bacon and sweet pepper cornbread

"The North thinks it know how to make cornbread, but this is a gross superstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite as bad as the Northern imitation of it.” Mark Twain, 1898

Yield: 16 pieces
150 calories per piece
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 80 minutes

ingredients

6 slices thick cut maple bacon, chopped

1 cup cornmeal or polenta

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1⅔ cups rice milk (Or, use dairy milk)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons bacon fat drippings

4 ears sweet corn

8 mini sweet peppers (about 1 cup chopped)

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment or baking paper.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. While the bacon is cooking, cut the corn off the cob, slice the sweet peppers and set aside.

4. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the milk, eggs, agave nectar, and bacon fat drippings. With the paddle attached, “stir” to incorporate.

5. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix, on a speed of 4, to combine.

6. Add in the corn kernels, bacon, and sliced sweet peppers, mixing on a speed of 4 to combine.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

8. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Original recipe found here.