Page 103 Blackberry-Cornmeal Cupcakes

"Succulent blackberries, picked fresh from a farm or bought at a local market, are baked into golden cornmeal cupcakes for a delicious taste of summer. Serve the cakes warm from the oven or at room temperature, and pair with ice cream, if desired. Oven temperature is crucial here: If it is any cooler than 375 degrees, the berries will sink to the bottom." - Martha

I didn't have any blackberries, fresh or otherwise. I did have frozen cherries in the freezer so, of course that's the road I took...not the one to the market or farm. I also didn't have yellow cornmeal (is that something most people have at home?), but I did have white cornmeal. Don't ask me why, but I found it in my pantry towards the back. I suppose at one point I had planned to make "Fry Bread" or something similar and just never did.

Also, about 3 out of every 5 recipes call for buttermilk. I still haven't broken down to buy any of that either. I usually replace it with 1% or 2% milk, this time I used a mix of heavy whipping cream and 1% milk. Each time I've substituted out the buttermilk, my cupcakes seem to turn out OK so I don't really know what I'm missing. However, there is a recipe in the book called "Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes" for which I will have to "suck it up" and buy the buttermilk. I mean, you shouldn't really sub-out the main ingredient of a recipe, right?

Whenever I think about serving cornbread or muffins, I always remember the best meal I ever had at school. At St. Elizabeth's School in Granite City, Illinois, one of the Friday meal choices was usually Navy Bean Soup with Cornbread and Applesauce. Ever since then, I have always chosen to serve applesauce with my cornbread. Talk about comfort food! What a great contrast of tastes to my young pallette; the applesauce placed on top of the cornbread and the steaming hot pasty soup was heavenly!

These cupcakes help bring back sound memories. I placed cherries in a few, made some plain, but I also placed a tablespoon of apricot jam in a few knowing that the sweet taste and grainy texture would surely compliment each other. And it does.