Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Cookie Contest Winner, 2009 Veggie Awards, & a Cornbread Burger Bun recipe!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

A week has passed & many entries for the Bountiful Vegan Intention Cookie giveaway have come in. The answers have ranged from the funny, "my cookie name would be Wesley Snipes", to the more serious, "..I would be Ahimsa (non-violence), as that is my guiding principle.", to the downright delicious, "I'd be a sustainability cookie! It would be a renewable cookie that you never finished"! I had a great time reading all the answers! Thank you for the entries, but the moment of truth is here! The randomly selected winner is...karaxcupcake who said, "I'd be an Ants in the Pants cookie. Would most likely contain caffeine.". Congratulations Kara! Please email me melisser AT theurbanhousewife.com to claim your prize!

In other news, voting for the 2009 Veggie Awards by VegNews Magazine is here! I am honored to say I have been nominated for "Favorite Blog" alongside some excellent bloggers, & of course, there are many deserving people who were not nominated. VegNews ups the ante with the voting by making it so you can win awesome prizes by completing at least 50% of the survey. I found it easy to vote with friends like Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Chicago Soydairy, & more being nominated, but even if you just want to vote for little old me on page 5 of the survey, I won't be mad at ya!

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe, but inspiration struck a few weeks ago & I thought I would share it with you. We love cornbread & homemade burger buns around here, so why not combine the two & make a Cornbread Burger Bun? This is definitely a cross between a fluffy burger bun & cornbread, so don't go expecting it to be a rounded version of traditional cornbread. While I used a stand mixer, all steps can be done by hand as well.

Cornbread Buns
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp Earth Balance, melted (oil also works, but changes the flavor slightly)
2 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen
2 tbsp coarse cornmeal (optional)

Instructions:
Combine the water & yeast, gently stir, & set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the yeast forms a foamy layer on top of the water.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1/2 cup of the whole wheat pastry flour & 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour.

Add the yeast mixture & mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed until combined.

Add the salt, cornmeal, melted Earth Balance, agave nectar, & corn, continue mixing on medium-low speed until combined.

With the mixer running, add the remaining 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour & 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour. Continue mixing until you have a slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the sides of bowl.

Let the mixer knead the dough for about 1 minute, then transfer the dough to a large bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then with a dish towel & leave it to rise in a warm place until it has doubled (about 2 hours).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat & sprinkle with coarse cornmeal, if using.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface & knead for a few seconds, then divide the dough into 6 balls to make the rolls.

Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel & leave them to rise a second time for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until they puff up noticeably.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake for 20 to 25, switching the positions of the baking sheets halfway through.

Remove the buns from oven when rolls are golden on top, browned on the bottom & sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Let them cool on a wire rack for a bit, then slice them open & enjoy!

These would be great with homemade veggie burgers, but we kept the Southern theme going & filled them with black eyed peas & tender Collards Greens with tomatoes! While the recipe may seem time consuming, it's a very hands off process & a great Sunday afternoon project. The recipe yields 6, but could easily be doubled, as they freeze well! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

25 comments:

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

yum cornbread buns sound ace.

Leslie Richman said...

Congrats on being included in the Veg News awards!

Anonymous said...

I'll be making that recipe this week for sure! Looks awesome!

Good luck on the Veggie Awards - you deserve a win this year!

Hannah said...

Corny burger buns? Love it, what a great idea!

And congrats on the nomination. :)

Bianca said...

Cornbread buns sound sooooo freakin' good! I made some homemade black-eyed pea BBQ burgers the other night and they'd be fantastic eaten on cornbread buns!!!

Buy Soma said...

Yum. I can totally imagine this cornbread bun with lots of onions, grilled veggie burger with a generous topping of vegan chili..Plus a side of tortilla chips and salsa.

Anonymous said...

Those cornbread buns look fantastic! I def need to try those :)Congrats on the nomination!

Amey said...

wait! I thought *I* was supposed to win that cookie contest! :)

The cornbread burger buns are a great idea. I remember some veggie burgers made with fresh corn from Vegetarian Times years ago, they were soooo good. I bet the two would be super great together!

now I gotta go look for that recipe...

Leigh said...

I love the idea of cornbread burger buns. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Sounds like they would go great with some pinto bean burger patties.

Adriana said...

Dang, I missed out on the contest! Going to vote... NOW!

Anonymous said...

The buns look great! I should give that recipe a try. I'm always looking for ways to use cornmeal and love the idea of adding whole corn to the buns.

bukuchic said...

these look fabulous! would it be okay to use something else if you don't have a standing mixer? Such as a handheld mixer on low speed, or a non-wire whisk?

quarrygirl said...

NICE BUNS MELISSER!! thanks for the recipe. maybe i will make some and throw in the seitan we made over 4th of july!

i am rooting for you, hope you win the veggie award for best blog. <3

KitteeBee said...

melisser,
i like your buns. i mean, i really really like them. congrats on the vegnews nomination!

xo
kittee

aTxVegn said...

Cornbread buns sound fantastic!

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celine said...

your buns are looking mighty fahn.

Laura said...

those buns look awesome!! i love love love cornbread and these would be a wonderful addition to my kitchen!! i want to make these asap! thanks!!

Anonymous said...

this recipe will be great for me since I am yeast challenged at times. I really want a good bun recipe so I will try this out and see what happens on Friday Burger night.

dreaminitvegan said...

Congrats on your nomination!
Those buns look delish.

miss v said...

ants in the pants cookies sound yummy... something raisin-y. ;)

congratulations on the nomination from vegnews... i haven't voted yet, but it's on my to-do list.

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