Preheat oven to 400; put a cast-iron 8" pan in the oven while it preheats. Prepare a piece of paper towel with oil or butter on it to grease the pan.
Combine, in a largish bowl:
3/4 c flour
1 1/4c cornmeal (slightly coarse grind if possible)
1/2 t salt
2t baking powder
1/4c sugar
Optional: chop a seeded jalapeno
Whisk together:
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
and then add
1/4c oil
and mix again.
If the wet ingredients are not already at room temperature, put them in the microwave for 30-60 secs to get there.
Mix wet into dry ingredients (optional: along with jalapenos) and quickly blend, but it's OK to have a few lumps.
Remove pan from oven, grease it with the oily paper towel, pour in the batter and shake to spread it around a bit, and throw it in the oven. Cook 15 min, test to see that a skewer comes out clean. If not, cook a few minutes more. Let cool in pan for a minute or two; loosen edges and bottom, flip out of pan onto rack and let it cool as much as you can before you family eats it all.