Experienced cooks know the difference between Big T and Little t. There are three teaspoons in a tablespoon. Baking powder makes batter light and airy. This knowledge was gained over time by my sisters as they learned mandatory culinary skills.
Once upon a time my father fancied himself a writer’s studio and contracted Mr. Clair Helgeson to build it. Mr. Helgeson was a member of our church, and therefore eminently qualified to build a suitable edifice, one that was sure to draw the inspiration needed to create a best seller. Roger Sharp was among the carpenter crew that summer day, using nothing but hand tools and saws, since there was no electricity at the site. Healthy appetites resulted.
They were now ready for a break and an afternoon snack, courtesy of the host family. My sisters had been detailed for this task; baking a plate of cookies for a crew of hungry men was definitely women’s work. I, of course, was at the job site with the men, picking up manly nails or some other child’s task. The girls set about their duties in the home kitchen, about 300 yards away.
Exactly at the appointed time, the pre-teen girls proudly delivered their creation to the men: a plate of freshly-baked cookies and a beverage, probably a sugary Kool-aid. Sadly, it wasn’t long before a critical discovery was made: The girls had used a Big T and not a Little t when measuring the baking powder. Baking powder, I am told, raises the batter, making the cookies light and airy. The men immediately detected the mistake, there was enough air in these cookies to fill a balloon.
Roger Sharp was an excellent carpenter; he was also the father of a daughter who was Solveig’s age and he was no doubt aware of the sensitivities of these earnest young cooks. While the rest of us politely declined to finish the offering, he declared the cookies to be the best ever, and exuberantly helped himself to another dreadful mistake.
Roger didn’t die that day, he went right back to work. But he had just taught Little me a lesson about how to some day be a Bigger Man.
