Kansas Troubles Two-Corn Pancakes

Instructions

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   oil for frying Combine flour, cornmeal, corn, baking poweder and salt in mixing bowl. Set aside. Beat milk, sugar, oil, vanilla and egg yolk until blended. Stir in flour mixture until batter is combined. Do not overmix. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Lightly oil griddle or large skillet and heat over medium. Spoon scant 1/4 cup batter onto griddle, spreading it evenly to 4–inch round. Cook 2 minutes or until bubble form. Lift edge carefully to check if bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook other side until golden brown. Remove pancakes. Serve immediately or place on baking sheet in 200F oven to keep warm until serving. For breakfast or brunch serve with butter and maple syrup. For dinner, make pancakes 3–inch round and serve with pats of savory herb butter as side dish.

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   Loose Change One of the things I love about the Inn kitchen is the stone floor. It’s awfully cold, yes. On Winter morning you don’t dare set foot on it for fear of frostbite. But it’s great in the Summer because it keeps the kitchen cool even on the hottest days. The floor is made of large grey stone slabs that are still uneven and rough in places. But a hundred years of feet working for hours in the kitchen had worn a noticeably smooth path around the room. We put a big old rough hewn pine harvest table in the middle and surrounded it with an eclectic mix of old mismatched wood chairs because the room looked empty without it. I grew up in a family that always gathered around the kitchen table to talk, and to laugh, and to make decisions, and sometimes even to eat. So, it’s here we gather for “important” talk. When couples visit the inn, the men will often ramble off doing “guy stuff”, leaving the women to gather informally around the harvest table and gab. Frequently the talk will turn to quilting and we share our “how I made my first quilt” stories. As I listen, it sometimes seems as if the spirits of the women who used to live here are shuffling around the old worn stones, waiting their turn to tell their stories too. Sally Marie and Cal were a couple who visited the Inn a number of times. Cal passed away last year. He had a wonderful sense of humor and great comic timing. We’re going to miss him. So, for the first time, Sal is here by herself. She told us her story. When Sally Marie got married, a long time ago, she was very young and there was little money to spend on any “extras” in life. Yet she was proud of the fine young man she had married. He worked hard and cared for her so completely. And when the young ones came along he was a strong and patient father no matter how tired he was at the end of the day. So how could she dare want for more? Every morning she rose early, long before Calvin woke up and she crept quietly out of the bedroom to start his breakfast. But one morning, she happened to stop briefly at the bureau, looked back at the sleeping Cal, and in a moment’s inspiration, she silently scooped up half the pocket change that Cal had left there the night before.

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   It was all of fifteen cents. A lot of money in those meagre days. She knew she couldn’t take it all but surely he wouldn’t miss just half the change. Cal said nothing that day, or evening. Sally felt a smug satisfaction that she was right. He hadn’t noticed. So, the next morning she did the same thing again. And the next. Pretty soon, pennies at a time, she had collected the dollar that she needed. She bought some fabric and needles and made her first quilt. So that was Sally’s “first quilt” story. But that was almost fifty years ago. And yet every morning since then, Sally helped herself to Cal’s loose change. Some days there was a lot of change. Sometimes, when times were tough, there was not. Over the years Sally was able to provide many little extras for the family—a special dress for the girls or a baseball glove for the boys. Cal often bragged on Sally to their friends about what a wonderful housekeeper she was! She could stretch her housekeeping allowance further than anyone! Sally’s “penny larceny” just became a habit, even after they were comfortably off financially and she had emancipated access to all their money. There was something special about taking half of Cal’s change every day. Many years ago, for their twenty fifth wedding anniversary, Sally had her heart set on a trip to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. Even though Cal had been laid off for several months, somehow there always seemed to be lots of change at the end of the day, to go into Sally’s secret fund. Despite the lean times, they were able to make the once-in-a-lifetime trip. “You know Cal died last Spring,” she said finally, quietly. “I was right there at the end. He was holding my hand. He looked me right in the eye and said ‘Sal Gal’. He always called me ‘Sal Gal’. He said, ‘Sal Gal, keep the change!’ And he smiled that big stupid grin of his. That old fox! He knew all along. And he never said a word. Imagine that!” She shook her head. “All those years, and he never said a word.” Somehow it seems that great love is not in the big important things you say but in the little things you never say. Like in a marriage, a little sauce goes a long way. And, it can add a bit of extra

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   zip to those otherwise humdrum meals. Having a number of good sauces up your culinary sleeve enhances your reputation as a gourmet cook in a very simple and easy way.