Corn Cake Bruschetta

A few weeks ago, I was looking through my pantry and my fridge the other day, and I realized that I have four (yes, four!) bags of corn meal. We don't even eat much corn! So I decided I had to make my next blog recipe involve corn meal. Corn bread can be kind of boring, so I decided to spice it up a bit (well, maybe not in the literal sense . . .) by topping a slice of cornbread cake with bruschetta, which is a universally awesome addition to most boring starches. Luckily for me, a family friend had just dropped by with a box of her homegrown tomatoes and peppers, and the rest was history. That's the boring but true story of the birth of this recipe.  ;-D

In other news, school just started back for me last week. I spent all summer pretty sure that school would not start again, but it seems like it has. Well, that's fine with me because it's kind of nice to get back into a familiar routine. I only have two more years of high school left, and then I head off to college, where I am open to study what I want and hopefully get more opportunities to learn about people and this world we share. I can't wait!

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Corn Cakes: 
(makes 8 slices)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of corn flour (or ground corn meal)
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 cup of almond milk
  
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• a sprinkle of salt
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Combine everything but the olive oil in a bowl and stir it into a dough.
3. On the stove, heat up a skillet (with a 5-8 inch diameter) with the olive oil. Using a spatula, spread the oil around until it becomes thin, watery and evenly spread. Lower the heat to a simmer.
4. Place the dough onto the skillet and spread it out evenly.
5. Remove the skillet from the stove and put it in the oven for 12-16 minutes (or until the edges turn a golden-brown).
6. Once the corn cake has cooled down a bit, cut it into 8 slices.

Bruschetta:
(to top the corn cake slices)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of chopped bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons of diced avocado
• 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of chopped basil (fresh or dried)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions: 

1. Combine the diced tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, diced avocado, and chopped basil. Sprinkle on the ground pepper and the salt. Drizzle on the olive oil and stir.
2. Spoon this bruschetta on the slices of corn cake, and enjoy!