Fancy Pancakes

    We are headed into a four day week-end.  This morning it was so nice to not have to wake up to an alarm clock.  It was nice to not have to be anywhere.  We just started our day nice and slow.  We had a late breakfast, and I made pancakes.

    For a while now I have wanted to try something a little more fun with the pancakes.  This morning I had the time.  I sent Christopher off to our local dollar store in search of ketchup/ mustard bottles.  He came back empty handed.  For a moment I considered giving up, but I'm not a quitter!  I decided to look in the fridge.  Low and behold I found two expired salad dressings.  I poured them out and then washed out the containers.  Next  I made a big batch of pancake batter.  I seperated it into two bowls.  I put blue food colouring gel in one, and pink food colouring gel in one.  

    Very carefully I poured my batter into the bottles.  I heated up the griddle and we were off to the races.  

    I first poured out a backwards letter "L".  I did it backwards so that when I flipped it, it would be the right way.  I have to say that the salad dressing bottle really worked well.  I let it cook for a little while so that when I poured the next colour of batter it would not melt together.

    I tried to make them look like Easter Eggs, but it did not turn out so even.

     I made all of the kids their initials, and Elly insisted on having the letter "L".  I also made a whole bunch of Easter Egg pancakes.  Shockingly the kids were impressed, and excited.  They ate a lot of pancakes, and I enjoyed playing with their food.  

Pancakes for Dinner

       At our house everyone is slowly getting on the mend, but no one is 100%, and no one has their appetite back just yet.  When I was a little girl, I had a terrible bout of gastroenteritis which landed me in the hospital.  In the hospital after I had started back onto solids, the nurses tried to make me eat Rice Krispies with water, well that make me sick all over again (even the thought of it makes me a little nauseous to this day).  When I got home from the hospital I did not want to eat.  In a state of desperation my mother made me pancakes.  It just seemed like logic that when my bunch were still on the mend, pancakes would be the for dinner.

    I am a sucker for little gadgets.  I like to try to make food fun, and so I could not resist these silicone pancake/ egg molds that Riley and I saw for sale at Canadian Tire.  They were $2.00 each.  I was skeptical  but had to try them.

    On my first attempt I poured the batter right up to the top thinking about what nice thick pancakes they would make.  I did not really think this through though ... see the picture below.

    I pulled the mold off when the pancakes began to bubble.  As I pulled the mold off, and as I pulled it off, the whole thing collapsed.  Mental note... next time, don't use so much batter, just coat the bottom.   

    I feel like I have room for improvement, but the results were semi-impressive.  The kids were pretty impressed, and I guess that's what really counts.  They were excited about their pancakes.

    I tried to make each kid's pancake a little different.  The snowflake received icing sugar.

The snowman received chocolate chip eyes and a candy cane nose, and sprinkle mouth.

    Last night's dinner did not include all of the food groups like I usually like to include, but included a healthy dose of whimsy.  Sometimes it's more important that they eat "something", rather than the best healthy choice.  There's lots of time to catch up on the food groups.

Breakfast For Dinner / How to Make Your Own Baking Powder

    It's HOT!  I don't remember a hotter summer than this one.  I did not feel like cooking dinner, but I had to, my family still likes to eat, even when it's hot. I decided to make something fun for dinner... rainbow sprinkle pancakes (plus pancakes don't heat the kitchen up).

    There was one small problem with my plan... I did not have any baking powder, and the stores were now closed.  I had already measured the flour and sugar into my bowl... what could I do?  Enter the trusty computer i.e. the internet.  I typed in "How to make baking powder".  It turns out baking powder is baking soda mixed with two parts cream of tartar.  I am a doubting Thomas.  I checked three different sites, each confirming the other.  In the end I had no choice, but it worked.

My Pancake Recipe...

(or should I say, Company's Coming "Muffin's and More")

 1/2 cup all- purpose flour                                       1 Egg, beaten

1 Tbsp Sugar                                                          2 Tbsp Cooking Oil

1 Tbsp Baking powder (one part baking soda to two parts cream of tartar)

1/2 tsp salt                                                              1 1/2 Cup of Milk

Mix the dry ingredients, then whisk in the wet ingredients.  Don't over mix it, or it won't be fluffy (trust me on this one, I know from experience).  I added the sprinkles at this point. The key to great pancakes is a hot pan.  Turn them when they start to bubble.  

    So now you know, if your recipe calls for "baking powder", and you don't have any, make your own.  All this time I have been spending an arm and a leg on baking powder, and I could have just been making it myself, who knew?