<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
As a transplanted Southerner (traded hurricanes for earthquakes - what a
deal!), I discovered after lots of experimentation that I just couldn't
find good corn meal on the west coast, even the stone ground,health food
store stuff. I don't know what the situation in the rest of the country
would be, but every time any of my friends or I head back to N.C., I stock
up on on the good stuff and store it in my freezer.
 
I've used a variety of brands, but what I usually get is the most
versatile, which is white fine stone ground meal by House-Autry. They also
have yellow meal.  The fine ground white stuff I've even managed to make
pie crust with.  Anyway, you can use basically the same batter for hush
puppies, corn cakes, and muffins just by varying the thickness or thinness
of the batter.
 
Another good, versatile item is Zatarain's Seasoned Fish-Fri, which is
basically seasoned corn flour.
 
Although I don't cook by recipe - just by guess and by God and the seat of
my pants- I'll try to fake a general recipe here.
 
3 parts white fine ground corn meal
1 part Zatarain's or other GF flour
1 small egg or egg substitute per cup
1 t baking soda per cup
            (optional- add chopped onion or chopped Ortega chiles or both)
buttermilk
water - I use about 2/3 buttermilk to 1/3 water
 
Mix dry ingredients & optional stuff if used.  Mix in buttermilk/water to a
thick batter for hush puppies and drop into hot oil (deep if you want it to
be in a ball or oval shape), mix to a slightly thinner consistancy for
muffins, and to a fairly thin constancy for corn cakes & fry in shallow
oil.  Also, they & the hush puppies reheat well on a rack in the oven, so
if I'm doing a lot of last minute cooking I just make them the day before &
reheat them.
 
Zatarain's
New Orleans, LA  70114
504-367-2950
 
House-Autry
Newton Grove, NC 28366
1-800-849-0802
 
And no, I have no connection with either of these companies.
 
Nancy in L.A.