (my favorite gf flour substitute)*

YOGIC COOKING NOTES

• Add 1 tsp ground jalapeno with the veggies to enkindle your agni (digestive fire) and help you with your digestion.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric to the batter for a vibrant yellow color, as well as to help with digestion and the balancing of blood sugar. Turmeric is an amazing spice that has a tremendous amount of medicinal healing properties. My motto is, the more turmeric you can get in your diet the better!

This recipe comes courtesy of Kajal Dhabalia, a long-time disciple of Shri Anandi Ma and one of the main cooks for retreats and other events at the DYC Center in Antioch, CA For many more recipes and interesting reading, be sure to check out Kajal’s blog at www.wholesomesoul.com