Pancakes

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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So, anyway, speaking of pancakes, the previous owners of our house left us a bunch of stuff - furniture, VCRs (3), TVs (2), radios (3), a riding mower, 3 push mowers, lots of towels and assorted other crap, as well as a bunch of food. Unfortunately, it was mostly a bunch of old food. The Bisquik and pancake mix were from 2002. There’s some Bud Light from 1997, and I found a container of salt from 1988. There’s lots of syrup - one bottle of Log Cabin still hermetically sealed!

On the other hand, they also left a variety of bread and lunch meats, so we’ve been lunching for free since Friday. I think I’ll need to grocery shop tomorrow. And given my druthers, I would opt for crispy waffles over almost any kind of pancake, although blueberry pancakes are mighty hard to resist.

So, Rue, what time should we all be over for PancakeFest??

:smiley:

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Bisquick?

Aunt Jemima?

Carbon’s Malted Pancake and Waffle mix

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Wow! This MMP has taken off!

Pancakes…now I likes me some pancakes and I used to make them from scratch with a tad of vanilla. The real vanilla…the fake stuff…well, it just tastes funny to me. Just an odd little quirk of mine. I used to make waffles from scratch too, but we threw the waffle iron out when we moved last year and I have yet to get another one. All that being said, there are times when I’m just plain lazy and I’ll use mix to make pancakes. Snoqualmie Falls Lodge used to make a good pancake mix, but I haven’t seen it in awhile at the grocery store. I’ve used Aunt Jemima too, it’s pretty decent. In a pinch, Bisquick will do…after all, I flavor mine with vanilla. My grandma used to make pancakes in the shapes of little ginger bread men. They were my special treat when I spent time with her. Alas, she’s dead now and I haven’t had pancakes in special shapes for over 30 years now. I also just love the “good” syrup. I kinda got spoiled with that stuff. I mean, I’ll eat Mrs. Butterworths or Aunt Jemima, but, well they’re just not the same. Sometimes though, I’ll splurge and go ahead and buy that $12.00 or $15.00 bottle of syrup. It usually lasts awhile. It’s not like we eat pancakes every weekend. In fact, I haven’t made them in real long time and now I sorta have hankerin’ for some. I have some fresh blueberries too…well, they’re in the freezer so they didn’t spoil. But…they’re still fresh. Guess I’ll have to put them to use this weekend.

On to fishin’. I haven’t got to go in a R-E-E-E-ALLY long time because the hubby couldn’t ever catch fish…he only ever caught a buzz from the beer. I caught all the fish. I grew up fishing. We fished for salmon, steelhead, trout, catfish (on this coast they’re always a little muddy), flounder, red snapper, cod…you name it, we caught it. We also used to go smelt dipping on the Cowlitz River. Frankly salmon, steelhead and trout fishing were always my favorites. They always put up a nice fight. We caught a 50 lb king salmon off of Anderson Island (that’s located in Puget Sound for you non-Northwesterners). That was in the early 70s though. You just don’t catch very big salmon out on the Sound anymore.

Yay for FCM ! Do you feel like you’re at “home” yet?

Tonight I’m going to grill some pork shoulder blade steaks. I’m going to season them up with some Holland’s seasoning. They should be right tasty. The chops usually go real nice with waffles, but…I don’t have a waffle iron anymore, so I’ll have to make some other dish.

Well, I better get dinner going. I had to rush right out when I got home and buy a soaker hose for my neighbor. Mr. Taters ran hers over when he mowed her lawn. :rolleyes: So, now I’m a little off schedule. I just hate dashing off somewhere when I get home on a week night. I just wanna stay home…

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When you use splenda to make your brownies, whatever you do, don’t sneeze, Kallessa. Goodness but that stuff is blowy. And foamy. Blowy and foamy, yup. Plus, if you have ants in your bathroom it’s because you’re supposed to cook in the kitchen. The mix up is understandable, it’s not like they label the rooms before you move in.

Naw lightingtool, nothing cool like Boston. I went to college in Riverside so my wicked big city was LA. Which is somewhere I think maybe I’ve heard isn’t your favorite vacation spot. No accents in LA unless you count the sucking sound vacuousness makes.

Cornbread too Swampbear?! Is it baked in the little cast iron pans shaped to look like ears of corn? Did you use bacon grease to grease the little pan? And I must warn you that if you don’t use a little sugar in your batter then I have to put honey on the cakes. Some south’ners have to sheild their eyes when I do that. Also, smell the chewy ginger cookies, wafty wafty. No chocolate dipping yet.

Sweet Shibby worrying about me being overlooked. It is to laugh, because like the no-see-'em, I am much too annoying to ever be ignored. Beezt, beeeezt!

FairyChatMom, I think you need to sign up for one of those decorating shows so you can snag some free stuff. Stuck inside watching tv (and reading and listening to the stereo at the same time, that’s not bad is it?) I’ve been catching up on HGTV and the like. I say finagle your way onto one of those shows per room and tah-dah, no more UglyHouse! All of those shows blend together though so I have trouble recommending the good ones. I kinda liked the Designer Guys until today when they painted the woodwork in a Craftsman-cottage. The horror!

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I should do some from-scratch pancakes tomorrow. They’ll be easy to reheat for breakfast for the rest of the week. We use only real maple syrup around here, too. I get a big 1 litre container and it lasts most of the year. It’s expensive, sure, but so’s olive oil.

Did I mention that Mr. Lissar tragically lost all his hair? I think I did. We went clothes shopping for his new job today and he’s prancing around showing off how pretty he is. I got a pair of jeans, too.

In spite of that, I’m seriously considering changing over to all (or mostly) drapey medieval dresses. I like long drapey dresses with full skirts, and they’re comfy. I’m thinking maybe 10th or 12th century English, but a little modernized, with zippers instead of lacing. That would be cool, and they’re simple to make.

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I like waffles but don’t often fix them. This point was driven home a few months back in a rather odd way. I had a craving and whipped up a batch of yeast waffles. These are nice because the batter has to sit in the refrigerator overnight so no mixing stuff up in the morning when you’re not awake yet. Anyway, I was happily eating a plateful (of waffles, in case you forgot) and got to reading the syrup label. (I have to read words wherever I find them, it’s like a curse.) The date on the bottle was 1997 which was probably the last time I had waffles. Oh, well. It still tasted like artificial maple syrup.

Actually that’s a little scary when you think about it. So I won’t.

I really like pancakes. My favorite are made with half flour and half cornmeal. I love the gritty texture and taste of cornmeal. Since I prefer these pancakes more savory than sweet I don’t use much sugar and like to add chopped scallions to the batter. Served with just a bit of butter, no syrup. Very tasty.

jay-c, your fishing story (great one) reminded me of being at the lake with my younger cousin. She was apparently trying to catch fish roosting in trees to judge by the number of times I had to disentangle her line from branches. I came to dread the sound of my name echoing across the lake as she squealed for help yet again. Brrrrr. On a happier expedition I used frozen hot dog bits as bait ('cause I don’t like worms either I’m afraid) and caught nine bluegill. All together they weren’t as large as your prodigous feat though.

Shibb, I don’t know if you’d consider it foolproof but this biscuit recipe is about the finest I’ve run across. I got it out of Corriher’s book “Cookwise” (autographed copy!) where she adapted it from someone else. Her approach to cooking is quite scientific so her recipes usually work pretty well.

Guess I should go, I have to get up in a few hours and pick up a new batch of foster kittens. Cute ones of course.

:slight_smile:

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It turned out quite nice, thanks for asking.
I started getting gray in high school, too, and have been dyeing it on a consistent basis since I was about 24 or so. I’ve been just about every conceiveable shade there is of “brown” on the market, and have figured out what looks good and what doesn’t.
What looks good: Plain old boring brown.
What doesn’t: Auburn or reddish shades, light golden brown, and very dark brown (almost black) shades.
I’m rather limited. :frowning: Oh, well, as long as the gray is gone.

I have my mom’s ancient waffle maker, but haven’t ever used it. I’ll have to get it out and try it one day. It has one of those old-style thick fabric-wrapped cords. It may have been my grandmother’s, now that I think about it. (I have her pressure cooker and use it a couple of times a month. It’s at least 50 years old. I love it.)
Anyway, the waffle iron is old, real old. Maybe I should check it out before I try to actually use it. Safety first, you know.

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Well, it’s not quite home yet, what with all the boxes to be unpacked, but it’s feeling homier since we do have our own furniture now - at least the stuff dear, sweet Skyclad didn’t take to Orlando with her…

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I can’t wait for HGTV to work out an agreement - we want to get started right away! At least as soon as I get back from Denver (I’ll be on training there next week)

We’ve already pretty much designed our new kitchen/family room/living room. All we need to do is confirm the measurements and buy the stuff. Then we arrange the stuff according to our design. No sweat… :wink:

The master plan includes having it done by Thanksgiving when the inlaws show up for dinner. We shall see.

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The poetry of that! It makes me weep.

Hey Swampy, you said you’re cooking up a small ham. (That was you, wasn’t it?) (Yeah it was, I re-checked.) Anyway, if you wanted to cook up a small ham in Cincinnati you know what you’d have to ask for? You’d have to go to the butcher shop (meat store, Humbert’s, whatever) and ask for a Cottage Ham. That’s what the small hams were always called when I was growing up. And since that’s they way I knew them since I was just little, I thought that was their real name.

But if you go to the store in Indianapolis (they have a remarked dearth of meat stores in Indianapolis, you have to go to a regular grocery store) and ask (very politely) for a “Cottage Ham”, they just look at you all funny. You have to ask for “a little ham to berl (that’s “Hoosier” for “boil”) up with the green beans”.

“Cottage Ham” is a regionalism.

“Hoosier” is also a regionalism. But it’s dumber since no one knows what the heck a “Hoosier” is except someone from Indiana. At least with “Cottage Ham” you know you’re getting some sort of pig meat. Although if you get “City Chicken”, that’s not chicken. It’s still pig meat. Onna stick. You can also get “Mock City Chicken”, but that’s just weird. Fake fake chicken. I’m not even sure what kind of meat they use for that. But you can get it at the meat store.

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I dined there as recently as (I think) 2001 - and not only did I stuff myself to near exploding, but as I drove back to my hotel in Moline, there was a tornado warning. I survived, tho. So it was all good!

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[Homer]mmmm…swee’ tater pannycakes…glargh[/Homer]

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Waterloo is about three hours from me - still close enough for a mini- road trip. Let me know if you are going to have a free afternoon/evening when you are up this way.

Iowa chops are the big, thick chops. They are wonderful stuffed. Yesterday I wanted baked potatoes more than stuffing so I just baked them without the stuffing.
Sometime I could tell you my story about watching the Iowa-Iowa State game at Jack Trice Stadium :slight_smile:

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I’ve never heard of a “cottage ham” but here in Maryland, over on the Eastern Shore, they have “Stuffed Hams.” They’re regular hams, with holes drilled into them, and then they’re stuffed with vegetables (spinach, peppers, mushrooms and breadcrumbs) and then baked. Unusual to say the least. They’re usually served at church suppers and fire hall fund-raising dinners. They made the news a few years back when a bunch of people got food poisoning from them. Mmmm, tasty!

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Swampy, my boring sides were just some green beans and sliced Italian bread for Mr. Anachi and a tossed salad for me. (Watchin’ my figger, don’tcha know) Tonight, though, I’m gonna whip up a recipe from a Rice-a-roni box that sounded pretty good. It’s got boneless chicken, zuchinni, grape maters, and parmesan cheese in it. Mr. Anachi loves him some Rice-a-roni. What can I say? He’s a Philistine and I must indulge him occasionally.

Lightingtool, well, “kwatta” isn’t even remotely close to quarter…and don’t get me started on pronunciation of “goggle” and “gargle.” :wink:

BC, I tried all them colors, too, when I was colorin’ my hairs. Same as you, nothin’ looked right except “brown.” Oh, and the answer to when ya kwit is whenever you get tired of the mess or eligibility for AARP…whichever comes first.

Rue, judging by the number of pancake posts here, I think you have single-handedly upped the percentage of American obesity by a few points. :smiley:

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Should I mention that I’m a member of AARP with nary a gray hair? And, no, I haven’t chemically altered my tresses. It’s good clean living… (she said as she crossed her fingers and knocked on wood)

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misstee it so happens that I will fly in to Waterloo (as opposed to flying into Waterloo, which would me I was gonna crash land on the city) on Saturday August 14th. I’m supposed to be there around 1 pm. I’m staying at a Holiday Inn that’s actually in Cedar Falls and am free all that afternoon and evening. I gotta meet three other folks for dinner at 6 pm on Sunday but Saturday, I could be all yours. Well, I could take ya out to dinner or sumpn if you’re up for it. Maybe I should email this. Or you could email me. Addy’s in my profile. You’d be the official second doper I have ever met. The first is FCM. I took her to dinner and called her a cheap date. See what you’d have to look forward too? :smiley:

Ashes[sup]2[/sup] no cute little cornbread shaped like ears of corn. I do use a cast iron skillet to bake cornbread though. I do not put sugar in cornbread. If I want that I make corn muffins which are supposed to be sweet. My cornbread is good and light and fluffy cause I put sour cream in the mix. I also use a little self rising flour which helps with the fluffiness.

Rue down here a small ham is called a picnic ham. I’m not taking it on a picnic though cause I’m eatin’ it at home.

vunderbob I’ve been to Moline but nobody told me about The Iowa Machine Shed*. :frowning: And I was right there in the Quad Cities too!

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Let me guess… You had the requisite aquisition training at Rock Island Arsenal? That’s what took me there.

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Being a recovering Hoosier, our definition of ‘picnic Ham’ is a cured and smoked pork shoulder, not da butt. They are smaller (and bonier) than regular hams.

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You are offically invited to Bite Me, Hon, on my big ole’ Parkville butt. :wink:

As for when I’ll stop, well, I dunno. I think Clairol and L’Oreal have me for at least another 10 or 15 years. My gray is actually white, snow white, so I guess I’ll look like Barbara Bush when I let it go. The elder Barbara Bush, not the one that sticks her tongue out at reporters.