Buckeye Beans & Herbs Buckeye Corn Bread

As Americans, we often say “as American as apple pie.” Perhaps what we should say is “as American as corn bread.” The earliest known recipe for apple pie comes from England and was written by none other than Geoffrey Chaucer, and apples themselves were actually brought to America by English settlers, primarily for the purpose of making cider. Corn, on the other hand, is indigenous to America, and corn and cornmeal have been used by Native Americans in many traditional dishes, including corn bread, for thousands of years.

When it comes to modern cornbread, there are two schools of thought, Southern and Northern. Whereas Southern corn bread is traditionally made with buttermilk or sour cream and little to no flour or sugar, Northern corn bread is traditionally made with whole milk and healthy helpings of both flour and sugar.

Now, to each there own, and there cannot be a wrong way to make corn bread—unless you manage to forget the cornmeal—but Northern corn bread is the preferred style of one local Washington company, Buckeye Beans & Herbs.

Buckeye Beans & Herbs is named for the place of the company’s inception, Buckeye, Washington, a small town on the Little Spokane River, just north of the city of Spokane itself and is a company that strives to “combine old-fashioned, homemade flavor with quick modern convenience.”

Buckeye Beans & Herbs offers several old-fashioned, homemade-style soups, such as their Buckeye Bean soup, Great Leap’n Lentil soup, and Beefed up Barley soup. And to serve alongside any of these soups, Buckeye Beans & Herbs also offers their “light and luscious” Buckeye Corn Bread.

Buckeye Beans & Herbs’ Buckeye Corn Bread certainly is light and luscious, and it is extremely easy to prepare. All you need is your Buckeye Corn Bread mix, two large eggs, a half cup of oil, a whole cup of milk (your preference), a large bowl, your favorite stirring utensil, an eight-inch-by-eight-inch baking pan, an oven, and no more than forty minutes.

First beat your eggs together with your oil and milk in your mixing bowl then gently stir in your Buckeye Corn Bread mix. Pour the mixture into your pan, place your pan in your oven that has been preheated to 375°, wait thirty-five to forty minutes, and voila!

It is recommended to let your fresh Buckeye Corn Bread cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving, but don’t let it sit too long, for as well as Buckeye Corn Bread keeps for later consumption, those first warm bites are what baking fresh corn bread is all about.

Fresh out of the oven, Buckeye Beans & Herbs Buckeye Corn Bread is aromatic, with a bouquet that is slightly sweet with a wholesome graininess. With your first bite, the sweetness continues but is never dominating, holding just at the edges, complimenting the comforting blend of cornmeal and flour that starts out light and airy and soon becomes full and chewy in your mouth. Not so sweet as a pastry and hearty enough to complement other savory eats, Buckeye Beans & Herbs Buckeye Corn Bread is perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or just the occasional (or more than occasional) snack.

America has given the world blues and jazz, baseball and (American) football, we were the first country to land on the moon and the first country to recognize frying absolutely anything makes it better. And America also gave the world cornbread, and Buckeye Beans & Herbs Buckeye Corn Bread from Buckeye, Washington, is a wonderful continuation, and modernization, of a traditional food passed down from the very first Americans.

Pick up your own box of Buckeye Beans & Herbs Buckeye Corn Bread, or one of their fabulous soups, at your friendly neighborhood Seven Coffee Roasters Market and Café in Ravenna today!