Puffy Pancake

My friend Judi sent me the following after I reported on Seth's attempt to make berry jelly.

"the interesting thing about jelly is that I used to make it all the time when I was younger – before my children left the nest – and I never used pectin. I just added sugar to the fruit and simmered it until it was a consistency I thought was jelled enough, and that was it. It worked for blackberries, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. So, the jelly Seth made without pectin may be blackberry syrup, but if you cook it longer it will be jelly. And, blackberry syrup is really good on pancakes, right?"

So, tonight I tried Seth's jelly soup ... er, chunky syrup ... on a puffy pancake that we like to make. It was very, um, syrupy. I'm posting here the recipe for the puffy pancake with compote (that's compote, not compost). If you receive the Christmas cards that we (and by "we" I mean "I") send out, you'll recognize this from several years ago. If you're not among the lucky few who receive our (and by "our" I mean "my") innovative Christmas cards, please feel free to send me your address so that I may happily add you to the list.

Recipe for Puffy Pancake:
4 large eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. salt
2 T. butter

Compote:
2 bananas cut into 1/2 in. chunks (I usually skip this part due to Seth's intense dislike of all things banana)
1 pint strawberries
1 T. sugar
1 T. lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Prepare pancake: Place 10-inch skillet with oven-safe handle in oven; heat until very hot. In blender at medium speed, blend eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt until smooth.
2. Remove skillet from oven; add butter and swirl until melted. Pour batter into hot skillet; bake 15 minutes or until puffy and golden.
4. Meanwhile, prepare compote: In bowl, toss bananas and berries with sugar and lemon juice.
5. Spoon compote onto pancake; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Cut into wedges to serve.

Enjoy!

Nothing to Say?

My SIL Ruth (Seth's eldest sibling) has plenty to say on my lack of saying anything:

Nothing to say, you say? What a shame! The other adult in this household finds that hard to believe. I, on the other hand, shall reserve judgment on that issue as there are times when writer's block can affect more than the brain/hand connection, but also the brain/mouth connection. In some cases that can be a permanent condition. I think it was Ben Franklin (or was it Abe Lincoln) who once said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

I have missed your great wit these last weeks since you blogged your last blog. I wondered if Seth had perhaps made good on his plan to ban blogging in your family. That would just be wrong. If you have something good to say, say on! Then again, Mom always said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I have used this wise saying with my own children on several occasions already, and will likely continue to use it as they grow.

Speaking of saying things...we have been getting the most annoying of telemarketing phone calls. Tonight, as I answered the phone, a man announced to me that he was "my captain," calling to tell me of the free 2 night cruise I would be getting just for answering his short consumer survey. Bon voyage, Capitaine! There have been at least four calls from AOL since Monday. I cannot even recall all the other calls we have been getting. And, it seems they cannot take "no" for an answer. They have more than enough to say. Try as one may to be polite, they keep at it until you hang up on them because you remember what Mom always said.

Now I know we signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry, but the problem is, I can't remember how long ago it was. (That would be a whole 'nother issue there.) I went to the site again this evening to re-up and noted that we are supposed to be on the list for five years. I signed up again, so we should be covered until Sept. of 2012. The thing that gets me is, how long has this service been around? Surely it hasn't been five years since the last time I registered. Could it possibly have been in the year 2002? I made sure to print out my confirmation page so I actually have a record of this event.

Writer's block

I've been at a loss for words recently, as evidenced by my lack of blogging over the past few days. Believe it or not, I haven't had a thing to say about anything. Tis a sad state of affairs, I realize.

For example, I have no story to tell about Seth's attempts to chauffeur Kenda in Grandpa's Messerschmitt around my aunt's yard and into the streets of Gloversville, NY. while not stalling it or getting run over by large vehicles. According to my cousin Ryan, when Grandpa went to get it registered, the people at the DMV had difficulty deciding what types of plates it should receive: is it a motorcyle? a car? a ...?


Nor do I have anything to say about the Tapas and Sushi dinner I shared with Jeri, Katia, and Stephanie last Friday. It was our traditional "First Friday" get together. Only we don't get together every first Friday of the month, as we had originally planned. Nor do we get together the first Friday of every other month, as we had planned after realizing our original plan was completely unrealistic. It ends up being the first friday that we all happen to have open.



Sometimes we head to a restaurant, sometimes we all contribute a dish around a certain theme. Sometimes we meet for coffee at Starbuck's. This time, I brought sushi and my chocolate fountain -- two ideas that, according to Stephanie, should never be uttered in the same sentence. It turns out, however, that chocolate fountains go with anything. (Not, of course, that we were dipping sushi into said fountain.) Stephanie's daughter London certainly enjoyed herself, after Stephanie taught her that you don't just drop the pretzel stick into the fountain, but that you actually have to hold onto it.

Nor do I have anything to say about the berry jelly that Seth attempted to make this morning. "I ran out of fruit pectin, so we may end up with berry soup rather than jelly," said he.

Nor do I have the words to describe my recent foray into the era of Hitler's atrocities through reading The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. I'd read it before, but after a coworker mentioned a quote from it that I had forgotten, I decided to read it again. Last night, as Seth watched the NFL and college football recaps, I finished it, sniffling and wiping my eyes, until finally Seth said, "Am I going to need to take that from you so that you'll calm down?"


Nor do I have anything to say about the yummy buffalo meat that we picked up from the friendly folks at Coyote Creek Family Farm in Florence, Indiana. Seth enjoys trips to the farm because they have an African watusi. I enjoy it because they have llamas ... and goats.
What is one to do when one has nothing to say?