
I have always felt that subscribing to a magazine can be quite indulgent, so I have treated myself to only a few during my adult years, usually justifying them as a birthday gift. Most recently, because of un-redeemed airmiles or “once in a lifetime” offers, I have been able to enjoy the anticipation of a monthly magazine more often. My favorites are usually baking and pastry magazines.
A few years ago I subscribed to Pastry and Baking North America Magazine. It was a fun year, even if many time I didn’t have access to the ingredients listed in their recipes. But reading about the latest trends, and discovering new flavors or new combinations of classics was incredibly interesting to me.
More recently I have found that Bake from Scratch has a lot of great recipes and ideas I can draw from. So in the last couple of years I have subscribed to it. The only regret is that it’s only published 6 times a year…
In the last issue there was a whole section on quick breads made with summer ingredients. The upside-down heirloom tomato cornbread recipe caught my attention. First of all, I do love heirloom tomatoes. I had never tasted or seen them before moving to western Massachusetts. They are absolutely delicious and so pretty in their colorful combination. Second, the recipe asked for a cast-iron skillet.
You need to know that a couple of years ago I went through a cast-iron skillet phase. I bought two 12″ skillets and a scone pan and experimented with savory and sweet recipes. I even taught a gluten-free class at the Baker’s Pin using cast-iron skillets. I absolutely love baking with it, and I get excited every time I can use it. So I decided that for dinner I would make the Bake from Scratch recipe for upside-down heirloom tomato cornbread, gluten-free. I had to make some adjustments, since I didn’t have all the ingredients, but the result was very colorful and delicious.
Enjoy!