Fathers and Grandfathers

You didn't often find my father in the kitchen. But there were three things he did know how to make to perfection: pineapple sherbet, caramel popcorn and something we all called Houseboat Special. (Hamburger meat broken up and browned, with a can of mushrom soup added and the entire thing poured over toast.)

                                                                                Grandpa and Dad at the cabin, late 40's

And his father, my grandfather, made only one thing: buckwheat pancakes. Which is what this post is all about.
 

                                                                                                   Grandpa at the cabin, 1937
 
My grandfather owned some property and a cabin on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay. It was prime wooded area with a great deal of marshland. I loved visiting the cabin; it was a child's delight with its double bunk beds, all kinds of wildlife, labrador retrievers to play with, the river to explore, a small pond with plenty of fish, marshland to paddle around and acres of forest to wander in.

                                                                                  The cabin, after two additions, 1989

Grandpa had canoes, duck boats, small outboard boats, (in later years an air boat), to use on the Rifle River and in the marshes. He was always into some project or other, but took time to help us search for beaver and muskrat lodges, black walnuts (which my mother loved), berries and grapes to make jams and even took us frog hunting; we all learned at a really young age to skin and prepare frog legs for our dinner.

My grandmother was quite an artist and she set up her easel in locations all over the property. My sister and I have some of her work, in watercolors and chalk, which we treasure greatly.

But what I remember most are my grandfather's buckwheat pancakes. He used a starter dough and made them every morning for breakfast along with side pork. To this day, I prefer side pork to bacon anytime I have pancakes, although it's not readily available in Florida markets. And bacon and side pork are not interchangeable. Fresh side pork is basically bacon without the curing and salt. It's thicker, takes longer to cook (sometimes we added a little water at first) and the rind is quite chewy. The aromas of side pork and bacon are entirely different.

Slowly, over the years as grandpa aged, the starter dough disappeared and my Mother developed a similar pancake recipe without the starter, which grandpa used the remainder of his life. It's nearly as good as the original and Grandpa thought so too.

I was really stumped on how to describe these to you so I asked my sister. The texture is not fluffy or cakey like most pancakes, but more dense. She thought I should describe them as a little like crepes, but thicker. The batter is definitely thinner than most pancake batter and the pancakes are about 5 inches across. Best to use the freshest buttermilk you can (which is a little thicker) and be sure to shake it well. I like them with buckwheat flour, which is the way my grandfather made them, but my sister uses only all purpose flour. She is the only one of us who still makes them and usually only when she has company at her Leland cabin. I don't make them anymore either but sure am happy to chow down on hers when I visit. And I made a batch for this post. Dad always liked to put brown sugar and butter on them; I like warm Michigan maple syrup.

Grandpa Smith's Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons crisco oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup hot water


Method:
Mix the first six ingredients. Mix the soda with the hot water and add to the flour mixture. The batter will be quite thin.
Cook on an oiled pancake griddle. When you see the bubbles appear in the pancakes, it's time to flip. Cook only about 3 more minutes.

The only photo I have of the three of us together.

Rifle River, 1960's

Summer Pudding

When all the berries are upon us and 4th of July is within shouting distance, I love to make a British dessert that involves no baking and makes a smashing presentation. Served with whipped cream, it has the red, white and blue we all like to see on the 4th, British dessert or not. Traditionally, it uses red currants which I can't find right now so I just chose the brightest, freshest, juiciest berries I could find. I suppose you could add some red currant jelly to the mix if you are a purist. You have to make it the day before so the bread has time to soak up all those lovely juices. It's all about the juice, you know. I've seen this in all sizes and shapes so take your pick. Squares, pie-shaped wedges, spoonfuls. Any way you want.

It's an Ina Garten recipe and I did use brioche bread as she suggested. But do you know what I'm going to try the next time? Angel food cake. I think it would doubly delicious. The thing is, it's a pretty sweet dessert to start with, but still, I'm going to try it. Unless you do it first.... let me know how it turns out!

Summer Pudding
From Barefoot Contessa, Family Style, 2002

Ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 half-pints fresh raspberries, divided
2 half-pints fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons framboise (raspberry brandy)
1 loaf brioche or egg bread (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)

Method:
Combine the strawberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan and cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add 2 half-pints of raspberries and all the blueberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a simmer. Cook for one minute. Off the heat, stir in the remaining raspberries and the framboise.
Slice the bread in 1/2-inch-thick slices and remove the crusts. In the bottom of a 7 1/2-inch
round by 3-inch high souffle or baking dish, ladle about 1/2 cup of the cooked berry mixture.
Arrange slices of bread in a pattern (this will become the top when it's unmolded) and then add more berry mixture to saturate. Continue adding bread, cutting it to fit the mold, and berries. Finish with bread and cooked berries, using all of the fruit and syrup.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap loosely over the pudding. Find a plate approximately the same
diameter as the inside of the mold and place it on top. Weight the mold with a heavy can and
refrigerate. Remove the weight after 6 to 8 hours. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and
refrigerate overnight.
Just before serving, run a knife around the outside of the pudding and unmold it upside down onto a serving plate. Serve in wedges with rum whipped cream.

Rum Whipped Cream:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar, vanilla, and rum. Continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Serve cold.
Serves 8-10

Discoveries

Every once in a while one of my blog favorites mentions another blog and while checking it out, I notice some others that interest me. Happens to all of us, right? Some I find are fairly new, some aren't and you wonder why you've never run across them before. When I discovered these three last week, I was totally blown away.

The first gem is Nikole at Forty-Sixth at Grace. Very minimilist layout which really appeals to me and she has an online shop I love. Thank you Lecia for steering me her way. Lots of us share Nikole's taste in her lists of "things I like" and her photographs tell the story better than words. Nikole uses words minimally as well, but you'll love the way she expresses herself. There are not tons of recipes, but when you see one, you're going to want to make it ASAP.

Then I found a marvelous blog if your focus is on really healthy eating. Be sure to visit 101 Natural.  Eleni's blog is brand new, beautifully done with a light and cheerful layout that makes you smile. Her photos are fabulous and her recipes are gourmet material but made with some surprising ingredients. Eleni will introduce you to lots of innovative ways to cook healthy with ingredients you may not have thought of. (I loved the Polenta-based Pizza. )Her dishes are so appealing, you'll want to try all sorts of new things. Great fun!

I'm saving the best for last. Let me introduce you to Sprouted Kitchen. You may already know about it because Sara's blog is a year or so old and she's garnered quite a following. There's a good reason for it: you'll love her recipes AND (once again) her photographs. I was bowled over by her presentations. Sara also tends towards healthy ingredients, but not exclusively. I found her posts fun to read and am tempted to run right to the kitchen by nearly all of them. I wish I was as talented as these women and had a more professional eye with design and with a camera. Be sure to scroll down through Sara's other recipes, it's worth the time and you'll be drooling.

Now how could anyone resist making a salad Sara calls Veggie Le Crunch? Certainly not me and you're going to love this salad, it's simple and delicious.

Veggie Le Crunch
From Sprouted Kitchen, May 27th, 2010

Ingredients for the salad:
(Sara suggests using farmers market and or organic vegetables here. She feels when you are eating them raw like this, the genuine flavor of the vegetables is important.)

6-7 radishes, depending on size
1-1/4 cup black beans, cooked and drained ( I used canned)
1 cucumber (I used an English cucumber so did not have to remove seeds)
1 cup fresh, diced pineapple
Some scallions to taste (my addition)
Handful of Fresh Basil ( I made a chiffonade)
1 head of lettuce (any soft green will do)

Ingredients for the avocado dressing:
(Sara says you could make this vegan by using 2 tbsp. olive oil and an extra tbsp. of vinegar in place of the buttermilk. )
1 avocado
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon honey (more to taste)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
juice of one lime
Splash of Cholua/Tapatio Hot Sauce
Salt/Pepper

Method:

In a small blender or in a bowl, mix the avocado, buttermilk, vinegar, lime, honey, hot sauce and salt and pepper to combine. The blender will make it smooth, but a bowl and whisk will still get you a dressing consistency.
Use a mandoline to slice the radishes thin. ( I didn't) Cut in fourths. Peel and halve the cucumber, scoop out the seeds and dice into small pieces. In a large bowl, combine the radish, cucumber, black beans, diced pineapple and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add desired amount of fresh basil.

To serve:  you can put the veggie mix in a lettuce leaf and dribble dressing on top or mix the dressing with the veggies and put them in the leaf, already dressed.