Another installment from the cookbook of Ron Stoppable. With Mother's Day just past, I thought it would be nice to write a little something in honour of the day. I apologize for not submitting this before the day itself. Maybe keep it in mind for next year. Why don't we skip ahead a few years, when Ron has left for college, and Hanna is now the child of the household?

As usual, Disney owns all of these characters. Thanks to all who have responded so positively to this newest story line.


Mother's Day Breakfast, Stoppable Style

It was a quiet Sunday morning in the Stoppable house. The sun streamed in through the living room windows, making patterns on the hardwood floors and bringing out the colors in Jean's favorite cushions on the couch. The deadbolt on the front door clicked back, and the door opened to admit Ron, carrying a duffel bag of clothing.

As he put the bag down, his Mystical Monkey instincts told him to brace himself. There was a blur from the stairs, as Hanna slid down the banister, leaping off at the bottom. She launched herself at her big brother with the energy only a four year old ninja could possibly possess. Ron caught her purely by reflex, and hugged her to him.

"Hey there, you little monkey girl!" he greeted her. He began to tickle her on her belly, and she giggled and squirmed all over, batting at his hands.

"Ronnie, you're home! I waited and waited for you." She bounced up and down in his arms.

Ron had moved to a dorm at Upperton University that fall, after commuting back and forth for his first two years. He hadn't wanted to miss a single moment of young Hanna's childhood. The girl who had begun her tenure as the pest and intruder was now a major part of his life. He was as protective of her as Mr. Dr. P had been of Kim at that age. Now he came home at every opportunity, sometimes bringing his girlfriend and partner, Kim, with him. They would both play with Hanna for hours on end.

"That's right, and I'm home for the whole summer." He put his little sister down and led her into the kitchen. "And it's a special day too. Do you know what day it is?"

"Mother's Day!" the little girl squealed in joy.

"That's right, and we are going to make it a good one for mommy, aren't we?"

Ron started the coffee going and got Hanna a glass of juice. She sat on one of the tall stools at the kitchen island.

"What are we going to do, Ronnie?"

"We're going to make her breakfast and serve it to her in bed. Every kid has to do that at least once. You might as well learn how to do it now." He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a large metal mixing bowl. "What do you say to pancakes?"

"Pancakes, pancakes!" Hanna sang, clapping her little hands together.

Ron got out the canister of flour, a can of baking powder, milk, butter and eggs. Hanna stood up on her stool and spun the spice rack around. Without even waiting for it to stop, Ron picked out the jars of cinnamon and nutmeg. It was a game he had learned from Master Lunch Lady at Yamanouchi. From the pantry, he pulled out a bottle of vanilla extract.

"What will it be, my faithful assistant, blueberries or banana?"

"Berries!" She hopped down from her place and ran to the fridge. Reaching up, she pulled on the handle, and opened the door. She pulled out the blueberries that were sitting on the bottom shelf and took them over to Ron. He picked her up and she set them on the counter.

"Thank you, Hanna. You are getting to be such a big girl now. Pretty soon you'll be doing this on your own." He gave her a little squeeze and tweaked her nose. That sent her into yet another fit of giggles. He placed her back down on her stool.

Ron measured two cups of flour into the bowl. This was followed by a tablespoon of the butter and a teaspoon of baking powder. An equal amount of cinnamon and nutmeg (about a teaspoon of each) quickly followed, along with two teaspoons of sugar.

"Okay, Hanna, what goes in next?"

"Eggs." the little girl said, opening the carton. She carefully picked two of the eggs out and passed them to her brother. He amused her by juggling them. With years of ninja training, he had gotten good at handling things, that and the dangerous devices he always seemed to wind up holding when on missions with his girlfriend. He deftly cracked them against the side of the bowl and emptied the shells into the mix. The shells themselves went into a compost bucket kept under the sink.

A cup of milk was measured out and poured over the dry ingredients. A tablespoon of the vanilla extract followed.

"Okay, little ninja girl, time to work your arm." Ron placed the bowl in front of Hanna and gave her a long wooden spoon. She swung it over her head like a katana a couple of times, and then slid it home into the ingredients before her. Using both hands, she stirred with all her might, combining everything. When it seemed to be too thick, Ron added a little more milk.

After several minutes of mixing, the batter was smooth, and was just thick enough to pour slowly off of the spoon.

"So, what makes blueberry pancakes?"

"The berries?"

"Right you are, Hanna!" He handed her the box that she had taken from the refrigerator. "You just pour in these until I tell you to stop." He took the spoon from her and folded in the blueberries as she slowly dumped them into the batter. When about three quarters of a cup were in the mixture, he told her to stop.

"This is the part a grown up has to do, Hanna. In a few years, I'll show you how to do this." Ron pulled the griddle out of the cupboard and plugged it into a convenient outlet. He adjusted the temperature so that it would be hot enough to cook quickly, but not burn the cakes.

"Promise?" Hanna asked, looking up at him from under raven bangs that reminded him of his good friend, Yori.

"Promise!" he replied.

When the appliance was hot enough, he ladled a good amount of batter onto the surface. Another went next to it, so that there was space between them. After a while, a wonderful aroma rose from the griddle. It began to bubble around the edges.

"Time to turn them?"

"No, not yet. When the whole top is bubbles, then we can flip them over. If we do it too soon, they'll fall apart or splatter." Hanna leaned over to where she could watch them cook, but not so close that she would burn herself.

When the cakes were beginning to bubble in the center, Ron carefully slid the spatula under the first one. With a quick motion of the wrist, developed with practice, he flipped the pancake over, revealing the golden color of the bottom. The second cake went over just as smoothly.

Ron timed the rest of the cooking, figuring about five minutes would be enough to cook the pancakes through. To be certain, he poked one with a fork, and smiled when it showed a fluffy interior. He removed the cakes from the griddle and put them onto a warm plate, which he covered with a large pot lid. Two more cakes went on the griddle and were cooked the same way.

When the batter was all used up, the bowl went into the sink, along with the measuring spoons and other utensils.

Ron set up a tray with the plate of pancakes, a cup of the hot coffee and a small bowl of maple syrup on the side. He carefully walked up the stairs. Hanna tip toed behind him, carrying a bud vase with a single rose in it. Approaching the master bedroom with the silence born of sneaking into lairs, they knocked softly on the door.

Mr. Stoppable opened it for them.

"Happy Mother's Day!" Hanna shrieked.

They served their mother her breakfast, and kissed her affectionately.

"Now for the rest of the gift, Hanna." Ron said, taking her hand.

"What rest?"

"We go downstairs and clean up the mess that we made."

Author's Notes and Recipe

It took me a while to get this one out. My apologies to all of the mothers out there who missed out on breakfast in bed.

You have to be very careful about the temperature of the pan or skillet when making pancakes. Too hot and they burn to cinder. Too cool and they burn on the outside and are raw on the inside.

I like to serve pancakes with a side of fresh fruit, sliced to convenient bite sizes.

Ingredients

Two cups of flour

One tablespoon of baking powder

Two teaspoons of sugar

One teaspoon each of nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla extract

One cup of milk (more if needed)

Two eggs

3/4 cups of blueberries

Put all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the two eggs and vanilla extract, fold in until eggs are thoroughly mixed. Add the milk and stir until batter is smooth. You may need to add more milk to get the right consistency. It should be fairly thick, just able to run out of the bowl. While folding the batter, add the blueberries.

Pancakes cook and flip best if they are about four or five inches in diameter. Remember not to touch them until they are bubbling all across the top. It takes practice to get the perfect flip. Don't be intimidated, just have fun.