Pintos and Cornbread.

Good Afternoon!  It is 4:41 EST here in beautiful Roanoke, VA.  The temp outside is 86 deg F and inside my kitchen it is 81 deg F.  We have had a lovely day at the pool.  I started some pintos in my Le Creuset pot that I got for a wedding gift 15 years ago, and I was reminded that I had not explained the name of my blog to you.  There IS a reason for the name, "Pintos and Cornbread."

It all began last summer, in September of 2011.  I had been diagnosed with Celiacs disease and I was NOT handling it well.  If you know me personally, I have been grinding my own wheat and making bread from scratch.  Well, a Celiac can't have gluten, and without gluten, you don't get good bread.

That was a tough time in my life.  I had toyed with blogging before and thought it might be helpful to blog my Celiacs experience.  In a conversation one day with a BFF, I told her that , "I would rather eat pintos and cornbread than eat some of the gluten free c*** out there."  And the birth of Pintos and Cornbread at Wordpress was born.  (oh, just so you don't worry, I have IBS)

This blog had a very, very short life.  In October (?) I was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain, and a short colonoscopy later.....  no Celiacs for Catie!  Yee Haw.  Back to freshly milled bread I went and have not looked back.

I happen to really, really like the name:  Pintos and Cornbread.  The pinto is such an unassuming little bean and cornbread is ubiquitous here in the South.  I have eaten so much Jiffy in my life that the keratin in my nails is probably mostly made of corn!

Jiffy aside..........

I love cornbread.  Sweet cornbread.  Savory cornbread.  Cheddar-jalapeno cornbread.  Hush puppies.  The variations are endless, much to DH's delight...  He loves, adores, gobbles cornbread.

Again, I digress.....

So, my cast iron version of cornbread is going to be buzzing in a moment and I am going to top it with a slather of real butter and, since I don't have honey on hand, some kind of sweet syrup from the fridge.  It will cool for perhaps 30 minutes and I will bowl up the beans, clear the table, put out the ketchup and relish, and consume our bean feast. 

The name of my blog is Pintos and Cornbread.  A good reminder of my humble roots.  An excellent statement of frugality.  Nutritious as well.  There you have it.  A good, solid name for a humble blog about cooking and whatever else catches my fancy.

Blessings to you all, c

P.S. :  Tomorrow I will be turning the humble pinto leftovers into some sort of bean enchilada thing and a side of cilantro-lime rice.  You'll see.  It's gonna be GREAT.