In Preparation for Pancake Day

I can't remember where I first read it, but somewhere in the last few years I read a snippet about Lenten traditions that referred to Shrove Tuesday as Pancake Day. I'd always heard of it as Fat Tuesday, or more commonly in French Mardi Gras. The concept is the same no matter what term you use, though: eat up all the rich foods in the house so they don't spoil over lent and/or you're not tempted to eat them while you should be fasting from such decadence.

To help you make the most of the decadent foods in your kitchen, I thought I'd offer up some of my own favorite pancake recipes.

Banana Pancakes
3 bananas
¼ c sugar
2 eggs
¼ c oil
1½ c milk
2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
½ t cinnamon

1. Mash bananas.
2. Beat in sugar, eggs, oil, and milk.
3. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Pour by 1/3 cup onto greased griddle over medium heat.
5. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cheesecakes
2 T sugar
½ c flour
1 c oats
1½ t baking powder
¼ t nutmeg
½ t cinnamon
6 oz cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine sugar, flour, oats, baking powder, nutmeg & cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl combine cream cheese, eggs & milk.
3. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended.
4. Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
5. Drop by ¼ cup onto a greased griddle at medium heat, spread batter slightly with a spoon, and cook until bubbles form in the center.
6. Flip and cook until golden brown.

Caramel Apple Oven Pancake
4 eggs
¾ c milk
¾ c flour
7 T melted butter, divided
¾ c brown sugar
2 tart apples

1. Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add milk, flour, and 3T butter. Mix well and set aside.
2. Stir remaining butter and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once sugar has dissolved and mixture is rapidly boiling, remove from heat.
3. Peel apples and slice thinly.
4. Layer apples and syrup on the bottom of a 9” round (or 8”square) cake pan.
5. Pour batter over top layer of syrup.
6. Place pan in a preheated 400°F oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
7. Serve warm.

Fresh Cranberry Pancakes
1½ c cranberries
¼ c sugar
2 eggs
1 c milk
¼ c oil
¼ c brown sugar
2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
¼ t salt
½ t cardamom*

1. Halve cranberries and mix with sugar; set aside.
2. Beat eggs together with milk, oil, and brown sugar.
3. Whisk together dry ingredients and stir into egg mixture.
4. Fold in cranberries and sugar; stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Pour by ¼-cup onto greased griddle over medium heat.
6. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.

*If you don't have cardamom, substitute an equal amount of cinnamon for an equally yummy flavor.

And, if all that's just not enough for you, check out my recipe for Chocolate Pancakes from last year.

Best Quote of the Olympics, So Far

Bob Costas said this Friday night during the opening ceremonies. It made me laugh out loud.

Canadians as a group are among the friendliest most welcoming people on earth, but I don't see anything incompatible with saying, "Hello, welcome. We're very friendly. We're glad you're here. We want you to enjoy yourselves. And now we'd also like to kick your butt."

What Did One Volcano Say to the Other?

Adam was reading this riddle to Rosi tonight. She thought for a moment, then answered, confidently, "It's ten o'clock!"

(For the record, the answer was supposed to be "I 'lava' you.")

Birth Story

I've been meaning to post my son's birth story on this blog for quite a while. Since I never seemed to get to it, I thought I'd just direct everyone over to a write-up I did on the Mothering discussion forum.

Anyone can read the site, but you have to registered as a member to comment. Or you could just come back here and leave a comment below. Your choice.

Do You Like Cartoons?

Are you interested in buying some unique comic and animation art for a good cause?

Check out this eBay auction.

For more on Matt's story, read here.

Haiti

My friend lives and works as a missionary in Haiti. I just got a short e-mail from her letting me know that she and her family are okay. The only other thing she said was:

Please keep praying - the situation is beyond terrible.

Please, keep praying. If you are able, send a special financial gift to one of the great organizations that is working to help the people there as they begin to recover from this disaster.

But, most of all, please pray.

Further Thoughts on the Cold

The McDonald's near our house is offering a special deal right now: buy one burger at regular price and get a second for the temperature at noon yesterday. I'm not sure what the temperature was at noon today, but I'm pretty sure it's stayed below zero all day.

Do you suppose that means they'd pay me to get a second burger tomorrow?

What Does It Mean ...

What does it mean when the dew point is -19°F?

Isn't that an oxymoron?

I mean, by definition, dew point is the temperature to which the air must be cooled for the humidity to condense into water. Except when we're talking about -19, water would be ice.

So, I wonder, if the temperature were to drop a few degrees, would the humidity in the air turn into ice crystals? Would snow just spontaneously form all around us?

That would be awesome.

Meanwhile, Adam's really glad for the hat and muff I made him last year. The temperature as he'll be leaving for work is -9 with a wind chill of -26.

Excuse me. I suddenly feel the need to go put on a sweater and another pair of socks.

That Other Thing

In addition to having a baby, I was working on my first novel last month. While I didn't get my draft finished (I blame the baby for coming sooner than instructed, but really, I lost the pace a week or so before I went into labor), I did get more than a dozen scenes written out. I thought I'd share one of my favorites with you.

This evening takes place early in the story. The two main characters, Rosie and Stone, got together a couple of weeks previously and they have just begun to include one another in their regular activities.

Thursday Trivia Night was the busiest evening of the week at Smokey’s Pub, or “The Off-Campus” as it had been dubbed many years ago by the local student population. Thursdays at the Off-Campus were a tradition for Stone. He’d started meeting a few of the guys from his dorm for trivia and beer when he was a freshman and returned every fall when he got back to school. He greeted several other regulars as he led Rosie through the crowd to the bar in the back.

“Hey, Fred,” Stone waved at the usual Thursday-night bartender.

“Hiya, Stone,” Fred smiled, showing off a his gold front tooth, as he popped the cap off a bottle of Stone’s favorite beer. “Wasn’t sure we’d be seeing you here anymore. You graduated from the Big House this last week, didn’t you?”

“Sure did. I’m still around for now, though,” Stone drew Rosie closer to the bar. “I made a new friend. This is Rosie.”

Fred stuck out a hand, “Good to meet you, Rosie. I’m Fred, best barman south of the Mason-Dixon line.”

Rosie smiled and shook his hand, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“What can I get for you?”

“Could I get a Coke with a lime, please?”

“No challenge,” Fred grumbled with a wink to Rosie as he scooped up ice into a wide-mouth glass, filled it with soda, and squeezed in a lime wedge. He added a red straw and passed the drink across the bar. Stone reached for his wallet, but Fred shook his head.

“Naw,” he said. “Those are on the house. Graduation gift for you.”

“Thank you,” Stone and Rosie spoke together.

“Thanks, a lot, Fred,” Stone added.

“Good luck in the game,” Fred called as they stepped away to look for a free table.

Settling in at a tiny table for two near the corner stage, Rosie asked Stone about the trivia game.

“It doesn’t start until 8:00,” Stone explained, “But if you’re not here by 6:30, you won’t get a table.” He gestured at the crowd already filling most of the tables in the pub, then pointed to the small stage, “The emcee reads the questions from here, then each team has two minutes to write down their answer and pass it up. Whoever has the most answers right at the end of the night wins.”

“What’s the prize?”

“Free pitcher of your choice.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand the popularity of Trivia Night,” Rosie said, dryly. “How often has your team gotten the pitcher of beer?”

Stone smiled, “Once or twice. Some of these players are pretty hard core, though. They’ve been part of the same teams, every week, for years.” Stone pointed out a few of the long-standing competitors, explaining that each team member specialized in one or two categories so their group always had an expert, no matter what sort of question came up.

Rosie raised her eyebrows. She shook her head, “I don’t think you should count on any more free beer tonight. I don’t know if I can compete with that kind of advanced strategy.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Stone told her. “I don’t really come for the prize. Trivia Night is what’s kept me from holing up in my room too much over the years and becoming anti-social.”

“I don’t believe it,” Rosie said. “I can’t see you not playing to win.”

“I didn’t say I don’t play to win,” Stone replied. “I just know when I’m outmatched.”

Rosie nodded and took a sip of her Coke, “That’s a good thing to know.”

“How about you?” Stone leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

“What about me?”

“Do you know when you’ve met your match?”

Rosie stirred the straw in her drink. She studied Stone’s blue eyes, dark in the dim light of the pub.

“Yeah,” She said slowly. “I think I do.”

Copyright ©2009 by Amy James Gray. No part of this text may be copied or reprinted without the prior consent of the author.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like the Ice Planet Hoth

Greetings from the Rebel Base!

We've been under winter weather warnings for the past two days and there's now a blizzard warning in effect through noon tomorrow. Interstates 29 and 90 have been closed through most of the state since 7:00 last night. Snow accumulations are predicted to be up to 20 inches, with drifts up to 6 feet. When they start measuring the snow in feet, I'm on the lookout for AT-ATs.

**This officially ends all the Star Wars references. I don't want to have to look anything else up on Wookieepedia**

Because of the heavy snow, we canceled our Christmas Eve plans to drive through town munching on caramel corn and looking at the holiday lights. Rosi was very disappointed.

We are still planning a Christmas Day carol sing around the piano. She's been learning a number of songs lately--mostly from me, but a few of unknown origin (somebody taught her Jingle Bells, but it wasn't me). Her latest favorite is "Arthur Harold Angels Sing" or as she calls it, "Glowy to the Newborn King."

Meanwhile, we're getting our traditional Christmas chicken ready along with garlic mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. The baby is asleep and Rosie is munching on oranges that arrived yesterday by FedEx, fresh from my sister's tree in Phoenix.

Merry Christmas to all!

Please ...

I don't ask for prayer much on this blog, but I have two significant requests to share with you. First is for Lia. Those of you who were reading here a year ago will remember Lia was rushed to the hospital shortly after birth and spent two months in NICU before heading home on oxygen. She's done far better than most of the experts predicted and recently celebrated her first birthday! However, she's been having trouble breathing again and her diaphragm has moved back up, compressing one of her lungs. Her family is heading down to Twin Falls today and they are looking at surgery perhaps as early as tomorrow. You can follow Lia's story on her blog or her medical updates on her CaringBridge page.

The second request is for me, well, for us. If you knew me when I had my daughter, you may remember we had some struggles with breastfeeding that led to Rosi nearly being labeled with Failure to Thrive as an infant. We're having some similar feeding issues with the new baby--only we're working on them at three weeks rather than three months. Just this evening I began to face the heartbreaking truth that, even though I'm doing everything "right" like I'm supposed to, I may still not be able to exclusively breastfeed my son. This might not seem especially significant; I know a lot of mothers easily use formula from birth or wean at a very early age, but for me, for reasons I'm not entirely prepared to share with the internet at large just now, it's a really big deal.

Thank you.

Did You Know ...

I like to think I know a lot of things about, well, a lot of things. I'm an excellent Trivial Pursuit partner (especially if you know the answers to entertainment and sports questions) and I like to collect random facts in my brain. Sometimes things seem to have fallen through the cracks, though.

The other day, Rosi was playing the piano and singing the alphabet. When she got to the letter H, I told her that the notes only go up as far as G, then restart at A. She began her song again, playing just the white keys and starting at the bottom of the keyboard, "A-B-C-D" and so forth. Just then, I walked past and glanced down.

"Hey," I announced to Adam, all excited by my discovery. "The lowest note on the piano is an A."

"Yeah," he responded. Left unspoken was his, "Duh!"