Shout Out to Pancake Day
Yay! It’s Pancake Day or as I like to call it – Mom’s-had-coffee-so she-will-now-make-you-breakfast Day. Pancake Day is celebrated on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, also is known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday.
To honor all those pancakes being served, I am giving a shout out to my favorite children’s book when I was a wee brat, Sam and the Tigers. My edition – written by Helen Bannerman, illustrated by Eulalie, and published in 1955 – told the story of an Indian boy who outsmarts 4 tigers and ends up with 143 pancakes. That’s a pretty sweet ratio.
Although the book is no longer considered politically correct, as a child I loved this book so hard. I spent hours reading and rereading it and copying the illustrations over and over. Tigers wearing clothes and turning into butter? Stacks and stacks of pancakes? Be still my heart!
Remember that scene in the movie You’ve Got Mail where Kathleen Kelly is at the Shop Around the Corner cash register checking out Joe Fox’s books and she talks about how books you read as a child become part of your identity and help you become the person you were going to be? You don't? I mean, okay, but it's only the best part of the movie. ;)
Well, anyways, that book may very well be the reason I am an artist today. As an adult I have come to understand the objections to the stereotypes put forth but as a child I was head over heels in love with that clever Sam and that book full of magic.
Of course it's not the only book that made my heart skip a beat. Here are just a few of the many, many books that I read when I was a kid that are still part of me today:
- My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craigshead George
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- The Cricket in Times Square by Garth Williams
- The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- The Borrowers by Mary Norton
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
These books kick-started started a fire in my imagination, fanned the flames, and lit the way for many of my choices as I grew up. Do you remember the books that helped you become you?
And because it is National Pancake Day after all, here’s a shout out to my favorite sour cream pancakes from Horn of the Moon cookbook although to be fair I have yet to try Ree Drummond’s pancake recipe which everyone seems to be raving about. Maybe have some for dinner?
- Sour Cream Pancakes
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Ingredients
1¼ cup flour, whole wheat
¾ cup flour, unbleached
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1¾ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons butter; melted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 egg white; beaten well
1 tablespoon butter
Maple syrup, warmedIn a medium-sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream, honey, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Add the milk and egg yolk. Mix again. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir well. Add the beaten egg white and stir.
Preheat a griddle or fry pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 teaspoon of the butter, and quickly spread it over the surface. Pour ½ cup ladle of the pancake batter (for each pancake) on the griddle/fry pan. Cook the pancakes until bubbles appear on their surfaces. Flip the pancakes and cook for a 1 to 2 minutes.
Repeat until all the batter is used, adding more butter as needed to the pan. Serve with hot maple syrup on the side. Enjoy!
Over + out,
Angel
p.s. I don’t have any pancakes in my shop but I do have a tiger card and it's greeeeeeeat. ;)
p.p.s. If you have a gluten free wee one our favorite pancake mixes are from Bisquick and King Arthur.
p.p.s. I don't get paid to recommend these books and eat these pancakes but wouldn't that be cool? I just happen to love books AND pancakes.