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Post by onlyMark on Jun 27, 2017 14:36:01 GMT
I have a history with pancakes. A number of years ago when I was doing my leading overland expeditions thing in Africa and Asia, pancakes were a regular after dinner fill-you-up-until-you-burst dessert. I got quite good at them and would be making thirty to fifty in one sitting for the group. Or at least I thought I was quite good. Here is me showing a group member the finer points of doing so - Then one day I was "told" I was making them wrong. Mrs M, bless 'er little cotton socks, decided she could do better herself. I met her on one of the shorter trips we did, around Egypt and its sandy bits, when she came as a member of a group I was leading. The trip would take three weeks or so and I expected to be making pancakes at least twice over that time. It appears mine were diplomatically "a bit too thick" for her taste, so she took control. I decided then and there she was a "keeper". This photo is of her handing off my first one with a somewhat disgusted look on her face as she examines the batter - She then, very precisely, tells me, "You only need this much! Can't you see?" (of what, I can't remember). Or maybe, "It should only be this thick!" - Then, as people began to gather, she made adjustments to the mixture, and proceeded to blow me out of the water as I went down in flames (I like mixing metaphors). Here you can see me being instructed as to the proper consistency and procedure, as I stand there forlornly on my back foot with my balloon burst and tail between my legs, looking on in awe - (I still think mine are better though, between you and me.) I have also recently caught this short video, which prompted this thread and memories, and I wondered, how do you like your pancakes best? (For the mechanically/vehicle(ly) interested amongst us, in the first picture you can see the side of the truck. From left to right you can see one of the fuel tanks with just visible, the handle of one of the shovels that are resting on the top of the tank and over the chassis. Above that is one of the cooking kit lockers. The black things with holes next are the steel sand mats. There are normally six in total. Very heavy an unwieldy but good at their job of getting you unstuck from sand/mud. Between me and the girl in red is the handle of an axe. Between the two girls you can see the mattock (pick axe type thing). The metal pipe sticking out from the sand mats is where one of the camp lights hangs. Behind the head of the girl with the cap is one of the spare axle springs. The lad sitting down - above his head is one of my tool lockers. To the right of his head in the photo, on the front of the trailer is a locker for the camp stools. A photo of, yet again, me lording it over the masses, coolly probably winding them up. I think the question was, "Where have the cows come from?" My answer, no doubt, was, "Over there." Anyway, it shows you one of the camp lights and the extremely uncomfortable camp stools that were good for half an hour or so at the most, plus the al fresco eating your dinner off your knee position - and what appears to be an unhealthy ratio of females to males. Not that I ever complained. Ever.) - How was that for a digression? Good huh! To get back to the subject at hand - pancakes - thick, thin, whatever, additions, what is your preference?
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 27, 2017 18:51:40 GMT
Nice to introduce us to Mrs. M!
Frankly, I have no pancake preference because I am not much of a fan of anything made with flour, although I will obviously eat it. Between ultra thick American pancakes (they call them "fluffy") and ultra thin French crêpes, there is room for quite a few more thicknesses and there are probably appropriate ways to use all of them.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 27, 2017 22:11:58 GMT
I like galettes (buckwheat and savoury) better than crêpes. I don't like pancakes made with baking powder but do like some thicker ones made with yeast. The spring onion pancakes are nice; I've never had that particular South Asian pancake.
I was wondering what those strange mats were. Friends from Morocco who were working on the eradication of trachoma in the far south of Morocco and in Mali might well recognise them. My bush-vehicle inclined friends and family would be more familiar with the things used to provide traction to get vehicles out of piles of snow and ice... Same general idea.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 27, 2017 23:22:33 GMT
Oh, this is nice! Great to see you in your former element, Mark, but I think the best of all is seeing you do that aw-shucks thing as Mrs. M tells you how much of whatever it was.
I've always preferred waffles (which my dad called "non-skid pancakes") to pancakes because somehow they seem less heavy. And butter & syrup on either of those seems like overkill. They're much better with yogurt and jam or even nothing. I don't think I've had yeast pancakes, but have made Belgian waffles, which are made with yeast. I've always thought blintzes and crepes promise more than they deliver, plus I don't really care for their textures. I'm intrigued by those fluffy Japanese pancakes and will admit I'm very impressed by people who can make and flip pancakes with panache.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 28, 2017 0:40:33 GMT
Bixa, have you had Breton buckwheat galettes? They are very similar to crêpes, but obviously much more nourishing, one of the things the peoples on the Celtic fringe relied on to keep the wolf from the door. And usually served with other proteins if such are available. Sometimes in Québec they'd be a bit thicker still, but not raised like the North American buttermilk pancake in the video; they were something people subsisted on.
I do like making crêpes though mine are at least partly buckwheat as I don't like white sweet stuff. They are very handy for a nice meal for friends without spending a lot of money: you need the galettes, then a stuffing that could be greens, mushrooms, egg, ham,smoked salmon, smoked mackarel,cheese, whatever. They make a nice presentation; I found it was a useful skill to master. Of course if you find that too carby, as with tortillas (aren't they a type of pancake?) accompany them with a salad or other greens.
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Post by questa on Jun 29, 2017 10:44:07 GMT
Both of my sons were hard to get to eat vegetables, but loved pancakes. I would dice up the usual veg and mix in the batter and it would be more like veg fritters but looked like "rainbow pancakes".
We did a lot of camping and I would make a stack of ordinary pancakes and freeze them with greased paper in between them. Kept in the ice box they lasted well and we used them in place of bread while we were off road.
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Post by rikita on Jun 30, 2017 8:38:59 GMT
i suppose the ones i like best are the ones i am used to from childhood, which are thicker than crepes and a lot thinner than american ones ... i always especially liked eating the leftover ones cold and with sugar the next day, but also fresh with apple slices baked into them ... i also like crepes ... thick ones are okay, but i prefer the thinner ones ... i also like non-sweet pancakes (for example with mushroom-cream-sauce) but prefer sweet ...
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Pancakes
Jul 1, 2017 9:58:33 GMT
via mobile
Post by whatagain on Jul 1, 2017 9:58:33 GMT
Doing pancakes in French by young means making love. Ils font des crêpes...
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Post by lagatta on Jul 3, 2017 14:20:00 GMT
Yes, that is true... Odd image.
I've never had pancakes in Belgium; only a waffle, or rather part of one, during a peace march in Brussels at the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003. I avoid sweets, but I was hungry and terribly cold, and a friend shared his with me. Even though it wasn't as cold that day in Brussels as it was in Montréal (if I recall, -12c vs -25c), I didn't have my heaviest winter coat or heavy boots and the wind was very strong and bitter.
Are Belgian pancakes more like French crêpes or Dutch pannenkoeken? Or does it depend on the region?
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 3, 2017 16:04:15 GMT
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Post by whatagain on Jul 3, 2017 16:13:14 GMT
Honestly I don't know Lagatta. I only eat the crêpes that we do at home. We mix the ingredients, then we cook it... I eat waffles from the street, and I love salted crepes - even more with 'Sarasin' flavour - black crêpes, like in Bretagne.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 3, 2017 17:03:24 GMT
Yes, I much prefer those, whatagain.
But k2, I think the contrast between the crisp crêpe and the yummy ingredients within is what makes the Vietnamese crêpe (and I want one right now.)
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Post by amboseli on Jul 3, 2017 20:42:49 GMT
Are Belgian pancakes more like French crêpes or Dutch pannenkoeken? Or does it depend on the region? Belgian pancakes are more like French crêpes. As you, I prefer galettes de sarrasin. With ham, emmental cheese and an egg 'sunny-side-up' on top. Yummie!
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Post by lagatta on Jul 3, 2017 21:15:00 GMT
You are making me hungry, for which I must give thanks as my sore hip (now) has put me off food, which isn't good. There is something perfect about that combination.
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Post by fumobici on Jul 4, 2017 15:27:25 GMT
Sarrasin crepes with ham?!? In Italian buckwheat is called 'grano saraceno' so I'm guessing the 'saracen' here is to do with buckwheat.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 4, 2017 15:53:34 GMT
Yes, it is buckwheat.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 16:25:13 GMT
When I was growing my maternal grandmother made pancakes that were super thin like crepes. I somehow recall her calling them platski but when I looked up Polish Pancakes all the references to these were called nalesniki. Sometimes she would add apples to the batter. It's times like these when I really miss my mother because I could just call her and ask her. It happens quite a lot especially regarding foods, recipes etc.
Then there are potato pancakes, latkes which we had quite often for Sunday supper along with some kielbasi.
Thanks for the pics and meeting Mrs. M Mark. She seems quite lovely.
Edited to add that I spoke with my 96 year old aunt, the last remaining sibling of my mother and she confirmed what I recalled, they called them platski.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 4, 2017 16:33:56 GMT
We used to eat at Mazurka, an economical but good Polish restaurant here (cheap wine and beer too...) but they called those crêpes blintzes, Yiddish influence I guess.
They were very good. Often stuffed with a white cheese similar to ricotta. Yes, would be lovely with apples; that is also done in the Netherlands and Germany.
Thanks to your aunt!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2017 17:29:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 18:34:03 GMT
The name is the same but the ones I am speaking of were not made with any potatoes. They were strictly eggs, flour and a tad of milk. A thin batter. Interesting, that the cultural/ethnic chasm between the two don't jiveski.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 4, 2017 18:53:26 GMT
Potato pancakes were a major part of the diet in Lorraine where my grandparents lived. When they were on the menu, they were the main dish with at most a bit of green salad to finish the meal. This was normal in areas like that where meat was a luxury for many years. Anyway, we ate a lot of them because when you grate potatoes by hand, you work up a pretty good appetite. I only heard the term latke when I visited my friends in Alsace. In the rest of France, there are just "crêpes aux pommes de terre" (potato pancakes).
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2017 19:37:14 GMT
Yes, I didn't think yours would have potatoes in them. Probably there are name variations from towns just a few miles apart.
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Post by amboseli on Jul 4, 2017 21:27:46 GMT
Yes, would be lovely with apples; that is also done in the Netherlands and Germany. We call them crêpes normandes in Belgium. Flambé with calvados, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 4, 2017 21:29:56 GMT
My grandmother made those, too, just called "crêpes aux pommes."
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Post by questa on Jul 4, 2017 22:54:25 GMT
In the early days of surfing Oz surfers made their way to various Indonesian islands where they could rent thatch huts and live cheaply. They introduced two Oz 'fast foods'...the jaffle and the banana pancake. These have now become staples for breakfast in all the back-packers' accommodations and cafes throughout the region. As fresh milk is rare, the pancakes are simply a powdered milk, egg and water batter poured over sliced banana, and served with palm sugar syrup. With tropical fruits as well they make a good breakfast.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 4, 2017 23:36:51 GMT
Would you believe that I'd never heard of a jaffle? Usually I have worthless geeky knowledge about that sort of thing. Does it make something like an empanada? (Empanadas aren't always meat). Great geeky OZ site! australianfoodtimeline.com.au/jaffle-craze/I'm surprised they didn't use coconut milk, though unlike powdered dairy milk, it isn't a significant source of protein.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 5, 2017 4:18:05 GMT
I learned of jaffles in the backpacker zone of Bangkok. In recent years there was a jaffle shop in a Parisian shopping mall, but it didn't last long. The product is really quite similar to the French 'tacos' weirdness that has spread across the country recently. Besides various dedicated chains, most of the kebab places and Indian fast food outlets sell varations of the 'tacos.' static.actu.fr/uploads/2017/04/17264498_660074977510871_1469491899159775976_n.jpg
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Post by bjd on Jul 5, 2017 6:29:52 GMT
When I was growing my maternal grandmother made pancakes that were super thin like crepes. I somehow recall her calling them platski but when I looked up Polish Pancakes all the references to these were called nalesniki. Sometimes she would add apples to the batter. It's times like these when I really miss my mother because I could just call her and ask her. It happens quite a lot especially regarding foods, recipes etc. Then there are potato pancakes, latkes which we had quite often for Sunday supper along with some kielbasi. Thanks for the pics and meeting Mrs. M Mark. She seems quite lovely. Edited to add that I spoke with my 96 year old aunt, the last remaining sibling of my mother and she confirmed what I recalled, they called them platski.Casi, to me nalesniki are more like crepes, although a tiny bit thicker. My favourite kind my mother made contained cream cheese with raisins, rather like what they do in Hungary or Austria. Placki are thicker, like potato pancakes. I sometimes make them with sliced up apples too. They would be placki. (In Polish, the c is pronounced like ts).
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Post by questa on Jul 5, 2017 11:35:05 GMT
Jaffles are the most convenient of all convenience foods, specially when kids won't eat until tempted to "make up your own filling". I liked tomato,bacon and egg cooked slowly, my sons fancied cheese and baked beans or leftover meat and veg from a roast.You can also make sweet jaffles as well...sliced apple and cinnamon served with custard etc. The instructions to make jaffles ( above ) left out the most important part. You have to butter the two pieces of bread on the side that will be touching the jaffle iron otherwise it will stick. I have a round iron so I cut off the corners of the bread after clamping the iron so they don't burn and spoil the taste.
Great for getting through the leftovers and stale bread, cooking on a campfire or stove-top and teens to make as an after school snack.
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Post by questa on Jul 5, 2017 12:03:53 GMT
Lagatta, Making coconut milk is a tedious process and would not be suitable to use instead of dairy milk. You probably know that the fluid from a fresh cut coconut is the 'water' and is a refreshing drink, but is not coconut 'milk'. To make milk... I have posted a link below which is how we made it. Some people now have blenders which make it less time-consuming. Coconut cream is when you make the milk more concentrated and is very fiddley. When the coconut is still young the hard coconut 'meat' is still soft and jelly-like. Pre tinned baby foods this was used as the main weaning food for babies, easily digested, clean and nourishing. www.thespruce.com/how-to-extract-coconut-milk-2138093
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