Pancakes Aplenty, a Vintage Cook Book Written by a Murdered Food Critic

I love vintage finds at a library book sale. This winter I came home with Pancakes Aplenty published in 1962. The illustrations alone are worth the 50 cents I paid! I do love Mid-Century illustrative art!

For those planning on a pancake dinner for Fat Tuesday, here are some recipes to consider. Author Ruth Ellen Church reminds us that pancakes freeze well and can be reheated in the oven or on a griddle; using a toaster makes them tougher.

Don't worry about lumps--"most pancakes are lighter and more tender if they aren't mixed too well." Also, don't fry them but use a lightly greased griddle. Heat the griddle until a drop of water sizzles. Flip the cake when bubbles form but before they burst.

You can create shaped pancakes, even adding blueberries or raisins for eyes.

The recipes are drawn from across time and continents and include some I have never heard of. They use sweet-potatoes and squash, chocolate and carrots,  orange juice and eggnog.

Old-Fashioned Batty Cakes have no flour and are recommended as an accompaniment for fried chicken! 4 servings

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 well-beaten egg
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Mix the dry ingredients. Add egg and buttermilk and beat until smooth. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased skillet and bake until brown, turning once.

Another corn-based pancake is Fluffy Corn Cakes which used cream-style corn. For 5-6 servings.

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 well-beaten eggs
• 1 lb cane of cream-style corn
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Combine dry ingredients. Combine eggs, corn, milk, and butter. Stir into the dry ingredients, mixing lightly. Bake on a lightly greased griddle until golden brown, turning once. Serve with maple syrup or with quick chicken filling.

Quick Chicken Filling

• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 soup-can of milk
• 1 can (5 oz) of boned chicken
• 1 tablespoon chopped pimento

Dilute soup with milk and add chicken and pimento. Heat. Fill and top 8 pancakes. Add 2 tablespoons of toasted slivered almonds if desired. Tuna or ham may be substituted for chicken.

Some recipes are quite strange!

Onion-Pimento Pancakes with Cheese Sauce
5 servings
These red-and-green speckled cakes are easily prepared for brunch, lunch, or supper when you are in a hurry. Add a green salad and brown-and-serve sausages to the meal.

• 2 cups pancake mix
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimento
• 2 tablespoons chopped green pepper

Add milk to mix and stir lightly. Fold in onion, pimento, and green pepper. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto hot, lightly greased griddle. Bake until golden brown, turning once.

Cheese Sauce

• 1/2 pound processed cheese
• 1 cup milk

Cut cheese into pieces. Heat with milk over boiling water, stirring, until cheese melts. Serve over pancakes.

Mom made Potato Pancakes served with "heat and serve" sausage and applesauce. Church suggests also serving them with sour cream or gooseberry sauce. Mom soaked the grated potatoes in cold water to remove the starch.

• 2 cups grated raw potatoes
• 1/3 c milk
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Stir grated potatoes into milk, add remaining ingredients and mix. Drop onto buttered frying skillet and cook slowly until well browned and crisp on both sides.

Gingerbread Pancakes

• 7-9 servings  Bake on a moderately heated griddle and turn carefully.
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup  molasses
• 1 well-beaten egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil or butter

Stir dry ingredients; combine liquids. Blend until smooth. Bake on very lightly oiled griddle at moderate heat, turning carefully when browned underneath. Serve hot with applesauce and whipped cream. 

Quick Calas (Rice Cake) These cakes are especially nice for Sunday morning breakfast served with jam or syrup or pineapple sauce.

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 3 well-beaten eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder

Mix rice, eggs, vanilla, and nutmeg. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix. Bake on lightly greased hot griddle.

Pineapple Sauce

• 1 9-oz can crushed pineapple
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Mix and simmer 10 minutes.

 Tortillas are just another kind of 'pancake.'

This book includes waffle recipes.

 And French toast, yeast pancakes, and fritter recipes.

Ham Fritters with Bananas
4-6 servings

• 2 cups ground cooked ham
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 4 small bananas peeled and halved
• lemon juice 
• flour

Add ham to eggs with flour, milk, and onion. Add salt and pepper if the ham is bland. Drop into deep got fat at 365 degrees. Coo, 3-5 minutes until done. Dip bananas in lemon and coat with flour. Fry in the kettle until brown.

 Another section offers recipes for Omelets.

French Omelet
one serving

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk or water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper with a fork. Avoid foaminess. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a 7- or 8-inch omelet pan or skillet, rotate pan to coat well, and pour off the excess. The pan just be just hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle.

Pour in the egg mixture and reduce heat. As the eggs begin to thicken at edges, draw the cooked portions toward the center with a fork so that the uncooked portion flow to the bottom. Tilt pan as necessary to hasten the flow of uncooked eggs. Do not stir and keep the mixture as level as possible. Shake skillet occasionally to keep from sticking. When eggs no longer flow and the surface is still moist, increase heat to brown bottom quilting. Loosen edge, roll with a fork onto a serving plate. Cooking time should be about 5 minutes.

Other omelet recipes incorporate codfish, potato and bacon, shrimp, and cooked noddles!

The last section of the cookbook gives recipes for butters, 'sirups', sauces, and fillings. Sauces with rum, avocado, and even white grapes are included!

WHO WAS RUTH ELLEN CHURCH? Check in next Saturday and learn about her career as Mary Meade and her tragic murder!