By February. The bleakest month in Nebraska if you are counting only weather. One of the better months if you are counting only light, because the light starts to come back after 5 p.m. and you can see that the earth is still tilted and the seasons still work and March is on the schedule. I drove three runs this week — all regional — and came home each evening to a house that was quieter than it used to be, because Amber is working on senior projects and Tyler is reading in his room and Justin is at the weight room and Josie is at a friend's. The nest is getting lower in the tree. I am not ready for anything to fly. I am aware that they do not ask permission.
Groundhog Day. Six more weeks. Josie was delighted to learn what it meant. Tyler was appalled that "the whole country does that, Mom? Really?" Justin said nothing. Amber said, "It is an entire nation of adults choosing to lie to themselves about when winter ends." Amber does this to us now — puts a sentence on the table that is so perfectly constructed and so dryly delivered that we all look at her for five seconds and then Dave starts laughing and cannot stop. She is going to be a lethal person in graduate school. I cannot wait.
Dave's MRI results came Wednesday. The doctor said: "There is significant degeneration but no acute rupture. Conservative management for now. Physical therapy. Rest when possible." Dave heard the words "no acute rupture" and nothing else and took the news as a full reprieve, which it is not. The doctor also said the word "eventually" about surgery. Dave chose not to hear that word. I heard it. I chose not to remind him. We will do the PT. We will see. I am starting to think we may be inside the first chapter of a longer story with Dave's back that ends with surgery in a few years. I am not going to say that out loud to him. Not yet. Not today.
The cookbook went to print Thursday. Sarah emailed: "Brenda, they are printing the first batch. Release date is April 19." April 19. I wrote the date on the calendar in the kitchen. I have seventy days. I have a book coming out in seventy days. The thing I have been writing in the sunroom at 5 a.m. for ten months is going to be on shelves and in mailboxes in seventy days. I do not know how to hold this. I fed Biscuit. I made dinner. I went to bed. A person does what a person knows how to do. The writing is done. The waiting begins.
I baked bread Saturday, as I do every Saturday. Six loaves. Two for us, two for Gayle, one for Steve and Louise, one for the Kellers next door whose daughter just had a baby. That is my Saturday. That is also going in the book. It is already in the book. Everything is already in the book.
Saturday baking is its own kind of anchor for me — the loaves of bread, the familiar rhythm, the way the house smells when something is in the oven and the kids are still home. The week had been full: Dave’s MRI, the cookbook going to print, February doing what February does. When I finished the bread and still had flour on my hands and a little time left, I made this cake. It’s the kind of thing Tillie would have made without announcement and left on a counter for whoever needed it. That felt right for this particular Saturday.
Tillie’s Ginger Crumb Cake
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- Make the crumb base. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until the mixture resembles coarse, damp crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture for the topping.
- Mix the batter. To the remaining crumb mixture, add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined — do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Assemble. Pour and spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Scatter the reserved crumb topping evenly over the surface.
- Bake. Bake for 32–36 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The crumb topping should be golden and slightly crisp.
- Cool and serve. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 47g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 185mg