Quick and Easy Pancake Supper

Today is Pancake Day, a.k.a. Mardi Gras, so it seems fitting to think about quick and easy pancake suppers.

In Europe of past centuries, Christians fasted for the forty days of Lent, going without any meat or animal products, sometimes including lard, eggs and dairy. So the day before Ash Wednesday came to be knowr n as Carni-val" literally "goodbye to meat" in Latin, or Fat Tuesday which in French is Mardi Gras.

Even if we don't indulge in the Lenten season of penitential self-denial, we can enjoy our own Pancake Day supper, and draw from the centuries-old tradition of meatless meals through the weeks of early spring. After all, one of the best lessons of Lent is the realization that we can do rather well on much less than we habitually consume.

Maple syrup, if you can get the real thing, is a perfectly wonderful natural sugar - but use sparingly, because it is still a sugar, with all the calories and high glycemic levels of any other sugar. Applesauce makes a fine pancake topping, especially when spiked with cinnamon or nutmeg.



RECIPE: WHOLE GRAIN PANCAKES WITH WARM APPLESAUCE

The options are endless as your imagination. I generally make these with soy, almond or coconut milk, canola oil for the melted butter, and spelt flour. They are quite good as corn cakes, using corn meal for half the flour, or with the addition of 1/2 c. rolled oats.  If adding chopped nuts or coconut, take an extra minute to toast the nuts in a dry skillet before adding to the batter.

Combine in a  pitcher or mixing bowl:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. raw sugar (coarse or fine)
1/2 tsp. salt

Whisk together, then add to dry ingredients:
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbs. melted butter
1 egg

Stir just to moisten the dry ingredients, adding enough additional milk to make a pourable batter, adjusting to your own preference for thin or thick cakes.

Fold about 1/2 cup of the following in any combination:

chopped nuts
coconut
berries  or chopped apples, peaches or bananas
raisins, dried cranberries or other chopped dried fruit

Note: blueberries will turn the batter blue when stirred, so you may want to drop the berries directly onto the pancakes while on the griddle before flipping.

Heat the griddle or frying pan (cast iron is best) over medium heat. Add just enough bacon fat or other grease to put a shine on the hot cooking surface. The griddle is ready when a drop of water "skips" on it.
Pour a quarter-cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake (or a Tablespoon for silver-dollar cakes.)

 

Wait until bubbles break over the surface of the cake before flipping, then cook only until the underside is lightly browned.
For crisp edges, add additional grease/oil to the griddle and heat again before each batch. Corn cakes are especially good when crisped. Otherwise, only add grease/oil if cakes begin to stick.

Add additional milk for thinner cakes.

Serve cakes with warm applesauce as soon as they come off the griddle. Otherwise, stack on a heat-proof platter, cover with a damp cloth, and keep warm in the oven.

Toppings beyond butter and maple syrup:
Unsweetened "natural" Applesauce, with freshly grated cinnamon or nutmeg
Cranberry Sauce
Sliced Fruit: Peaches, Plums, Pears or Bananas
Fresh Berries or Pomegranates