Make Cornmeal from Popcorn in a Blendtec or Vitamix!

June 24, 2019 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

Are you wondering if you read that right? Yes, yes you did.

I know we've all heard it said that "Necessity is the mother of invention", but Plato was really on to something. All my best breakthroughs have come from needing something I didn't have yet. Case in point. I wanted delicious cornbread to go with the ribs my husband was smoking but all my cornmeal was rancid. So I needed a way to grind my own cornmeal because there was no way or time for me to run to the store to grab some before dinnertime.

(side note- You might have seen that I am trying to work my way through my freezers and pantry. I had gotten a great deal on Bob's Red Mill Cornmeal over a year ago and I had been saving it so long it went rancid before I remembered about it. oops. Luckily I only had 2 packages left)

I do have a grain mill. But, did you know that most grain mills aren't strong enough to grind corn? It's true. In the instructions, most mills will say it absolutely can't grind corn or it will break. I got a Blendtec forever ago for green smoothies and grinding my own flour but one of the things I was most excited about was that it can grind corn! I was soooo excited. And it is so easy.

Directions ________________________________________________________________________

I like to use NON-GMO or ORGANIC popcorn to make sure my family is avoiding an exposure to genetic engineering or chemicals, pesticides or herbicides. I needed 1 1/4 Cups for my recipe so I started with about a cup and a half of popcorn and it was just about perfect.


I just turned it on to the highest setting (10) and let it go until it auto shut-off after 50 seconds.



It was the perfect consistency. It took me about 2 minutes from start to finish, using just plain old popcorn from my pantry. I don't think I'm ever going back to packaged cornmeal. Obviously I can't manage to get through it without some of it going rancid. Popcorn on the other hand keeps for years.


And it made a pretty incredible cornbread. I use a soaked cornbread recipe based off of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.

INGREDIENTS ___________________________________________________________________
1½ cups cornmeal
1½ cups flour
2 cups buttermilk (or 1/2 plain yogurt and 1 1/2 cups milk or 2 cups milk + 2 TBLS vinegar)
2 Tbsp. lard or coconut oil
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3 eggs
⅓ cup non-GMO sugar (you can use honey but all the goodness is killed off by te=he
¼ cup melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS  _________________________________________________________________
Combine the cornmeal, flour, and buttermilk in a bowl, mixing to moisten everything. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven with 2 Tbsp. lard or coconut oil.
In a small bowl, mix salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
In another small bowl, whisk eggs and mix in honey and melted butter.
Pour wet ingredients into the soaked flour and fold in. Dump the dry ingredients over and continue mixing until thoroughly combined.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven, swirl the melted oil around to evenly distribute and cover the edges, then scrape the batter into the hot skillet.
Place skillet in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Serve with honey butter (1:1 ratio) and enjoy!

This cornmeal turns out delicious every time. I've even just soaked it for only 6 hours and it still was amazing. It's one of my husband's favorite dishes. Let me know if you try it or what else you use ground cornmeal for. I love making polenta as  well.


Tiara
-The Provident Princess