The Body In The Basement

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsps. sugar

2 eggs, wel beaten

3 tsps. baking powder

4 tbsps. dripping

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the dry ingredients and stir in the wet. Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered 8"

square pan and bake for 40 minutes, checking after 30.

This is a dense, chewy cornbread and serves 6-8. Again, substitutions can be made: skim buttermilk, Egg Beaters, and butter substitutes for the dripping and to grease the pan. Do try to find stone ground cornmeal, though. It gives the cornbread a wonderful flavor and texture. The batter may also be fried in a large pan on top of the stove, flipping it over so both sides are crunchy.

FAITH'S EMERGENCY SEWING

CIRCLE SPREADS: CHUTNEY CHEESE

AND CHÈVRE WITH HERBS

Chutney Cheese:

8 ounces plain cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup chutney

Cream the chutney and cheese together by hand. Do not use a food processor or blender otherwise you end up with cheese sauce. Pix used her own green tomato chutney, which is a spicy combination of the tomatoes, onions, raisins, and walnuts. Al and any varieties of chutney work wel .

Chèvre with Herbs:

4 ounces plain cream cheese, room temperature 4-5 ounces chèvre (100% goat's milk cheese) Herbs to taste Herbed chèvre is readily available in most markets and cheese shops. Pix likes to keep things simple and buys the herbed variety. Combine the cheeses by hand.

The cream cheese makes the combination easier to spread. If you are using your own herbs, rosemary, tarragon, and summer savory are good choices, alone or in combination.

Use both spreads to stuff snow or sugar snap peas, spread on cucumber or zucchini rounds, sweetmeat biscuits, water biscuits, or slightly toasted miniature bagels.

The chutney spread makes a tasty sandwich when combined with smoked turkey or Virginia ham or by itself on date and nut or buckwheat walnut bread.

BAINBRIDGE BUTTERSCOTCH

SHORTBREAD