Courage in the Kitchen

We had pancakes for breakfast at least twice a week when I was growing up. Mom could make pancakes in less time than it took for us kids to get dressed for school–and usually we wanted to go. She would dip two or three cups of flour out of the flour bin, add baking powder, salt and sugar, stir in milk and beat in an egg and some oil. It was a thin batter that made lacy pancakes we devoured with butter and Karo syrup.

Once or twice a month she would make waffles or other kinds of pancakes, usually on a Saturday or Sunday morning. One of my favorites was buckwheat pancakes.

Unlike most pancakes, buckwheat pancakes are leavened with yeast instead of baking powder. They require a little more preparation time than baking powder pancakes, but they are very much worth the effort. They are light and tender and wonderful with maple syrup and sausage or bacon on a cold morning. I have had people tell me that they have never liked buckwheat pancakes as they were on their second serving. Try ‘em.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups milk
2 1/4 tsp. or 1 package active dry yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 T molasses
1/2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 large egg
2 T oil

PROCEDURE:

Start your pancakes the night before you plan to serve them. Warm the milk to about 105 -110 degrees. Stir in the yeast, sugar, flours and salt to make a smooth batter. Cover and let stand overnight at a cool room temperature. In the morning, mix the molasses and soda with the lukewarm water and beat the egg till lemon yellow. Then beat the water, egg and oil into the batter. Let the batter stand at a warm room temperature for about 30 minutes. Spoon or pour the batter to bake 4 inch cakes on a 350 degree griddle.

Root Soup

When someone once asked James Beard why there were no soup recipes in one of his cookbooks, he is said to have replied: “Recipes for soup? You look in the refrigerator, and then you make soup.” Actually, James Beard did publish some soup recipes over the years, but his reply should be recalled by anyone considering what to cook on a cold day.

That was really how I first made root soup. Not that I confined my inspection to the refrigerator: I also checked the pantry and the steps leading to the basement where we stored the potatoes and onions. It was cold, and we did not want to go out. So we made soup with potatoes, onions and carrots, a leftover ham bone with a bit of meat attached, some beef bouillon cubes and assorted items from the spice rack.

Today I use beef broth, but you can use bouillon cubes as well. The cubes tend to be salty, so be sure to taste when the soup is nearly done before adjusting the salt. The rutabaga, parsnip and turnip produce a much more flavorful soup, and if you do not have a ham bone on hand, the smoked pork hock works great.

And if you have something else in the refrigerator that you think might work, just toss it in and hope for the best!

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups each chopped

Potato

Rutabaga

Carrot

Onion

1 cup each chopped

Turnip

Parsnip

2 cans beef broth

1 meaty ham bone or smoked pork hock

Water as needed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

PROCEDURE

Put the pork hock and beef broth into an eight quart soup pot or Dutch oven. You should have about 4 cups of beef broth. Add water to cover the hock. Bring to a boil and simmer for about two hours, adding water if necessary to keep the hock covered. Remove the hock and allow it to cool.

Prepare the vegetables while the hock is simmering. Peel and chop the potato and rutabaga into 3/4 inch pieces. Peel or scrape the carrots, split lengthwise and cut into 1/4” slices. Peel and dice the onion into 1/4” pieces. Peel and chop the turnip into 1/2” pieces. Peel the parsnip, split lengthwise and cut into 1/4” slices. Add the vegetables to the broth in the Dutch oven. Separate the meat from the skin and bone of the hock and add it to the vegetables. Stir in the salt and other spices. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, adding a little more water if necessary. Add salt or pepper as necessary to adjust seasoning.

Serve with bread and salad.

NOTES: Today I often use two smoked turkey drumsticks instead of the pork hock. They provide the flavor and meat with less fat and fewer calories. This recipe makes enough soup to serve five or six people generously usually with a bit left over. You can cut the recipe in half if you wish, but the leftover soup holds well in the refrigerator for a couple of days or you can freeze it for use in a few weeks.