Banana Pancakes

 

 I started out on a mission to make banana bread this past week.  A friend and I bought bananas at the fruit market and eggs from the egg lady (I only needed two but we couldn't buy fewer than 5, so 5 we bought.)  At another store we purchased oil, flour, and sugar (in little packets for coffee, to get 3/4 cup I think I used 47 of them.)  Grandma sent me with baking soda, so I didn't have to figure out which stand sells that. 

I didn't realize that the beginning of my adventure had been the easy part until I started inspecting the oven in the dorm common area.  From a distance, it looks decent, but when I asked one of the girls about using it, she looked uncertain.  At first she said, "No."  But my disappointed face must have made her think about it a second time.  In broken English she tried to explain, "You can use, but Celsius no good."  I took this to mean the temperature gauge was off.  But I had come this far, and I wasn't going to give up yet. 

The girls watched as I mixed together the ingredients, mashed the banana, and sprinkled in some strange powder out of an orange box.  They examined the box, especially the back panel which showed uses for cleaning.  "For cleaning?" They asked, looking confused.  I explained as well as I could that baking soda could be used for cleaning, but it is also used to make bread rise (hands moving to show the small dough getting bigger.)  Satisfied enough with the answer, they watched as I oiled the pan, poured in the batter, and stuck it in the oven.

We chatted as we waited, but after a while I had a feeling that the baking was not going well.  A closer inspection revealed the flame at the bottom of the oven was out.  How long had it been out?  What now?  My dazzling thoughts of inviting students to come and learn to cook American foods, how wonderful everything would taste, and how happy everyone would be were quickly crumbling.

With a smile on my face, I pulled out the pan full of batter only slightly warm to the touch.  "We will make Banana Pancakes instead!" 

And so we did.