Corn-less Sage and Feta Cornbread

Do you ever assemble most everything you need to make a recipe, go to the cupboard for the key ingredient--the one you know you have, so you didn't buy any more at the store, and then realize you don't have any? Say, for example, you want to make a fancy cornbread. You buy the sage, the feta, the buttermilk, thinking you have cornmeal at home. Whoops.

Luckily, you discover a bag of frozen sweet corn in your freezer, and all is not lost. While lacking crumbly, yellow flesh, the bread still managed to succeed as the side dish to a hearty veggie soup (superbly flavored by stock made from the frozen carcass of this dinner a few weeks ago.)

Sage and Feta "Cornbread"
accidentally adapted from The Herbal Kitchen by Jerry Traunfeld

1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, for the pan
18-20 large sage leaves
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
1/4 c olive oil
2 c. fresh or frozen sweet corn kernals
4 oz crumbled feta

Preheat the oven to 400. Smear butter on the inside of a 9-inch pie plate. Press the sage leaves into the butter in a circular diasy pattern, saving a few to press into the side of the pie plate (see the picture).

Stir the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together with a wire whisk in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and olive oil in a second bowl. Sitr the liquid into the dry ingredients until the lumps smooth out. Stir in the corn until well mixed. Stir in the cheese.

Pour the batter into the pie plate over the sage leaves. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the bread springs back in the middle when you press on it. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Loosen the sides with a paring knife, then flip cornbread out onto a plate with the sage leaves on top. Serve while warm.