“Yes!” Gigi shouts, running from the kitchen. She returns moments later, waving a red-and-black bandanna in the air. “I got it!” Joan looks over her shoulder and cackles at the sight of the bandanna they use to play pirates with, shaking her head.
“Thank you, Princess Gigi,” John says, continuing in his royal herald voice. He ties the bandanna around Joan’s head and bows down in front of her, lifting her hand. “I would like to present to the royal court, the Queen Pirate Mother of this palace … the only one able to have someone beheaded and steal booty from seagoing vessels.” Joan laughs, watching him. “The only one powerful enough to subdue other kingdoms and get into a swashbuckling sword fight atop a pirate ship. Please rise for the royal Queen Pirate Mother, Joan Creighton.” Gigi and Christopher clap as Joan stands. John wraps his arm around her and kisses her face. “The most beautiful Queen Pirate Mother in all the land,” he says in his own voice, making her smile.
TEN
July 2012
Lauren flips through the recipes from inside the table drawer and finds the one she was looking for: German Apple Pancake. She had read through the recipe a few days earlier and realized that with the time it took to mix together and bake, she would need to make it on a Saturday morning. She hears the mower outside the kitchen window and knows that Travis will be out there for at least an hour finishing the mowing and weed eating around their home. She sits down at the table, holding her cup of coffee as she reads the recipe.
Do you remember how many times the kids at school told you that they did not eat breakfast and when you would tell them about what you had eaten even that morning, they were always shocked! How our family loved breakfast! It was so hectic inside our small kitchen on those school mornings, but sitting here today, I sure do miss the noise. Every time I made this we would scrape every last bite from the skillet. Somehow, time kept fast-forwarding and this became too big for me and Dad. He always loved it with bacon and the rest of us preferred sausage. It’s yummy with both. Granny Smith apples are tasty in this, but so are Macintosh. You’ll need to cook the Granny Smith for a few minutes in the skillet before popping it into the oven because they take longer to get tender than Macintosh. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did when you were growing up and that your family scrapes every last bite from the skillet, too!
As she stands up to prepare the ingredients, Lauren tries to imagine again how many children grew up in this house and what mealtimes must have looked like for their family. She peels three Granny Smith apples, cuts the core from each, and then cuts them into thin slices before making the batter of eggs, flour, whipping cream, butter, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla. She prepares a mixture of white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sets it beside the stove. When a quarter cup of butter has melted inside the skillet, she sprinkles half of the sugar mixture over it and then places the apple slices on top. As the recipe instructs, she puts a lid on the skillet for three to four minutes as the apples get a little tender. The smell of the apples fills the kitchen with an aroma that reminds Lauren of Betty’s Bakery. “Watch out, Betty! I’m coming for ya!” she says, smiling. She sprinkles the remaining sugar mixture over the apples and then pours the batter on top, waiting until it bubbles before removing the skillet from the stove and setting it inside the oven. She turns on the oven light and looks inside. Without any experience, she never thought she would be able to follow a recipe, but each of these recipe cards is written in such a way that’s easy to understand. The simple language makes the food sound delicious, enticing Lauren to try each dish. In a way that she can’t explain, she hopes that this mother would be proud of her.
Bacon is sizzling when Travis opens the garage door that leads into the kitchen. “Is that bacon I smell?” he says, grinning. He notices the apple pancake sitting on top of the stove. “Holy mackerel! What is that?”
Lauren giggles as he marches to the stove and leans down to take a whiff. “It’s a German Apple Pancake.”
He stares at her and back at the apple pancake. “Who are you and what have you done with my wife? I was coming in for a bowl of cereal.”
She laughs at him, swatting his hand away
