Batter Off Dead Read Online Free PDF

had been manufactured by the same company that had produced the key in Minerva J. Jay’s padded envelope, and a switch would surely go unnoticed for the meantime.
    If only I could get the envelope resealed. The kettle method wasn’t going to work; I knew from experience that once an envelope has been opened, it needs tape to be sealed. But maybe the chief had some glue—That’s when I noticed a roll of stamps. Somehow, in the next minute and a half, I managed to detach the useless key and thrust it deep within the envelope, transfer some of the glue from the stamps to the envelope with my tongue, and then seal it. After that I returned said envelope to its proper place in the drawer. What I couldn’t quite manage was settling my huge bulk back into the chief’s chair before he stepped back in.

5
    Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
with Cinnamon Maple Syrup
    Adapted from a recipe from Bette’s Oceanview Diner in Berkeley, California, these are melt-in-your-mouth moist and tender. The Cinnamon Maple Syrup is easy to assemble while the pancakes are slowly cooking.
     
    4 large eggs
2 cups sour cream

2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1-2 bananas, peeled and cut into thin slices
     
    Cinnamon Maple Syrup (recipe follows)
    1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and bubbly. Stir in the sour cream until blended. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt onto the liquid ingredients. Fold until blended.
    2. Heat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Brush with a thin film of vegetable oil, or spray with nonstick cooking spray. For each pancake, pour a scant ¼ cup batter onto griddle or into skillet. Immediately arrange 3 or 4 thin slices of banana on the surface of each pancake. Adjust the heat to medium-low. Cook the pancakes slowly until the tops are covered with small bubbles and the bottoms are lightly browned. Carefully turn and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter.
    3. Serve immediately with Cinnamon Maple Syrup.
     
    MAKES ABOUT TWELVE 4-INCH PANCAKES.
     
    Cinnamon Maple Syrup: Combine 1 cup maple syrup, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon in a small saucepan and cook, stirring to blend, until the mixture boils. Remove from heat and let stand until pancakes are ready to serve.

6
    “Miss Yoder, you’re up!”
    “It’s these ding-dang hemorrhoids—pardon my French, Little Jacob.”
    “You know, of course, that’s insulting to the French people.”
    “Are ding and dang really swear words?” The first rule of good espionage is that should one get caught, one must rely on the D word: deflect .
    “No,” Chris said, “they aren’t, but they are intended as replacements for swear words, so it is as if you said the real words.”
    I pretended to let that sink in. “I see your point,” I said after an uncomfortable length of time had passed. “You know, Chief, it just occurred to me that you are no longer quite as sweet and respectful as you were when you first moved here from California.”
    His eyes widened in surprise. “I’m not ?”
    “To the contrary, dear, if you were a character in a book, you might even be labeled annoying. No doubt some impatient reader would toss the book across the room and promise never to buy another of that author’s books ever again.”
    The drawer I’d ravaged was still slightly ajar, but young Chris absentmindedly closed it with his knee. “Wow! I didn’t see that one coming.”
    “We never do, do we? Now, be a dear and hand me the goodies. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra cup around here for the milk, would you? I’d drink from the carton, but I usually end up spilling on myself, and these maternity outfits are bling-blang expensive.”
    “You don’t want it for your tea ?”
    “What? And ruin a perfectly good, albeit cold, cup of Constant Comment?”
     
     
    In the end, until we