Buttermilk cornbread and the best concert of my life

Friday I went to a concert. The best concert of my life. Period. The band? 'Cake'. Why is it not surprising that I like a band named cake? But seriously, they are awesome. They are not superstars, they don't need a very elaborated staging with fancy lights and huge screens. They make simple yet amazing music and make shows a true enjoyment for their fans.

The show was in Lowell, MA. The place was already promising. It's the city where Jack Kerouac was born. (Please tell me you know who Kerouac is, please). I loved it. Very typical New England town. Small houses, lots of parks and cobblestone streets. And unfortunately, lots of rain. We made it there just in time for the show. It was raining cats and dogs and the concert was in a park. Seemed like a bad start.

'Cake' requested to delay the show a bit and see if the rain passed. Mostly because electricity and water are not good friends. The storm didn't seem to be willing to go, so they started anyway. It rained and rained during the entire show. None of us cared. We danced, sang, screamed and a tree was given away. They sang some of their most popular songs and a couple from the new album. One of them mentioned Barcelona and a big smile appeared on my face.

After the show, we bought our more than necessary t-shirts. And then all the sudden, someone told us the singer was gonna come to sign some autographs. He did come, with his beer and his cigarette. With a big smile on his face. He signed my t-shirt, we talked about Barcelona. He was simply a guy who makes music and shares it with people. I definitely couldn't like this band more than I do right now.

The night couldn't get more perfect. But it did. We were looking for a place to eat and we suddenly ran into a place called 'Dharma Buns'. My friends automatically thought of 'The Dharma initiative', I thought of 'The Dharma bums'. It ended up being a really cool mix of both. Dharma logos all over the place and lots of Kerouac references and posters. My perfect place... plus I ate the best veggie bean burger ever.

But wait, I haven't told you why the cornbread. I figured since we had a 40 minute drive to Lowell, I had to pack up some goodies for the ride (ok, maybe it wasn't strictly necessary). This cornbread was perfect. Soft, moist because of the buttermilk, with a crunch from the kernels. I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil, which added an extra something to it. If you like cornbread, you have to make this. If you haven't ever tried it, please do, you'll love it.

Buttermilk cornbread (adapted from here)
Print this recipe

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 F

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Mix together the eggs and oil. Alternately add the dry mix and the buttermilk to the wet mix. Stir in the corn kernels. Pour into a 9 inch round or an 8x8 baking dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Let it cool and cut into pieces.