To shrove or not to shrove...

I wasn't going to bother. But now I'm sitting here, teaching myself how to play poker, thinking that a pancake will just hit the spot. But (shock horror!) I don't know how to make them, and Delia's only got a fancy recipe (who keeps buttermilk in their fridge, anyway?) in her How to Cook Book 1. Ha! So I will search the web, put some eggs, flour and milk into a pan (one way or another) and end up with the usual gloopy mess. Nothing like my mother used to make... Cover it in sugar and lemon juice, though, and it'll be great.

So, that will lead me on to my next post - what to give up for Lent? Hmm... I'll ponder that and be back to you once my tummy ache has gone.

Happy Shroving!

Pancake update: Well, those were the best pancakes I've ever made for myself. Thanks to Delia, after all (I used half this recipe). (Though I'm not going to give her all the credit, because she didn't actually come to my house and make them for me!) So, my top tips for why my pancakes were nice this time and they're usually not:-

• I used an organic free-range egg. There's nothing like a clear conscience to make your food taste better.
• I used just enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan and I was careful not to let it burn.
• After each pancake, I wiped the bottom of the pan to remove any left over butter, so that it didn't burn on the next pancake.
• I accepted the fact that, if you're making pancakes for yourself, they will mostly be cold by the time you get to eat them. However, cold homemade pancakes are by far preferable to warm-ish pre-packed pancakes that you can buy from the supermarket (which was our only option when we had our 'this is what Pancake Day is all about' afternoon diversion for an American colleague).
• Don't panic! I didn't have any lemon juice, so I improvised and used lemon curd instead. It was yummy!

In more detail, in case you're interested, this is how my pancakes piled up: 1st pancake on plate - light sprinkling of caster sugar; 2nd pancake on top of that - spread with lemon curd and a little bit of brown sugar; 3rd pancake - caster sugar again; 4th pancake - very light drizzle of golden syrup; 5th (last) pancake - caster sugar. There was probably still enough batter in the bowl for one more pancake, but I was very hungry and very pleased with myself and didn't want to push my luck.

Finally, the all-important toss. I thought I wouldn't, with my history. But by pancake three I was feeling rather smug, so I had a go. And I managed to toss the pancake right over and back to where it started. So I felt a bit sheepish and just turned it over with the palette-knife thingy I'd been using. But deep down, I was very proud!