Weekly Recipe - My Swedish Pancakes (Using Whole Wheat Pastry & Barley Flours)

Have you ever bought something at a yard sale or thrift shop that you could not identify? I have a thing for cast iron pans. I love them, I use them, I give them to others and hope that they will love them. At this point, I have as many cast iron pans as one household could need, a 12", a 10", a square one with ridges for grilling, and a 9" crepe pan that is thin and super light for swirling around batter in the pan. I really didn't need anymore... then one day, I came across a cast iron pan with seven recessed circles in it. And when I flipped it over, a ribbed flower pattern on the bottom (I should take a picture of the bottom...). I had no idea what it was for. I thought maybe for eggs, but thinking of my egg poaching pan I knew the wells were too shallow. I am a bit of a kitchen gadget and equipment nerd but have been stumped before. Anyway, whatever it was for, I knew it was a specialty pan like my madeleine pan and my Nordic Ware mini bundt pan. I knew I would one day figure out what it was for and kick myself for not buying it. Especially since it was $3! Plus I thought to myself, it is so flat that I can store it under the lazy Susan in the corner cabinet where I store my pots and pans...

... which is exactly where it stayed until my birthday this past November. That is the morning that I woke up thinking I wanted to make a pannekoeken, a traditional Dutch pancake that is cooked in a skillet in the oven. I have eaten them, have a great Dutch cookbook series, but have never made them. And yes, my idea of fun, on my own birthday, is to cook something I have never made first thing in the morning. I am not a morning person, but I am skilled at breakfast making, and the thought of a hot pannekoeken was all the inspiration I needed. My daughters agreed and I jumped online to find a recipe for Swedish pancakes, BECAUSE the whole time I had been thinking about making a pannekoeken, I had been calling it a Swedish pancake. I had my countries and breakfast foods mixed up, hence the reason I didn't go and look the recipe up in my Dutch cookbooks! And am I ever glad I got mixed up. In fact, I believe that my Great Grandma Gerda, from Sweden, was looking down on me that day, because as I looked at the first image that popped up from my search for "Swedish pancake" I SAW MY CAST IRON PAN!! And, I started dancing around the kitchen with my wee ones, laughing, and brandishing the pan that I NOW knew was a Swedish pancake pan! HAHAHAHA. The reason that I had never know about this pan, since my grandmother, Harriett, daughter of Gerda, did make pancakes for me, is because she just made them in a regular pan. Which you can totally do. So, no worries if you don't have a "special" pan like me, you will be a-ok, and very happy that you followed the recipe for Swedish pancakes below. I have tweaked this recipe to fit our tastes and these pancakes are different than crepes, pancakes, and pannekoeken. They are richer, thinner, but moister than a traditional pancake. Give them a whirl. They made my birthday extra special and when I spoke with my grandmother Harriett on the phone, while I was making them, they made her happy as well. She has been losing her short term memory but when I told her I was making Swedish pancakes I could hear her voice change and it was like she was back on the farm as a kid. She was excited and it touched my heart because since my grandfather died she is never very excited. As I hung up the phone I felt happy to have made her day and happy to know we can now make pancakes that will always remind me of her.

Swedish Pancakes
By Tiffany Teske
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients
I use organic ingredients whenever possible.

~ 3 eggs
~ 2 T sugar
~ 1 cup milk
~ 1 cup half and half OR buttermilk (you can use all milk but they will not taste as rich)
~ 3 T melted butter
~ 1/2 tsp sea salt
~ 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
~ 1/4 cup barley flour

Directions

1. Using a wire whisk beat the eggs, sugar, milk, half & half or buttermilk, and the melted butter for one minute.
2. Slowly add the flour while continuing to mix. When the flour is completely added blend for an additional 30 seconds.

3. Heat griddle or pan. When griddle or pan is hot, grease with butter or cooking spray. Pour pancake batter in a large circle for crepe size pancakes or small silver dollar size pancakes. They will cook quickly.

Flip when the underside is golden brown and the upper side has an opaque look. They are done when both sides are a golden brown.

4. Serve hot with maple or fruit syrup, powdered sugar, applesauce or, with Lignonberries.

Original Polaroids Available at The Last Temptation Thrift Store

Are you looking for affordable original art? I am currently selling some of my Polaroid 669 prints at The Last Temptation Thrift Store at 229 Bear Street in Banff. They are $10 each or two for $15, straight off the wall. If you can't make it to the shop you can view my work on Etsy or contact me via a comment below.

Wake Up! It's 2010!! My Lucky Rooster Wishes You Good Luck!

Happy New Year! I found this adorable pitcher at the thrift store and knew my girls would love that water pours out of the rooster's beak. I thought about using it in this post because well, cock-a-doodle-doo it is time to wake up to the New Year. But then, after doing a little research I found out this little guy has a pretty fascinating history. He was made in Portugal, recently I am guessing, but the origins of rooster pitchers dates back to the early Renaissance period in the Republic of Florence, Italy.

"In the 15th century, the Medici family was the wealthiest and most powerful family. With all of their wealth and glory, the Medici patriarch, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and his brother Giuliano, had only one rival, the Pazzi family. The Pazzi family had a thirst for power. They were determined to quench that thirst even to the point of murder, which included the assassination of their rivals.

The Medici family owned a vast amount of land where peasants from neighboring villages would come to work. As a reward for their work, the Medicis frequently held extravagant feasts for these laborers. It was common to overindulge and to become so drunk that the revelers and all the guards would pass out and fall into a deep sleep as a result of their drunken state. These diversions were especially loved by Giuliano, a fact the Pazzi family knew well.

Using this knowledge, the Pazzi family devised a plan to have a conspirator suggest to Giuliano that a feast should be held for the perished village of Gallina. The Pazzis deviously planned to send their hired assassins to the village to wait until Giuliano and his guards fell asleep. They planned to assassinate everyone.

The feast honoring Gallina took place in the fall of 1478. Giuliano was present along with his guards, exactly as the Pazzis expected. Once the feast ended, the assassins crept into the village and proceeded through the barnyard. Unfortunately for them, their path through the barnyard woke the roosters, thus causing them to cluck hysterically. The noisy, clucking roosters woke the rest of the village. Giuliano and his guards captured the assassins and killed them.

Thankful for his luck with the roosters, Giuliano decided to hold another festival in honor of these lucky birds. He arranged for artisans to create majolica ceramic wine pitchers of these protectors and presented them to the peasants as a sign of good luck. As the years passed, it became an Italian tradition that has been dispersed throughout the world. Today, people continue to give these good luck majolica pitchers to friends and family. Most often, this gift of Good Luck is given as a housewarming or wedding gift to protect the recipients from any danger that may come their way."
By Ronnie's Specialities from Around the Globe

What a great story! And now I have one more good idea for housewarming and wedding gifts. So best wishes and good luck to you in 2010!!

AlterNation - Wicked Book Deal

Ok, so it just dawned on me that I could write the next four posts on current books I am reading, and I just wrote the last post about a book. This blog could be called Art Food Books & Motherhood... but that would just be getting too long wouldn't it?


I wanted to bring to your attention a wicked deal on a book that I have not read but will soon have in my hands. I opened my Craft Daily Newsletter yesterday, and the first blurb was about the book Alter Nation by Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill. It is a must have for anyone who likes to "transform, embellish, and customize" their clothes. This is something I used to do, way back when, and something I would like to do again, now that my sewing machine and I are back on speaking terms. Now that I am a mom, the ultimate goal would be to do this with kids clothes, but I am getting ahead of myself... This book presents 30+ project ideas for you to try. Shannon and Alexandra are currently offering signed copies of their book for $8.00!! BUT WAIT! Use the code, craftzine, at check out (Paypal or Google) and you will received $1.50 off! AND SHIPPING IS FREE!!!!!!! So, of course, being a DIY book junkie, I had bought a copy of this book before I even knew what happened. I have received a nice email from Shannon, and the book will be on the way soon. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands, and to let you know more about it.


Have I peaked your curiousity? You can check out the Alternation Blog for more info as well as Stitch Cleveland, where Shannon has a studio. This post about the book has some great images from the book, which illustrate how you can transform your thrift store finds.

AlterNation - Wicked Book Deal

Ok, so it just dawned on me that I could write the next four posts on current books I am reading, and I just wrote the last post about a book. This blog could be called Art Food Books & Motherhood... but that would just be getting too long wouldn't it?


I wanted to bring to your attention a wicked deal on a book that I have not read but will soon have in my hands. I opened my Craft Daily Newsletter yesterday, and the first blurb was about the book Alter Nation by Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill. It is a must have for anyone who likes to "transform, embellish, and customize" their clothes. This is something I used to do, way back when, and something I would like to do again, now that my sewing machine and I are back on speaking terms. Now that I am a mom, the ultimate goal would be to do this with kids clothes, but I am getting ahead of myself... This book presents 30+ project ideas for you to try. Shannon and Alexandra are currently offering signed copies of their book for $8.00!! BUT WAIT! Use the code, craftzine, at check out (Paypal or Google) and you will received $1.50 off! AND SHIPPING IS FREE!!!!!!! So, of course, being a DIY book junkie, I had bought a copy of this book before I even knew what happened. I have received a nice email from Shannon, and the book will be on the way soon. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands, and to let you know more about it.


Have I peaked your curiousity? You can check out the Alternation Blog for more info as well as Stitch Cleveland, where Shannon has a studio. This post about the book has some great images from the book, which illustrate how you can transform your thrift store finds.

Fabulous Thrift Finds

I want to start featuring some of the fun thrift store finds I acquire each week. For those of you who are into such things, enjoy! For those of you who don`t have a pack rat bone in your body (ie, my mother) you can just smile smuggly, roll you eyes, and be thankful that you are not compelled to collect `such junk`. LOL!



Oh YEAH!! Patience really does pay off! This week, I found a pasta maker for $10! No only do I strive to make homemade ravioli but I have been wanting to try one of Claudine Hellmuth`s transfer methods which involves a pasta maker... Yippee!! I also acquired this adorable Japanese fawn and a slew of chopsticks in my favorite colors black and orange!

Banff Photo Series

I am being featured on this blog, which is exciting... http://zephiart.blogspot.com.


I started a new photography series today and I am thrilled. The idea has been brewing ever since I found a Polaroid Spectra camera at the local thrift shop for $5. It was complete serendipity that day because I went there hoping to find a Polaroid camera, knowing full well that it can be difficult to find what you are looking for at a thrift shop on the first try. I had 600 and SX-70 series cameras but not a Spectra camera, and the local grocery store had slashed the price on the 5packs of Spectra they had left so I needed one. Once I found out the camera worked AND it makes double exposures, I was hooked. I plan to work on this series for up to a year. It is about the area I live in, Banff, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Canadian Rockies. The whole series will be double exposures and I want to make images in all seasons. I want each photograph to show how humans and nature co exist in this historical place. So, yes, for those of you who know me, ANOTHER Human?Nature series. I don't plan to make more than one image each day I shoot, and I probably won't ahoot every day. I think about 100 images would be great, then I can edit it down to the best images and exhibit them locally. I shot three images today, which as I said is not what I plan to do after today, just one a day. I am very happy with the first image, which is of a Zebra print futon next to a garbage container and the sky and a small, pine covered, mountain.

This image is a van door with a tree.

This is one of the most awesome muscle cars I have ever seen, in front of an old house (I love that with these two elements and the Polaroid film that it could be in the 1970s, not today) with an image of the sky and clouds over it.

All images by Tiffany Teske

The Crafting Continues...

And in the continuing saga we have amassed more creative items, with even more to come. We have been pretty good at sticking to our Craft A Day schedule but today was a day off skiing for the girls and we filled it with a trip to the Canmore Dollar Store (where I found wicked rubber stamps for $1 - $2 each, not much of a stamper but these are very graphic looking, in a design sense, not an ex-rated sense...) and the AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL, OUR FAVORITE SHOP IN CANMORE, the VICTORY Thrift Store (where I found a 1969 Snoopy lunch box, a very kitschy vintage Hawaiian doll, fabric, a rummy set with awesome tiles, the coolest old book with tons of drawings, and an old case to alter). The girls also went up the road to the indoor water park. We had a wonderful dinner prepared by my hubby, steaks, pork tenderloin, AND shark, and then webcammed one set of grandparents. Tomorrow will be another crafting day...

On Friday, we finished the pendants we started on Thursday (they took several coats of Modge Podge and then spray laquer). We live in Western Canada, which has oil, ranches, and cowboys... it is kind of the Texas of Canada. The big summer draw is the Calgary Stampede. We live in Banff, which is pretty much not like the rest of the province, but since my nieces live in the East and they are visiting us in the West, I finally made use of a bamboo tile collage sheet I purchased way back from Piddix. She has the best quality sheets and awesome selection! Anyway this one had caught my eye because it is all cowboy/girl themed. My nieces are into horses, as most 5 and 8 year olds are, so they LOVED picking. And even Mom made one :)

Almost February...

Wow! Where did the month go? Crazy! Today it continued to be freezing and we finally left the house. Had to go to Canmore to see our chiropractor, Dr. Dorothy. She helps us to help ourselves to stay healthy!

We also stopped by the Second Chance shop, which is a shop set up to raise funds for the Bow Valley SPCA, which is a No-Kill, No-Cage Adoption Centre that shelters and cares for stray or abandoned dogs and cats in our area. The shop is run by our former landlord, who has been bringing abandoned animals up from New Orleans for adoption. Quin, my little one, is a bit afraid of dogs at the moment but maybe we will be in the market for a kitty at some point. At any rate, I found some awesome silverware and a clock that I plan to revamp into art.

On the way home I dropped off my paperwork for the International Women's Day local art exhibit at the Banff Library. They always have two carts of books for sale in the lobby. Some are withdrawn from the library, others are donations. Usually they are a dollar or two a piece but today they were $2 a bag! Everyone who knows me knows that I love the library, and I love books. I secretly wish I were a librarian... all the piece and quiet, surrounded by books, books, and more books! I ended up with a bag full, mostly for collage images. There were several wonderful old nature books. The older the better for me!



Last week I made my THIRD submission to Shots photography magazine. It is my FAVORITE photography magazine in that there is no advertising, one interview, and the rest is a gallery of images submitted by readers based on a theme. It is a quarterly magazine published in my home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I never knew about it when I lived there but then again I have not lived there since 1993. It has been in publication for 21 years. I am a huge fan. The theme for the upcoming issue is Portraits. One of the things that I love about Shots is that usually the theme is not taken too literally. There are many surprises in the chosen images. I can't wait to see the issue. And I hope the third time is a charm for my submission. Here are a few of the 12 images I submitted...