“You hungry, handsome?” she said to me the morning after as my bleary eyes tried to focus.

“Sure thing. Hoe cakes.” I replied, still trying to get my mouth to enunciate properly.

“What did you just say?” she quipped back, a hint of anger in her voice.

I rubbed my eyes, sitting up in my narrow bed. That had been a fun night’s adventure. “I said yeah, I’m hungry. Please make some hoe cakes.”

“Oh.” she answered, all cheery again.

Sometimes it was good to play all innocent.

HOE CAKES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup self-rising whole wheat flour
• 1 cup self-rising cornmeal, or from a mix
• 2 brown eggs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive vegetable oil or coconut oil

METHOD

1. Mix well all ingredients.
2. Heat the medium or large skillet non-stick skillet over medium heat.
3. Drop the batter, by full tablespoons, into the hot skillet. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter per hoecake.
4. Fry each hoecake until brown and crisp; turn each hoecake with a spatula, and then brown the other side.
5. With a slotted spoon, remove each hoecake to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
6. Leftover batter will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

A fun variation of this recipe is Dutch Oven Hoe Cakes. Giggle.