One of Those

I'm having one of those days, and I've only been up for 12 minutes!

Dozing in bed, nursing the baby, I suddenly felt him move away. That caught my attention immediately, since his usual motion is toward me, especially while he's eating. I opened my eyes to see Rosi working at tying a shoelace to his ankle and tugging him toward the edge of the bed.

He fell back asleep and I got up only to find that, despite going shopping last night, still the only "quick" breakfast food in the house is eggs. I just can't handle eggs right now. I dug out a leftover chunk of cheese and some pretzels for breakfast. I sat down at the computer to check my e-mail, while I had the chance. Reaching into the (nearly full) bag of pretzels, I knocked the entire thing onto the floor. Upside down.

No terrible tragedies, thankfully, just enough of the little things that MAKE ME WANT TO SCREAM. I don't get enough sleep for this.

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.")