Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Pancakes Anyone?


from Photobucket.com
For those of you who have practiced Lent, Shrove Tuesday is probably familiar to you. I had no idea what it was. I'd never heard of it before. But our new church is Episcopalian and goes all-out for Lent and is holding a pancake supper tonight. Well, I certainly like pancakes. Time to check out this tradition.

First stop, good ol'  Wikipedia to figure out just what Shrove Tuesday is all about.

In short, the word is a past tense for an old English word, shrive, the absolution of one's sins. It's also associated with Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday-- a last indulgence before the season of sacrifice and Lent takes place.

Why pancakes? Since people, once upon a time in the practice of Lent, were forbidden to eat milk, butter or eggs during the Lent season, and these ingredients could not be stored for the 40-day duration, the story goes they would use up these ingredients the night before Lent with a big pancake feast.

This is a practice I can dig a fork into. I love to make and eat homemade pancakes. Sometimes we even have them for dinner. Seems like a great celebration to me!

I have used the same pancake recipe for over twenty years, and make changes to the ingredients as the mood hits.

Basic Recipe: (From the 1982 edition of Sunset's Easy Basics cookbook, or as I like to call it, the Idiot's Cookbook. It was the ideal wedding gift for me.)

Mix dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar

Mix wet ingredients:
1- 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 Tbs melted butter/margarine

Make a well in mixed dry ingredients, add wet ingredients all at once, stir till blended. Pour batter (about 1/4 cup) on to hot, greased pan (I use spray oil). Cook on medium until top side looks dry, then flip. Serve with syrup, hot mixed berries, or whatever toppings you enjoy.

Variations:
Flours: Play around with the flours you add. I sometimes use 1/2 cup white flour, 1/2 cup wheat, 1/2 oats or similar variations. Wheat and oats may alter the moisture needed-- just adjust milk to get the consistency you want.

Add Ins: Ooo our family likes a few things thrown in sometimes-- a handful of pecans, chocolate chips, dried cranberries-- have fun and be inventive!

Yum. Let's celebrate! I think any practice that includes the eating of bread-like substances with a sweet topping and perhaps a side of sizzling pig-flesh and eggs, is one we should all observe!


31 comments:

  1. You had me at pancakes! I'll have to try that recipe. Yum!

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  2. I'm Catholic and didn't know what Shrove Tuesday was- oops! But the pancakes sound good!

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    1. First for me too, Kate. But I'm all for anything that is celebrated with pancakes too. :)

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  3. I never knew where the pancake tradition came from - interesting! This stack looks so yummy I am practically salivating just looking at it LOL. Enjoy the supper tonight! :)

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    1. Thanks-- I'm going to throw in eggs and some pig flesh to round it all out.

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  4. Wow, I honestly have never heard of Shrove Tuesday! Considering, I've been a Catholic all my life (and a practicing Catholic for a majority of it), I am very curious. Being a big fan of pancakes, I'm all for participating. Thanks for sharing, Julie!

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    1. Here's to pancakes and feasting for us both, Anna. AND here's to your new Author Facebook page. Yay!

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    2. Hah! I love it...pancakes to celebrate and to kick-start Lent. :) Perfect.

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  5. I never knew this either. Interesting story behind it. Too bad we had breakfast food for dinner last night. With the huge drop in temperature between Sunday and Monday was considering a big pot of chili.

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    1. Here's to a chili feast tradition for Lent! ;) Sounds good to me.

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  6. Yum. Copied your recipe. I'm curious is homemade is better than mix. (Probably... most everything else is. :P)

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    1. I prefer it. I think the mixes have a funky texture, but I bet not everyone would agree with me.

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  7. Now THAT sounds like a fun tradition! :)

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  8. I like pancakes too but hardly ever make them. My favorites are sweet potato or blueberry.

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    1. ohhh sweet potato. Do you have a recipe? Mmmm I need that. I will indulge tonight!

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  9. Such an interesting tidbit and a delicious pancake recipe! :) Thanks, Julie...I like the content of this blog. And what a way to bring in Lent. I've gone to pancake dinners in the past...have a nice Ash Wed service tomorrow.

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    1. This is all so new to me! Enjoy your pancakes. :)

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  10. Over here in the UK our pancakes are nothing like this, my boys were very disappointed when they saw our pancakes. I think they were expecting the same kind of thing they got while in Orlando. Thank you so much for this, I am going to be saving this recipe and trying it out - tonight probably! Hope you enjoyed your pancakes!

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    1. Morgan, let me know if they turned out. My family was so excited for their pancakes, ham, bacon and eggs. My arteries will forgive me, I hope. :)

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    2. Throw in a teaspoon of vanilla and a tad more sugar and another egg, Julie - and see if you do not like the new additions.

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    3. ooooo Julett, that sounds marvelous. I'm going to do that next time we have pancakes. I love vanilla in anything. Thank you!

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  11. I have come to like johnny (or hoe) cakes, which are made out of corn meal, a lot better than regular pancakes, but my wife remains a big fan. Her great love of pancakes helps to prove that really is not quite right in the head, though. For she likes them without a lot of butter and syrup, which is downright un-American, if you ask me.

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    1. Jerry, you have inspired me to find a recipe for johnny cakes and give them a try. I love anything corn meal. Sounds delish. And in defense of your wife, I like mine with just fruit. :)

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    2. The easiest way for you to give them a try may be to get a box of Jiffymix for cornbread. If I remember right, the recipe for Johnny cakes is on the box, which basically involves adding more milk than would be used for making cornbread. I suppose one could add creamed-corn and salsa to make Mexican johnny cakes, but we have not tried it. Instead, we like to pour chili over johnny cakes. My favorite way is to pour my mom's baked beans, which is actually more like a chili with sage sausage, over them.

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    3. Ohhhh thank you. Very yum!

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  12. That picture makes me SO HUNGRY! :) I never knew about this pancake tradition, only about Fat Tuesday, which if you eat too many pancakes. . .:) Thanks for the info.

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    1. Me either, Margo. This was totally new to me too. But yum, what a great tradition!

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