Slightly tropical cornbread

The recipe which follows is an unrecognizable variation on a variation on a variation on a cornbread recipe from the original Vegetarian Epicure (1972). This was the only vegetarian cookbook in the house when I was growing up, and it's interesting mostly as evidence of how much vegetarian cooking has changed. I've always thought that this page from The Moosewood Cookbook (1977) summed it up:

Seriously?

In other news, I bought an oven thermometer today and am learning that my (wonderful, new) oven is typically not as hot as I think it is. This alone may explain why some cookies that I'd made here turned out quite differently (better, in fact) in my mom's electric oven.

This cornbread is higher in fiber and in flavor than the original. I decreased the white flour, increased the cornmeal, and added whole wheat flour and coconut. I increased the brown sugar by a little bit, added lime and vanilla, and adopted nondairy versions for milk and melted butter. It is really, really delicious--a little salt, a little sugar, lots of flavor and texture, moist without being greasy. It's sweet enough to be a dessert or a snack with a glass of soymilk or a cup of tea, but not so sweet that it wouldn't also go well with a dish like Hearty Rainy-Day Chili.

Slightly Tropical Cornbread

Ingredients

1/2 c white flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c coarse corn meal

1/2 c unsweetened coconut

3/8 c brown sugar

1 1/2 TB baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 TB ground flaxseed mixed with 3 TB water

zest and juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 c soymilk

2 TB corn oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*. Lightly oil a 9-in pie pan. In a large bowl, mix dry. Add wet. Pour into pan and bake 30-35 min or until edges begin to brown.