Who's in the Kitchen?

Recently, Mom was having a conversation with her mother. The topic was a common one for this family - food. On hearing about all the food that comes out of our kitchen, Grandma shook her head. She was probably thinking, "Is your kitchen ever empty?" The answer is, rarely. But unless you think that I am the one who dominates that room of delights, let me try to prove otherwise. Why, as I type, my sister, Hannah, forms Chinese steamed buns - a topic for another blog post. A loaf of bread my oldest sister prepared also bakes in the bread maker, and my Mom busies herself with dinner preparations.

I even have pictures to prove it. One day a week or two ago, Hannah donned her apron and took over the kitchen. Soon tantalizing aromas wafted to our noses. While potato-onion soup simmered on the stove, the ovens were being filled with an experiment. Corn sticks.

What are corn sticks? They are simple corn bread batter baked into special cast iron molds in the shape of a corn cob. Here Hannah is filling up a mold.

Corn sticks in the oven getting nice and puffy. Just a couple more minutes and they will be just right.

Dumping out pan #3 - well, trying to. Unfortunately Hannah learned the hard way that the pans aren't seasoned well enough and have to be sprayed with oil every time they are filled. These sticks ended up looking more like the cobs Mom has already de-corned with our corn creamer.

But these came out perfectly. Sweet and slightly buttery corn sticks - crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. We ate like kings!