Old Fashioned Johnny Cake

Old Fashioned Johnny Cake

Ingredients:
Sift together:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups sifted flour
½ cup sugar (less if you don’t want it so sweet)
1 tsp salt
10
3 tsp baking powder
Rub in a piece of butter, egg size, or about 2 T

Directions:
Stir in 1 beaten egg and 1-1/2 cups sweet milk; batter may be slightly lumpy. Turn into
greased 8 by 8-inch baking pan; bake about ½ hour at 375° F. or until inserted pick
comes out clean. (In pioneer days, they might stir in some dried berries before baking.)
Author's Bio:
I’m Mary Emma Allen, a children’s author, cooking and travel columnist,
quiltmaker and quilt book author, family/inspirational writer, and writing teacher/speaker.
I’ve always been eager to try new ventures in writing; as a result I’ve enjoyed working at
many types of writing and my books reveal this diversity. They include WHEN WE
BECOME THE PARENT TO OUR PARENTS (), which
chronicles my mother’s journey through Alzheimer’s, TALES OF ADVENTURE &
DISCOVERY (), a collection of children’s stories I’ve also
illustrated, THE MAGIC OF PATCHWORK, WRITING IN MAINE, NEW
HAMPSHIRE & VERMONT; and several manuals for writers.
My most recent work was a coloring book to accompany the children’s anthology.
Currently I’m working on writing activity books for children and a YA novel inspired by
my ancestors’ experiences during the U.S. Civil War era. Visit my web site:
or e-mail me at me.allen@juno.com.
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PLAIN MUFFINS
Setting the Scene:
When my mother, who was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease, resided in a
nursing home, my grandchildren (her great-grandchildren) enjoyed visiting her with me,
even though she didn’t recognize us. One of the treats consisted of tea parties with Great
Grandma Dee Dee. This is a tradition I started whenever I visited, a family tradition of
sitting over tea and chatting when we visited my grandmother’s home and later my mom
in her home. Mother, while in the nursing home, seemed to find these occasions relaxing.
She particularly enjoyed muffins, whether we made them ourselves or purchased them at
a fast food restaurant. Sometimes we made my mother-in-law’s blueberry cake and took
this for our tea parties. Share another family tradition by making the plain muffins I made
as a youngster, or add extra ingredients to make them fancy enough for any tea party.
Then have a muffin as you read an excerpt from“Can Children Cope with Alzheimer’s
Disease,” from WHEN WE BECOME THE PARENT TO OUR PARENTS ().
Excerpt from WHEN WE BECOME THE PARENT TO OUR PARENTS:
Kara looks forward to these tea parties.
“You sit near your mommy,” she says [to me] and points to the chair
nearest Mother. Then she pulls up a chair for herself and chatters while we eat.
Mother seems unaware of the relationship between Kara and herself. She
no longer recognizes me, or if she does, can’t verbalize it. But Mother does know that a
little girl visits; she comments on the “nice little girl here today.”
Mother no longer can feed herself. Kara takes it for granted that I will give Great
Grandma bites of muffin and sips of tea. These visits give the Alzheimer’s patient’s life
significance, as they help their grandchildren and great grandchildren understand the
various phases of life with love and compassion.
PLAIN MUFFINS