Parve Cornbread

So I'm a huge meat person. But more and more, I look to vegan recipes, especially for side dishes. That makes it possible to serve a meat entree with side dishes that would otherwise be milchik - and therefore not kosher.

This cornbread recipe comes courtesy of my friend's cousin. She writes:

This is a delicious basic vegan cornbread. It is moist and crunchy and corntastic. It is not a sweet bread, but a bread to be savored with soup or smothered with guacamole. For best results, use old-fashioned cornmeal.

Ingredients
2 cups cornmeal (I like coarse ground)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 cups soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350, line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper or spray the bottom lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy milk and the vinegar and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt).
Add the oil and maple syrup to the soy milk mixture. Whisk with a wire whisk or a fork until it is foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix together using a large wooden spoon or a firm spatula. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice into squares and serve warm or store in an airtight container.

I can't believe it's kosher, part 1

Idea. Coca-Cola shares its red jacket with the West's most famous fat man. No, not the unsung heroes of Nathan's Famous hot-dog eating contests.

I mean, Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi are hardly porkers:




I'm talking about this guy.



He didn't figure that big into my childhood, either, but neither did Coke.

Which brings me to my point.

In 1931, the Coca-Cola company hired Haddon Sundbloom to create an image of Santa drinking Coke. Until Sundbloom's portrait, Santa was more commonly pictured like this:



Wait, no.

He looked like this:



Or this:



Or this:



Basically, if Coca Cola is responsible for creating the greatest goy in the world, then how come Orthodox Jews will drink this stuff on Pesach? Why, in fact, is Coke kosher at all?

As my friend points out: Coca Cola came out of Santa's rib.

I can't believe it's not kosher

Coming back late from Montauk yesterday, I noticed that the local bodega carried Vosges chocolate, a surprisingly highbrow brand for a place that devotes several shelves to Spam. While waiting for my friend, I perused the options. Mine eyes alighted on Mo's Bacon Bar, described as "applewood smoked bacon, Alder wood smoked salt, deep milk chocolate. 41% cacao."

Doth mine eyes deceive me?

Honestly I couldn't believe it. Was I tempted? No, because I was conditioned to think that bacon smells like vomit. (Even so many years after graduating I still feel that way.) But I'm sure the salt + chocolate thing is excellent. So the truth is, in fact, I was a little jealous.

Anyway, a Google Images search revealed that it is, in fact, a thing. (More-observant readers might want to avert their eyes.)







I thought when it came to food that was bad for you, we were the light upon the nations.

But no.