Pancakes and Applesauce

This morning we had the urge for pancakes.  Instead of our usual boxed mix I felt like making my grandma's from-scratch pancake recipe.  I still recall my grandma making these pancakes on special occassions... any holiday (orange for Halloween, green for St.Patrick's, pink for Valentine's....), birthdays and any other reason for a yummy breakfast.

I also remember the torture.  The torture of waiting for the egg whites to be beaten and then folded gently in to the batter.  When you're five years old, this is a painful process knowing how good the end result tastes.

The flour, egg yolks, etc are mixed together in a bowl.

The egg whites, sugar and cream of tartare are beaten until stiff in a separate bowl.

Fold in the egg whites to the flour mixture.

Heat up your griddle or frying pan and pour batter on.  Start with a single small pancake (1/4 c. of batter) and test if your griddle is too hot or cold, and adjust if necessary.  You know your pancake is ready for flipping when the edges firm up and bubbles are rising through the batter. 

These pancakes put every box mix to shame.  Tony and I were amazed at the difference between taste and consistancy and have promised to never make a batch of box mix pancakes again.  I realize this is a brave pledge, but the extra effort (maybe an extra five minutes and having to use a hand mixer) is so worth the flavor.  I now know why we all loved grandma's pancakes and appreciate the effort she put in to her special breakfasts even more now.  Thank you grandma for your special recipe that immediatly brought back memories of you in your bathrobe, standing at the kitchen counter, mixing the batter.  I cherish these newly recalled flashbacks.  I felt like a kid again.

And I have my mom to thank for asking my grandma for her pancake recipe and writing it down.  In pen.  My grandma had the knack to write recipes, very lightly in pencil and many of her recipe cards are now hard to decipher.

Grandma Smith's Pancakes, courtesy of Charlotte Smith

After breakfast, our neighbors dropped by with a bag of fresh picked apples from their property in Winthrop.  What a treat!  We discussed the recipe options and Blake was set on fresh made applesauce.

I peeled all the apples and gave B a plastic knife.  He sliced a few apples (with supervision!) but because it is a tough job, I cut the rest while he watched. 

Jodi and B's ApplesaucePlace peeled apple slices (8-10 apples) in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup apple juice or water, and a pinch of salt.  Cover and simmer until apples are tender and you can mash with wooden spoon.  Keep an eye on the apples and stir often so the sugars don't burn!  You may find that you need to add a little more sugar depending on sweetness. 

Optional flavor additions....

teaspoon of cinnamon

tablespoon of unsalted butter

Or add both cinnamon and the butter!