I have been thinking about affection. I got my hands on a lecture that Wendell Berry gave last week called “It All Turns On Affection.” I won’t do it the injustice of a summary; I’d much rather you read it yourself. I will say that what really stuck with me was the idea of letting affection be what compels you.
I read the speech on my train ride to the greenmarket on Saturday morning. I struggle with explaining my weekly farmer’s market ritual, which contains many seemingly unsavory elements: leaving my apartment before 8 am on a weekend, an hour on the subway, and a whole lot of schlepping. The language of commitment never feels quite right for something that brings me such pleasure, something that I have such an affection for.
The first time I bought buttermilk it was because I found some at the greenmarket from the little town in Sullivan County where my mom was born. I will risk culinary shame and tell you that I didn’t much care about buttermilk before that. Now, I buy it a couple times a month and seek out recipes, like this one, that let it shine. A deep, complex affection brought me the simple joy of buttermilk too early on a Saturday.
I’ve been picking out other places where affection is at work in my life and places I could let it work. I think there may be some undoing involved. Ponder it over Rhubarb Spoonbread and let me know what you come up with.
- 6.5 oz (about 2 cups) rhubarb, sliced about 1/4 thick
- 2.5 oz (1/3 cup) sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
- 2 T maple syrup (preferably grade B), plus more for drizzling
- 4.5 oz (1 cup) yellow cornmeal
- 2 t baking powder
- 1/4 t baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 3 T butter, preferrably unsalted
- 3 eggs
- Place chopped rhubarb, maple syrup, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir together and set aside while you gather the remaining ingredients and complete the following steps.
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Place the butter in an 8 x 8 inch square pan and put the pan in the pre-heating oven.
- Whisk together the cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center. Add the eggs, but do not stir, set aside.
- Check on the butter. Take it out of the oven when it's completely melted. Allow the oven to continue preheating.
- Now, stir the eggs into the cornmeal mixture and add the buttermilk. Stir briskly until completely combined.
- Swirl the butter around the hot pan and pour any excess into the batter. Stir to combine.
- Stir the rhubarb sugar mixture into the batter and pour into the buttered 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles.
- Serve warm drizzled with more maple syrup.
- Adapted (just barely) from this Edna Lewis recipe on Leite’s Culinaria and inspired by this sweet spoonbread over at Homesick Texan.
- If you need this to be strictly gluten-free, make sure to select a cornmeal that is labeled “gluten-free.” Some brands are not considered gluten-free due to cross-contamination.
- This was my first time making spoon bread and I immediately regretted not making it long ago. The texture is firm, but custard-y.