Lily’s Blog, Dragon Absconded!
Baking Until I Drop

So, at 3:30 am I had the startling realization that I could make pancakes.

From one of my recipe books.

I didn’t need a mix.

In case you’re wondering what I’m smoking (nothing!), not much people make sense at 3:30 am. I wanted pancakes. All I could think was no mix…brain freeze you know?

Then, I was like, it’s 3:30 am.
Hmm.
We are supposed to wake up at about 4:00 am to fast.
Hmm.
Quickly, found recipe (Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Swedish Blini from The Cake Bible) and decided this was doable.

Wait, how sleepy was I?

Was I so sleepy that I could be unable to read this properly? So sleepy that I should go back to sleep?

I made it downstairs.

I made it outside (and let Zoë in and gave her food) and found the cake flour. I couldn’t find any limes. I also brought in a carton of eggs.

So, 4 eggs + remaining cream + flour + milk + (no lemon zest! can’t find the limes! lemon essence? hmmmm) + salt + melted butter + clarified butter (you must be joking right? it’s almost 4 am) and such a thin batter (because, do I know what a blini is? hahaha).

But man is the kitchen a mess (and not totally my fault).

Find dollar-pan (I don’t know I can’t remember what you call them…silver dollar pans? for pancakes? Do about 7 3″ pancakes? Except this is a fun shapes one – animals…hehehe) and heat and rub butter on it.

Then take 1/8 cup measure and pour batter into each shape. Smells very eggy.

I think about how this had no sugar in it (and I have neither crème fraiche, nor lingonberries (what’s a lingonberry???)) and don’t have energy now to find icing sugar (fast approaching 4:00 am, am i hearing movement upstairs?). Can’t even find white sugar.

*sigh*

Eventually I decide to just sprinkle brown sugar on the pancakes (hahaha!) and then I find the white sugar.

Into the third batch (or was it the fourth?) I wonder where anybody is and run upstairs. Who cares about burnt pancakes. They (I) will eat them anywayz. Put me at a stove and I’m a bit more lax because my “cooking” endeavours are usually disastrous so I don’t sweat the details.

So, upstairs, dad isn’t fasting.
He tries waking up mom.
Who says she’s not feeling good.

SET UP
SET UP

See if I cook for anybody again.

*sigh*

Can you imagine a stack of 40+ 2.5″ pancakes? And just me?

Gah!
I kept hoping the people downstairs would wake up and be hungry.

And all the while, cleaning up debris from last night and tonight. Sweating. Finding fan.

Gah.

Made attempt to find icing sugar (can’t figure out where we put it…didn’t I use it just last week? – sign of sleepiness aka crazy Lilandra cooking at 4 in the morning) but locate white sugar. Hmm. Okay then!

(It now occurs to me we have whipped cream and I could’ve sprayed that on my blinis).

Finally done.

Will wash wares later.

Cleaned counters and rubbed out batter spots on stove.

Cracked open jar of…BLUEBERRY PRESERVES.

Just a touch, like dime-sized and spread it over the blini and it was heaven.
I must’ve had 10.
Did I tell you I was hungry? (which is why I sleep badly…hunger).

Yum Yum Yum

So, blinis and jam are good.
I didn’t even need to sprinkle sugar on it but see sleepy…if I had company that said why not jam, Lilandra, I wouldn’t've been worried (I also worry whether they’re cooked through…this pan is…*strange* to me).

*sigh*

then wash wares as dad comes down, wake up brother downstairs…wipe up some more…come upstairs…booff mommy for the major set up and make wudu and pray…internet was down for a bit so had to WAIT to post this.

No pictures.

Just know, eggy milky blinis plus blueberry preserves are good good good.

White Bread, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

Technically all the breads I’ve made recently are white breads (except of course the marble rye bread which did contain a significant portion of plain flour).

I think however, when most people refer to a white bread they are thinking of that nice soft sandwich loaf. I have nothing against sandwich loaves. I have been trying to eat more whole wheat ones (but I strongly suspect the local mass produced one is more colouring than whole grain). So, we try Nature’s something and Chee Mooke’s whole grain breads.

But every now and again we buy a sandwich loaf, for dad, to make mass sandwiches (cheese paste and the like) to carry somewhere or depending if we buy it from the parlour or the grocery and the options available.

Dad is a great fan of white bread. So, I figured I would try one of the variations in Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Thankfully two of them do not require a starter or sponge of any kind. I’m not sure if I will ever try the second. Sounds like self-inflicted punishment.
Continue reading White Bread!