About Marybeth, National Geographic Author, Writer

Curious Explorer. Award-winning author.

Gutsy Traveler: A woman, like travel expert Marybeth Bond, stands among purple flowers, raising her arms and smiling in front of a wooden building in bright sunlight.
Polar bear tracking and snorkeling with beluga whales in the northern Canadian Arctic.

Marybeth knows travel. She has hiked, biked, dived, danced and trekked across all seven continents – from the depths of the Flores Sea near Komodo Island to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

More recently, she tracked polar bears and snorkeled with beluga whales in the Canadian Arctic, then kayaked among icebergs in Antarctica.

Somewhere in between, four years of studying in Paris earned her two degrees – and a taste for good wine and strong cheeses.

Twelve books (three with National Geographic), countless travel articles, and numerous TV and radio appearances have built her devoted fanbase. She won the esteemed Lowell Thomas, Gold Award for the Best Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Woman on cliff in front of a monastery in Bhutan
Yesterday’s Video below. A decade or more later. Is Marybeth still GUTSY? Here in Bhutan.
Marybeth in Antarctica with penguins, snowy mountains, and water—just the kind of moment travel expert Marybeth Bond would capture in a travel video.
Kayaking and camping near penguins in Antarctica.

Yesterday….

Have you seen a corn dish on a menu in Europe or Asia? Corn casseroles are as American as meat loaf. I grew up anticipating holiday meals — the only time my mom made this wickedly wonderful, sinfully rich corn dish.

When I was an exchange student in Luxembourg, I wanted to make my host family something “typically American” and asked my mom to send me the Jiffy Corn Mix and the canned corn to make this recipe. Let’s just say, corn is not appreciated in European cuisine. The son of the family told me later that they feed corn to the pigs. Ha Ha. The joke was on me.

When my daughter and I biked across Kansas a few years ago, on our trans-continental ride, we pedaled for days through corn fields. So I had a lot of time to think about corn!  Corn and beef are as basic as apple pie in the Midwest and in the American culinary consciousness.

Every woman in my family has a different name for it: my mother in Ohio called it Corn Dump, my sister in Florida calls it Corn Pudding and I call it Corn Souffle.  Called by any name, this dish is delicious. Everyone asks for more and yes, for the recipe too. I always make it in a large 8×12″ glass casserole dish and it will serve 10-15 people. My friends beg me to bring it to the holiday party because it serves a crowd, is always a hit, and compliments turkey, beef or chicken.

Easy as 2,2,4,8!

Corn Souffle

  • 2 cans cream corn
  • 2 cans kernel corn
  • 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 8 ounces of sour cream

Melt the butter. Mix all the ingredients in an 8×12″ or 10×13″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until the middle is firm and the top is a golden brown color. 

Left-overs are decadently wonderful reheated for breakfast!

Marybeth Bond