Urban Family

The other night I had dinner at Irish Lebowski and Waspy Wasperson’s house, which is always a treat. I am usually the one cooking for my friends. Also, Irish makes a stellar lasagna that I will never turn down.

As we went through a rapid fire of emails the day before the dinner, I asked Irish what I should bring. She assured me nothing was needed, yet I pressed. Bread? Wine? Salad? I wouldn’t accept her “no” to all my offers as an answer, insisting I could not come empty handed. She finally said, “Lemmonex, we are family. These rules don’t apply”.

Well, G-d damn if that didn’t warm my heart. These little reminders in your life that you are valued, accepted, appreciated for who you are and just down right loved are something we all need…

And, of course, I love those kids back. I’ve been told in the past that I can be a hard ass and distant. Anyone who knows me knows this is only half true; I act tough because inside I am a a fucking marshmallow, scared of being hurt and disappointed. Aren’t we all? Sometimes it is easier to act tough than to really put yourself out there. I am always waging an internal battle to better myself, be more patient, less prone to fits of drama and less acutely sensitive. Family sees all this in you…I am glad they do.

These members of my family left for California Monday, so I had to send them off in style on Sunday morning. I had spent the previous night at Remington’s with Bitchy McSnarkster, Pagina and Cindarella, along with a cadre of other gay men and ladies for what Cindarella dubbed “Hos and Homos Night”, but still managed to pull myself together in time for brunch. (Pagina and I karaoked “Before He Cheats” and enjoyed singing “Fancy” waaay too much that night…) I threw together these blue cornmeal pancakes and they were a dream. Irish loves blueberry pancakes; I knew they would be a hit, but I didn’t anticipate them going over quite as well as they did. The buttermilk added a slight tanginess and the cornmeal produced a great texture. I loaded up on the blueberries; the original recipe called for a paltry cup. While I would never go as far to classify these pancakes as healthy, the use of whole wheat flour and low fat buttermilk did produce a brunch I didn’t have to feel guilty about all day.

Blue Cornmeal Pancakes

Adapted from Culinate

1¼ cups blue cornmeal
1 cup whole-wheat or all-purpose flour (I did 3/4 cups whole wheat and 1/4 cup all purpose)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 cups low fat buttermilk
3 eggs
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups blueberries

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In another medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk and eggs.
3. Whisk dry ingredients into egg mixture, just until combined. Whisk in melted butter.
4. Prepare an electric griddle (preheat to 375 degrees) or nonstick skillet (heat over medium heat).
5. Pour a generous 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Sprinkle a generous 1 Tbsp. blueberries over each pancake, if using.
6. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until underside of pancakes are golden-brown and bubbles form on surface.
7. Turn and cook for 1 or 2 minutes on second side.
8. Serve hot with butter and syrup.