Friends from Calgary came to visit, and this morning, with a houseful of hungry kids and grownups, Tasha stood at the stove and made loads of thin pancakes. Although she’s really a great cook, she says these and spätzle are the only things she can make well. This is not true of course – but it is nice to have a few things in your repertoire that you feel completely comfortable cooking. Especially when they are deliciously crisp-edged thin pancakes that your grandmother taught you how to make.
Tasha’s grandmother made these pancakes on her farm in Saskatchewan – it was one of those staples she could always make because they had chickens, and thus eggs. They lived close to the train, and so during the depression she would feed hungry men looking for work, stretching flour, milk and eggs to feed as many as needed to eat. Tasha used pale green-blue eggs one of the girls plucked straight from the chicken coop at a farm near Coombs, on the other side of the island.
Usually in Tofino I make crepes or pancakes, and these are somewhere between the two: rather than attempt the pour/tilt method of coating the pan quickly with thin batter, Tash spoons the ever so slightly thicker than crepe batter into a hot oiled pan using a spoon from the cutlery drawer, then uses it to spread the batter around the pan into a thin pancake shape. The other advantage to this method, she says, is that you can easily make the pancakes in rudimentary shapes – hearts, for example, if you have little girls at the table.
These must be our new Tofino pancakes. I love knowing how many hundreds Tasha’s grandma cranked out for her neighbours, friends and grandkids, and now have the memory of Tash herself standing at the stove, kids sitting around the table and grownups milling about, someone grabbing each pancake as it came out of the skillet, and she following her grandma’s rule that the cook not eat until she cook the last pancake. That one’s hers.
They have just slightly more substance than our usual floopy crepes – they’re eggy but not rubbery, and somehow more appealing than plain old puffy stack-style pancakes. They spread theirs with sour cream and brown sugar or butter and maple syrup and roll them up, then slice them into bite-sized pieces.
We spread some with butter and sprinkled them with brown sugar. Others we drizzled with maple syrup and wrapped around a slice of bacon. Then I got the bright idea to sauté some apple slices in a bit of butter and brown sugar, and we topped those with maple syrup. A good start to a day that mostly involved rainy beaches.
I hate to say this is one of those recipes Tasha and her grandma make by feel – but that’s another thing I love about them – there’s no written down formula that must be followed. I often think that recipes are detrimental, suggesting that the cook must follow orders to the letter or risk failure. This is not how to learn how to cook. There are so many variables, between cook, kitchen and ingredients – one experiment years ago had 20 professional food writers make the same cake, following the same recipe, and they all came out slightly different. Although I’m a bit of a recipe fanatic myself, I love when food like this comes along that you learn to make by watching your friend, and listening to her talk about her grandma teaching her in the same way. I love this. I think we should all teach one of our recipes we know by heart and feel utterly confident about cooking to someone else. Kids are always great subjects, but even experienced cooks are always learning. In fact, sometimes its those cooks who get stuck in ruts of making the same recipes over and over who need to be jarred out of their comfort zone. And so much of the appeal of any given food is its history and emotional connection. Am I reading too much into a pancake? Maybe. Maybe not.
To make these, try 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs, whisked until smooth. (Tasha, are you reading this? Does that sound about right?) You want a batter slightly thicker than crepe batter (which is about the consistency of heavy cream), but a little thinner than regular pancake batter. It won’t be runny enough to swirl and coat the pan – you’ll need the back of a spoon to spread it around. Pour some oil into the pan between each pancake – this makes them wonderfully golden and crispy-edged. Once the surface of the pancake goes from shiny and wet to dry, it’s ready to flip over. (You won’t get the bubbles on the surface that you do from a baking powder-leavened pancake.) Best served to a room full of people, doling out a pancake at a time as it’s finished, with butter and syrup and jam and brown sugar on the table for all to spread and roll their own.
March 31 2011 | breakfast | 20 Comments »
Sorry for the radio silence. As some of you may already know, we’re out in Tofino, in Clayoquot Sound. We made the pilgrimage late last week in an attempt to escape the snow and freezing rain and perhaps not shovel the sidewalks for every day of spring break. It only took until Abbotsford to seek out something green and growing. So we’re here, all of us, in the pouring rain and the lush green. There’s a garden already growing – plenty of kale and chard – in the yard next door. We’ve seen two rainbows over Meares island (out our window) and a few seals, and hundreds of baby crabs hiding under the rocks. We’ve jumped in the waves (those of us under 10 have, anyway), eaten fish and chips, played Frisbee on the beach and witnessed one spectacular sunset. (Looking at the forecast, I’m hoping it’s not our last.)
Somehow it feels right to be on the furthest west coast of Canada, right on the Pacific ocean, almost directly across from Japan, on a piece of land with a Japanese history – a Japanese family once owned it, and there’s still bamboo growing, and the remains of a koi pond and stream under a falling-apart-but-still-functional bridge. The first morning here I walked down to the beach and found a chunk of weathered porcelain bowl – an Asian noodle bowl – and the day after Mike found a rock so smooth and perfectly oval you can stand it on one end and spin it like a top.
It’s a good place to launch this little project I’ve had in mind. A lot of you have asked if I’m doing another Blog Aid book, this time to benefit Japan. I’m not. Long story. (I have been involved in a similar project, which hasn’t been announced yet, but will soon.) I’m impressed with all the things people are coming up with to help – in the past couple weeks I’ve had more luck coming up with ideas than I’ve had actually executing them.
My first Big Idea was to throw a virtual potluck. Because when it comes down to it, what most of us wish we could do is whip up a nice comforting pot of soup to bring to Japan to directly show our support and good wishes, right? Feeding people, nourishing them when they need it most, is the most basic and direct way to show you care, isn’t it? So if you could bring a pot of something warm and delicious to Japan, wouldn’t you? A nice casserole, perhaps? How much might that cost in ingredients? $10? $20? and what about your time?
Here, let me make it easier for you. The World Food Programme (WFP) has a new site that will allow you to input food items; it calculates the cost and approximate number of people that money will feed, and you can donate directly. I love that. You can punch in a tuna casserole or a dozen muffins. This is exactly the sort of thing I envisioned coming up with, except that I can’t program fancy websites. Lucky that they can, and already did. You can do it here.
In terms of relief for Japan, the WFP has launched a logistics operation to support the Japanese government’s delivery of relief items to victims of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis – some 350,000 people are currently in temporary shelters. From their website:
“Today WFP stands with Japan – one of the most generous humanitarian nations on earth that has always been there when others have needed help,” said WFP Executive Director, Josette Sheeran. “WFP’s emergency operation is a direct response to the government’s request for help in meeting the epic logistical challenges they face in their heroic rescue efforts.”
In addition, WFP has moved more than 1,500 metric tons of food into Eastern Libya – enough to feed more than 100,000 people for a month – and pre-positioned more than 6,000 metric tons of food in emergency supplies.
Of course there’s always the Red Cross – and the lesser known option to donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross. The CBC has compiled a list of agencies on their website, too. While you’re at it, hold a real-life potluck dinner for those you’re glad to have in your life, just because. Let everyone bring something delicious, feed each other, and celebrate all that which becomes more acutely precious after watching so many others lose it. I haven’t managed to pull together a real-life potluck, but will do soon. (Fortunately potlucks aren’t time sensitive.)
But then I thought the term potluck could really be expanded to mean much more. Its definition, after all, is “whatever is available or comes one’s way”, which is really what all this is about – things that come our way, big or small, expected or not, how those things affect our lives and how we can all have positive impacts on each others’ lives. A potluck doesn’t have to refer to food, but a new way to look at injecting some joy and goodwill within our own circles and communities – to those people we are able to directly impact. We could all use a little happy amidst this dragging-on-winter and onslaught of sad and scary news, don’t you think? If the events that have unfolded in Japan cause us all to hug our loved ones a little more closely, to be kinder to people we don’t know, to make an effort to spread a little more happiness, well that’s something. As someone obviously very smart once said: you can’t help everyone, but you can help someone. (Even if it’s yourself.) It seems the Japanese are living that lesson already, and we could all learn something from the example they’ve been setting every day.
At the same time I was pondering this idea, and how it might unfold into something tangible, my good friend C, the one who designed and laid out the Blog Aid book, emailed me with a story of her own sadness and time spent with a group whose family was in Japan. And although they had all been accounted for, she said, the heaviness of soul in the room was palpable. I think that’s as good a descriptor as any for the world right now – so many heavy hearts.
She told me about a geologist she met who spoke (in reference to the Japanese earthquake) about plate tectonics, and how the shifting of the earth’s plates and earthquakes are necessary for the survival of all life on this planet. A whole new way of looking at things that somehow shed some light on an otherwise overwhelmingly tragic situation and gave her hope. She reiterated what I had been thinking – that the best thing to do is pass it on, using whatever gifts and talents we have – our driving force last year with Blog Aid.
And so I’m hoping we can make this even bigger, something we can all involve ourselves in a little more deeply, and have it be more accessible to everyone, including those who may not have money to spend on a cookbook. We can all make a difference. I thought I’d put it out there and see what we can come up with between us – I know there are a lot of creative minds and plenty of good will out there. To help with our project, the good folks at Maple Leaf Prime (the ones who are giving away two trips for two on the Rocky Mountaineer with me in May!) have sent me fifty (FIFTY!) Walmart gift cards with a value of $25 each. That’s $1250 for us to spend on good things. Collectively we should be able to make a difference in a lot of lives, and hope it has a ripple effect. It always does. You never know what you’ll trigger.
If you want to get involved, think of something you could do to make someone’s life a little happier or more comfortable. Socks or toothbrushes for a shelter. Food for a food bank. A homemade meal for someone who needs it. A party for you and your friends (a potluck in honour of Japan!). Seeds to plant a community garden. It could help one person or a lot of people, it’s up to you. I know there are a lot of creative minds out there, and I know you’ll come up with some cool stuff. This is a great opportunity to get your kids involved – kids have great ideas, and it’s a good thing to get them thinking about how they might be able to help others. Perhaps you could come up with a way to turn that $25 into even more money – with a bake sale, lemonade stand or other fundraiser. It’s amazing the positive impact you can make with not much money. (Although you can buy just about anything you need at Walmart, you don’t have to anchor your idea to it. I’ll send the card anyway!)
In terms of divvying up these cards, if you want one, leave a comment with your idea. For the next five days we’ll choose ten a day and mail out cards. (Leave your email address, so I can contact you!) Later on, I’ll have a special gift for the most creative idea – not that they won’t all be completely great – a Japanese cast iron tea pot, meant to symbolize the everlasting strength and unity of the world.
When you do your thing – whatever it is – I want to hear about it! Keep us posted on what you did and how it went. Send pictures! I’ll pass the feel-good stories on via blog posts.
I’m so excited about this!
A BIG HUGE THANKS to Maple Leaf Prime for helping finance this project.
Let’s start the potluck!
March 29 2011 | leftovers | 43 Comments »
Feeding a bunch for brunch? Try making a mega scone – one enormous scone you cut into wedges after baking, instead of before. A little bit mind-blowing, isn’t it? I made this the day before we left for Tofino, and the boys nibbled on wedges with cheese on our highway pit stops for our two days on the road. (Tip: if you’re sharing your motel room bed with your five year old, don’t let him eat one before bed, in bed.) With two teenagers and two ravenous boys building up appetites in the surf, I may be bringing Mega Scone to the breakfast table this week too. Warm, with butter and jam.
Grapefruit marmalade, maybe…
I posted the recipe over at the Family Kitchen!
March 27 2011 | Family Kitchen | 5 Comments »
Chicken fingers again. As often as I make these for the boys, it occurred to me that I may not have relayed my standby recipe. I certainly haven’t passed on this new one – Panko coated chicken fingers spiked with grated coconut, making them reminiscent of those coconut battered shrimp that are so so yummy. You can take or leave the coconut, really – the technique is the same.
To make crunchy chicken fingers, all you need to do is cut chicken breasts into strips, douse them in Panko and bake or pan fry them. Generally what I do is soak them in buttermilk or dip them in beaten egg, but I’ve discovered that if you use marinated chicken breasts, like Maple Leaf Prime Dijon Mustard & Herb, not only do you get an incredible flavour boost, you also don’t need to add any extra ingredients to help the crumbs adhere. And they’ll be tender and juicy – no chance of drying out.
To coat, put some Panko in a shallow bowl, add a handful of shredded unsweetened coconut, if you like, and dip each strip of chicken in the mixture to coat them well. Place on an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or until pale golden and cooked through. See? Like so many other things, there’s no need to get them frozen in a box!
Speaking of Maple Leaf – if you’re in Western Canada, don’t forget they’re giving away two trips for two aboard the Rocky Mountaineer this May – with me!
March 26 2011 | chicken & turkey | 2 Comments »
