Shrove Tuesday Pancakes

 Shrove Tuesday is the last "free" day for many people as it relates to their diets.  Also called Fat Tuesday, this is the day when we all feast, or pig out, or fill up on all which we love and usually deny ourselves once we enter the religious season of Lent.  Pancakes are a traditional fare because they are filling, easily adapted to contain lots of "goodies" and are relatively inexpensive to prepare in large quantities. 
(This is our Sasha, decked our in her royal jewels and ready to celebrate!)

When I got married (over 30 years ago), my mother and mother-in-law put together some of my husband and my favorite recipes.  These include a pancake recipe from my MIL.  In a time when most of us prepare our pancakes with two ingredients (water and a mix), this is a reminder of the humble start to this versitile meal.  We love breakfast foods more as our evening meal than our morning one. This means we are awake and able to follow the instructions of the recipe - and these are easy anyway. 


Pancakes from Scratch
What you need:
* 2 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 cups milk
* 3 Tablespoons oil



Sift flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add sugar.  Beat in (lightly beaten) eggs, milk, and oil until just blended.  Spoon out onto medium hot griddle. Flip cakes when surface is bubbled and dry in appearance.





Want to jazz up your pancakes - try adding chocolate chips, blueberries or other berries, nuts, orange zest or lemon.  Now I must confess that my favorite pancake is none of the above.  I love lemon or pumpkin - with pumpkin being my ultimate choice.  If you want to try getting fancy without putting in too much effort, check out this recipe for Silver Dollar Pumpkin Pancakes from Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman.

Lent is a season of 40 days, excluding Sundays which are treated as "little Easters" leading up to Easter Sunday.  This is the season when many fast, or sacrificially give up something, in order to spend that time and money on strengthening their relationship with God.  For some it is sweets, or one meal a day or meat on Fridays.  Remember to consult your doctor if you make a serious effort at fasting in a way that changes your dietary requirements. I offered to give up exercise, but it was pointed out by my pastor/hubby that this would be neither sacrificial nor beneficial to deepening my Spiritual discipline. 

Enjoy your meal as you eat, drink are make merry - for tomorrow we attempt the discipline of Lent.