New Year's Prosperity - Now With Blueberries!

Considering all of the news as of late, seemed like 2009 could use all the help it could get from the get-go.

So, I went through my recipe file and decided to riff on a classic Southern treat that is supposed to bring good luck and prosperity through the New Year -- Cornbread. I chose to omit the other traditional New Year's fare of Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens, and instead add some juicy, sweet blueberries into the mix.

Don't know if blueberries can bring me fortune in the year to come, but apparently they do promote anti-aging benefits. And heaven knows that blueberries are a much tastier addition to cornbread than Oil of Olay.

New Year's Day Blueberry Cornbread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted margarine or corn oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and dust with corn meal -- not necessary, if using a non-stick or silicone pan. Mix all the dry ingredients - flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt -- in large bowl. Mix eggs, melted margarine/oil and milk in small bowl. Add egg mixture and corn to dry ingredients. Stir until combined. Pour 1/3 batter into pan. Add half of the blueberries, pushing into batter. Pour 1/3 batter and add rest of blueberries as before, topping with the rest of the batter accordingly. Bake for 1 hour.