Gluten-Free Pantry: Yankee Cornbread & Muffin Mix

To me it seemed like an eternity before spring finally got itself going this year. Amidst torrential rains and flooding I opted to make Rob some Corn and Black Bean cakes a la Rachael Ray.

Basically the recipe calls for cornbread mix, black beans, cumin and scallions. The trick of course was to find a gluten free cornbread mix that would make this recipe work as a celiac safe meal.

Luckily I had some Gluten-Free Pantry Yankee Cornbread & Muffin Mix I had been meaning to try.

According to the package instructions, Gluten-Free Pantry cornbread requires sugar, low-fat buttermilk (not as easy to locate as you might think), 1 egg lightly beaten and 6 tbs. melted butter.

But then they also had their own recipe for corncakes which I followed instead. This asked for 2 eggs, 2 cups buttermilk, 1 tbs. sugar, 2 tbs. oil, the mix, and then I added a 15 oz. can of black beans (rinsed), some cumin and some scallions.

I stirred it all up, heated a griddle and poured the pancakes. The first four didn't brown so nicely, but by the second round the griddle was the right temperature and the Smart Balance sizzled on the pan. The cakes cooked up nicely and we were ready to eat.

So these were rather tasty- I guess a bit filling, but I liked the lightness of the cornbread. It gave great texture and flavor but was not overpowering. These cakes can be eaten with maple syrup and butter, salsa and/or grated cheese. We opted for the salsa which gave the cakes a little more punch. It really made for a high comfort gluten free meal, and I had lots of batter left over for the next day's breakfast.

I will definitely look for Gluten Free Pantry's cornbread mix again and try it by itself next time.

Ingredients:
Corn meal, white rice flour, baking powder (corn), salt.
May contain traces of soy.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 3 tbs dry mix (38 g)
Servings per container: 8
Calories: 130
Calories from fat: 0
Total fat: 0 g
Sat fat: 0 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 310 mg
Total Carb: 30 g
Dietary fiber: 0 g
Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 3 g

Gluten-Free Pantry Yankee Cornbread & Muffin Mix is gluten/wheat free, trans fat free and cholesterol free.

Corn Bread: Food-Tek

Last Sunday we were pretty much out of everything, so I served up some wheat free, gluten free enriched minute Corn Bread from Food-Tek.

So yes, the corn bread was finished in a matter of seconds, but perhaps a little more effort might be worth it. First off the Food-Tek corn bread comes in a bag containing 4 packs of mix. Also included is a plastic measuring cup and a plastic container to heat the bread in. Though I'm not a fan of all that plastic, I can understand the need to be able to put this stuff together at home. It still seems like a waste and a little to space-age for me.

The instructions say to fill the thimble-sized measuring cup to the 40 cc mark- only there is no 40 cc mark. I spent about 30 seconds trying to get the water measurement correct. Finally I added the water to the container, then added the corn bread mix. It tells you to shake vigorously for 30-45 seconds which I did, then removed a dripping cover, and loaded the small container into the microwave and gave it about 1 minute of waves. I then inverted the container onto a plate - which did not come out cleanly- and gave to Rob to try. Unfortunately the corn bread was more like a cake of sugar, lacked flavor, and didn't have a whole lot of nutrition.

While I do think any company that makes gluten free products deserves to be commended, this corn bread certainly wasn't on top of our list. I will say though, that this probably is a perfect product for kids who have celiac. They can make it up with ease, take it along to a friend's house, and never be without a snack.

Ingredients:
Corn starch, sugar, corn oil, yellow corn meal, nonfat dry milk, dried egg, vanilla, baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, salt, citric acid, niacin, thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 35 g
Servings per container: 8
Calories: 150
Calories from fat: 35
Total fat: 4 g
Sat fat: 0 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 180 mg
Total Carb: 26 g
Dietary fiber: 0 g
Sugars: 13 g
Protein: 2 g