Savory Cornbread Muffins With Jalapenos and Corn

When I clicked on my link to this recipe found in the NYTimes, a little box popped up informing me that I only had 2 of 20 articles left for free this month. Boo you NYTimes! Boo! I am a little bitter about them making me pay for digital access, but I guess all is fair game and who am I to get access to such never-ending everything for free? I have only been religiously reading their paper for over ten years now. I am sad.

But anyway. The muffins. Not my favorite, either, although I might make them again to serve with a potato soup and some collared greens. The article suggests serving them with soup and salad for lunch and I suspect that might be their best use. They are not bad, just not my favorite. They are a rare savory muffin, which makes them different than most muffins which are sweet, and thus versatile in helpful ways. I served them at a visiting teaching breakfast with the Southwest Potatoes also recorded on this blog, and other women brought orange juice and fruit and so all in all it was a well-put together meal and very tasty, but the muffins are not good enough as a stand alone item to bring as a potluck item. Only as part of a synchronized meal. I think they might be better with white instead of wheat flour, as over all the muffin has a heavy and not chipper feeling to it and if I make this again I think I will try it. I did add the cheese-- sharp cheddar-- and would do so again.

From Martha Rose Shulman's Recipes for Health series: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/health/nutrition/02recipehealth.html?ref=recipesforhealth#

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably organic stone-ground
1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons minced jalapeños
1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack positioned in the upper third. Oil or butter muffin tins.

2. Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the sage. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and honey. Whisk or stir the cornmeal mixture into the liquid mixture. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the corn kernels, minced jalapeño and optional cheese.

3. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.

Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tins.

Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator, and for a few months in the freezer.

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12-muffin yield; does not include optional cheese): 161 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 23 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 362 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein