Fig, Feta, and Scallion Cornbread

I don’t know that I like holidays anymore.

And I don’t have to. They are a privilege, and they stem from privilege. We never consider everything from every angle. And, while changing perspective can be an important survival tool,

one does not have to be grateful

(or ready to let go yet) just because it is more socially acceptable to frame something a certain way. It is important to know when you have been compromised and when you are angry and that that anger can originate elsewhere and then redirect itself onto other things.

[nobody owes you their story]
[nobody should have to justify why you should behave decently toward them]
[nobody is a jerk for politely pointing that out]

and everybody is going to fuck that up at some point (because sometimes we define what is decent for us and what is not, and sometimes we are not considering where someone else might be coming from, and sometimes we are just too something to realize that how we are behaving in some way or another affects somebody else and this is why I choose to forgive even if it takes forever)

because invasion does not make a nice thing not nice
because a safe space is nice even if it has been invaded

-even if the clean up is ugly-

because I am a nice thing that is still nice even though it has been invaded

just don’t invade.

Think: a small plate with a square of sweet fig chew and feta salt and pungent scallion with dense cornmeal crunch beneath a slab of butter and drizzled honey set before you.

It is not inviting you to eat it just because it is delicious. It would be nice to try some. Here are the tools to make your own.

Thank you.

One Year: Red Potato Gratin with Thyme and Manchego
Two Years: Roasted Shallot and Apple Mashed Potato Pancakes
Three Years: Brown Sugar Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce
Four Years: Honey-Roasted Root Vegetables
Five Years: Sweet Turkey Chili

Fig, Feta, and Scallion Cornbread
Makes 12-16 squares

1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup dried black mission figs, chopped
3/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
3 scallions, thinly sliced

To serve: honey, high quality salted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8x8x2-inch square pan and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cayenne. In a small bowl or measuring glass, whisk together buttermilk with eggs. Whisk in melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir in figs, feta, and scallions, stirring until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake until golden for 15-20 minutes, when a tester comes out clean with moist crumbles. Slice and serve warm with honey and more butter.