Cabin brunch

I'm in love with "Pastor Rohde Pancakes." Per person, our good friend and retired pastor, Erwin Rohde, used this formula to feed his guests (makes about 4 X 4" pancakes for each person):

Batter
1 (very-high-) heaped tbsp. of pancake mix
1 egg
water or milk to make the consistency of crepes (more liquid) or pancakes (less liquid)

How-to
Mix together until it's no longer lumpy. Optional: add nuts or fruit. I bought huckleberries ($12/lb!) at the local grocer and stirred them in.

Heat 1-2 tbsp. butter and 1-2 tbsp. oil in a med-hot saucepan. Sometimes the butter splatters (too much moisture,) so have a lid ready to contain the heating fat. Drain excess fat into a glass measuring cup or similar non-melting container.

To the remaining fat in the pan, add 2 tbsp. - 1/4 c. batter and swish it to the edges (crepes) or let sit and cook (pancakes). You'll know it's ready to flip over to bake the other side when the top is dry (crepes) or bubbles form (pancakes).

Remove to a plate and cover with a clean dishtowel to keep hot and moist until serving.

Repeat by adding fat from measuring cup to pan, draining back excess, adding batter, etc.

VEGAN: use egg replacer instead of the egg. Still tastes great!
***

Between flipping pancakes, I fried an egg like Mom used to do:

To butter and oil melted in a separate med-hot pan (drain excess fat as above), break in an egg.

Turn off the heat and cover the pan, letting the steam cook the top of the egg and the bottom heat cook the bottom. Takes 2-4 minutes, with minimal peeking so you don't lose the steamed heat!

I put the fried egg on the pancake stack, stabbed the egg to release the yolk, and - oh yum!!! a lovely protein- and -fruit-rich brunch.

Taste: savory, sour-sweet (hucks). Perfect for an 11am meal!
Time to make: 10 minutes
Calories: 4-500, made with water, and with 1 egg. Syrup is extra.
Tea: jasmine green

Smelling our way to supper

W brings home a few bags of packaged salad. I choose one, open it, and dump it into a big bowl. As I inhale deeply, supper comes to me.

W shaves 2/3 of a ripe pear into the bowl and I toss in:

• a big handful of pine nuts
• 2 sliced fresh mushrooms

and raid the cupboard to whip up a dressing:

• 2 tbsp. blueberry maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• flower pepper (Trader Joes)
• S. African smoke seasoning (TJ)
• seasoning salt (Lawrey's) 

It sits on the counter until we're ready to eat, the flavors mixing and combining.

We're hungry so don't have a lot of time to prep a main course. We have leftover rice, which starts my nose twitching. I heat 2 tbsp. of oil and stir-fry:

• 2 c. cooked rice
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 diced carrot
• a sprinkle of dried onion
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

When it's almost done, I add:

• 1 tbsp. of reduced sodium soy sauce. 

I'm getting better at tossing things around the frying pan without dropping them all over the stove. The chef at NU told me practice makes perfect and boldness in the flick of the wrist is a good thing. She was right!

Before the rice goes to the table, I stir in 1 tsp. sesame oil.

The salad and rice are quite yummy, especially with a few tiny pieces of smoked salmon on the side.

Rating: 4/5
Taste: savory, sweet, and satisfying. A handful of fresh blueberries would have rocked the salad. The fried rice - very good but it occurs to me post-meal that I could have added 2 tsp. smoked black sesame seeds for color and texture.
Time to fix: 10-15 minutes
Calories: 700?
Tea: Jasmine green