Welcome to the Hawkeye State

After many suggestions from friends and family I have decided to join the blogging ranks with "We Do Amazing Things With Corn." While it is not Iowa's official state motto, "we do amazing things with corn" does nevertheless seem an appropriate claim for those in the Hawkeye State to make, as it does seem, at least during the summer, that corn is everywhere. That said, there is much more to the state than corn, hogs, and soybeans, such as the Iowa Caucuses!

When I moved to Iowa this past August I decided to attend as many presidential candidate campaign events as possible. So far, I've had the opportunity to go to a number of events attended or sponsored by the Democratic candidates including, a rally for John Edwards at the Hamburg Inn in Iowa City and another on the town green in Tipton, Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong Presidential Forum in Cedar Rapids, an AARP sponsored debate on healthcare and retirement issues at the Adler Theater in Davenport, and Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry.

Although it's still a few months until caucus night, Iowa is in full-on campaign mode. And, I have to admit that I think I've got a bit of campaign fever myself. I'm pulling for John Edwards, but am planning on attending as many events as I can featuring other candidates, as well. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

Senator Tom Harkin's Steak Fry, 2007

Senator Tom Harkin's Steak Fry, 2007

Cheers!

Amazing Corn Recipe #1:
Simple, Basic, and Yummy Corn Bread (it's vegan!)

2 tablespoons margarine, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg replacer "eggs" (1 tablespoon egg replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons soy milk)
2/3 cup faux buttermilk (2/3 cup soy milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar)
2/3 cup soymilk

1. Put oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square pan baking pan with margarine or cooking spray.
2. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Push the dry ingredients to the side of the bowl to make a well.
3. Add the "eggs," faux buttermilk, and soymilk to the bowl and stir together the wet and dry ingredients until almost combined. Add melted margarine and stir until ingredients are just combined.
4. Pour the batter into the greased pan. Bake until the top of the cornbread is golden brown and edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan, about 25 minutes.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Cut cornbread into squares and serve warm.

This can be made non-vegan by using butter, eggs, buttermilk, and regular milk. You can also jazz it up with whatever you may have on hand, such as cheddar cheese (this would not, of course, be vegan), jalapeno, chipotle in adobo, green onion, or corn kernels.