Saturday Eats - Sourdough Birthday Pancakes

What'cha making Mom?

Abby T. Lab here - we're celebrating Mom's 50 (mumble mumble)th birthday today.

Dad got her some nice gifts and a funny dog card!

MMM - Crawford's Biscuits - Mom LOVES those with her afternoon tea! (Mom's biological Mom was English, just like her adopted Dad).

The acrylic wine glasses are so when she has her bubble bath she can sip her Moonshine Chardonnay during her bath without risk of broken glass as she steps out of the tub. The last trip Dad made to the UK to his company's factory there, he brought home a bunch of bubbly bath stuff so she will look forward to that.

Dad picked out a pretty birthday nightie for her as well.

With some evening reading material (I know, Mom is weird with what she reads).

After the presents were opened, Dad was going to make her breakfast but Mom had a great surprise yesterday when after her wild yeast sourdough starter died a few months back (remove hat, look solemn), her next door neighbor brought her a fresh batch of sourdough starter to start feeding and walking (what, no walkies for the sourdough, just feeding?).  So after it enjoyed the warm sun porch for a bit, she fed it, then let it sit in the warm room a few more hours before making a "sponge" for breakfast pancakes before tucking the remaining starter in the refrigerator with a clean coffee filter as a bedtime cap.

Mom and Dad have the nicest neighbors, we are very blessed

This is regular sourdough starter (the wild yeast starter Mom had was nice but it was "persnickety", as my human Grandpa would say).  I think this batch will do very well, with just a feeding once or twice a week.

Here is a great tutorial if you want to start your own: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2017/02/06/easy-sourdough-starter/

The recipe came with the neighbor's gift of ready-to-go sourdough starter, the neighbor's kind wife writing down a couple of them.  Mom tweaked it just slightly to make enough for just two people and adding just a bit more leavening (she likes her pancakes SUPER fluffy). She also put some notes in here for a Vegan version for Murphy and Stanley's Mom (because we know how much Carol likes to cook, bar har har) and Yam Aunty.

Soughdough Pancakes (or waffles)

Sourdough "sponge"  (make the night before).

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk (or nut milk for Vegan version)
1/2 cup sourdough starter

Mix in a non-metal bowl with a wooden spoon (sourdough does NOT like metal).  Cover with a clean dish towel and leave out overnight on the counter.

Click to enlarge photo, I double dog dare you.

In the morning mix in one little bowl:

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 teaspoons sugar

Into the sourdough sponge, whisk with a wooden spoon:

1 egg 
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil. 

Note:  you can make a Vegan egg replacer with: 

1 Tablespoon ground flax or chia seed (measure after grinding)

3 Tablespoons water

Mix vigorously and let sit 10 minutes and mix in like you would one regular egg.

Mix dry ingredients into the sponge bowl (not to be confused with SpongeBob) with a wooden spoon. Cook pancakes on a preheated and oiled griddle (or in your waffle iron per manufacturer's directions.)

Yummy!

Happy Birthday, Mom - now can I have a pancake to go with that treat?

Flower Friday

It's Flower Friday time in honor of our friends at the Bridge and featured each Friday by:

• Da DB Boyz (Arty and Jakey)

Here's today's flowers!

This is a plant an 87-year-old lady from Mom's church brought when Mom and Dad had her over for dinner.  She had lost her husband and was a bit lonely - they all had such a fun time and are going to do it again.

This is a yellow floral wreath on a door in a little house in Mom's neighborhood.  The yellow matches the yellow ribbons tied around each tree that remained for many years in wait of someone to come home that never did.  The ribbons are gone, but the wreath and its stories remain.

Fresh flower pots at a home that sat vacant for a long time after a foreclosure.  A young couple bought it and updated it inside and out and it's so pretty now.

When Mom first moved here she didn't understand why the people at the end of the block let the weeds grow up on the corner - thny they bloomed!

Look close as you walk and you find flowers everywhere.

No flowers, but just a dog dish with fresh water Mom puts out for the squirrels, rabbits, and birds to get a drink there among the plants she lets grow up under the 100-year-old Spruce, to give them a little protection from predators above.

On this Flower Friday add a little color to YOUR world.

Abby T. Lab

Thankful Thursday - Treats!

I'm thankful Mom and Dad went to The Pet Place Store and stocked up on grain free bulk treats!
Join 

• Brian

for a Thankful Thursday Blog Hop

Power of the Paw for Miss Madi

Please send some healing thoughts for Blogville's dear friend and life of the party-

• Madi

She's not feeling well at all and her Mom and Dad are really worried. Drop by and leave her a kind word. So many have done so already and we do know it helps.

Abby Lab and family

What would be YOUR Caption for this picture?

"Just when I thought I'd put that unfortunate incident behind me".

Abby Lab's Weekend Eats - Banana Bread Pancakes

Cooking for me is always an adventure.  I regularly get ideas for recipes by surfing the web, cookbooks, or other blogs.  But I never leave well enough alone and end up with part of a recipe that gets taken in a different direction, or at least tweaked.  With rare exception (the time I forgot self- rising flour in making a new pancake recipe and ended up with what resembled paper plates and the day I made the Amoebasaurus Dinosaur pancakes) the results are fun and tasty. And though we limit her grains to one treat a week as she is sensitive (i.e. you will have to sit upwind for at least 24 hours after giving her a pancake) Abby Lab LOVES pancake days, as did Angel Barkley (pictured here with his trademark orange collar).

Here's the latest adventure.  It tasted just like banana bread, but with a soft, fluffy pancake texture. A hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, paired with vanilla infused syrup was the perfect topping. My husband ate a HUGE stack and gave them two thumbs up between bites. The recipe serves 2-3, and would easily double

Indiana Jones:  Marion, don't look at it. Shut your eyes, Marion. 

Don't look at it, no matter what happens!

In a small bowl combine:
3/4 cup milk at room temperature (I nuked mine for 20 seconds)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
set aside

In a larger bowl (big enough for the final batter) combine
1 cup flour
3  generous Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a third (and final) small bowl.
Mash 1 and 1/2 large or 2 small very ripe bananas (skin turning black)
whisk in one extra large or jumbo egg until smooth and fluffy
Continue to whisk in:
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Tablespoons melted butter (add slowly in a stream while whisking).

Stir banana mixture into milk mixture and blend.
Add to flour mixture and stir JUST until combined

Cook by 1/4 cup measures on an oiled griddle.

Tips:  The batter is a bit stickier than your normal pancake batter so make sure your cast iron griddle is well oiled, adding a little extra oil  between batches if it looks dry

The pancakes may not bubble up quite as much as you're used to, check the bottoms and the temp to avoid burning.

Serve with:
butter and 1/2 cup maple syrup warmed with 1 teaspoon vanilla added in

Sunday Black and White - The Games We Play

Labrador Five-O

A friend of mine is having a birthday.  It can be hard to find just the right card for a treasured friend who is not happy about hitting the big Five Oh.

But I found one  :-)

Today is crazy busy - so I'll see you all on Sunday  (if my friend doesn't kill me  :-)

Speak Up Talk Radio and the Sewport Project - Helping Humans and Rescues in Need of Some Comfort

I had an author interview by Speak Up Talk Radio yesterday during my lunch break.  I made sure the house was quiet so Abby would bark as it was done over the phone. She did bark, but at such a moment of exquisite timing that I knew Angel Barkley had a hand (or paw) in that and it made both my husband and I almost tear up as we laughed, listening to it afterwards.

The Speak Up Talk Radio Interviews fund the SewPort project which provides handcrafted bedding items (pillowcases ) to soldiers serving overseas where a bit of homemade cheer lifts the spirits, as well as shelters for the homeless, domestic violence shelters and cage comforters and cat-nippers to rescue shelters.  So for that, I've been proud to be interviewed twice, knowing my author fee and those that donate after listening is doing a lot to provide comfort to those in need.

http://www.thesewportproject.com/

If you want to hear the interview where I talk about the writing process and my latest fiction characters (in a voice I'm told sounds like "Erma Bomback"), the link is here.

http://www.speakuptalkradio.com/lb-johnson-returns-to-spea…/

Weekly Eats - On a Roll

Abby Lab reminded me I didn't get my weekly recipe post up.  This is for you bread lovers out there, like my husband, who LOVES homemade bread on the weekends. OR DIY date night at home.

These turned out great and I shared the recipe with a friend who also made them and even though they are normally afraid of working with yeast said, "they turned out AWESOME!".  No kneading you just need a stand or hand mixer.

Rosemary  and Sea Salt Yeast Rolls

For the Rolls:
1 cup water, warm (not hot)
3 teaspoons regular active dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
3-1/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt

For the Topping

1 and 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
sea salt, for sprinkling

fresh or dried rosemary

Directions below:

Have the 3 bowls you will need out before you start. Bring the butter and egg up to room temperature(important)

Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water and let rest in a mixing bowl for three minutes. Add butter and mix with a mixer on low until the butter is broken up (the mixture will look curdled). Add the egg and beat on low until incorporated. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, sugar, and salt. Add to the water/butter mixture and beat on low until the dough just comes together. The dough will be very sticky, but should not totally stick to the sides of the bowl. Form into a ball with your hands, transfer the dough to a large, clean and buttered bowl, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about one-two hours. Once the dough has risen, break off fifteen even ball-shaped pieces of dough and place in greased muffin tins and let rise until doubled (about 30 minutes). Once risen, brush the tops of the rolls with the melted butter, sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt as desired.

Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 10-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. (For my oven 18 minutes is perfect).

OK, and prepare one without salt for the dog.

Directions below:

Bunny Games

We have 3 bunny rabbits that make our yard and the neighbor to the south their home. (the neighbor to the north has a fence that doesn't allow bunny entry).  The one neighbor has some tasty wildflowers but we have a fence with slats that allow them entry but not larger critters which they seem to know keeps them safe from dogs and cats. and the occasional predator that comes over from the park along the river.  Our back yard also has a thick evergreen bush against the back of the house which is good cover in bad weather.  We also keep a dog bowl full of fresh water out among the plants, which both critters and the birds love.

Abby goes out about the same time each day, a walk with Dad in the morning and evening and a walk at lunch with her dog walker, and once out to potty at 5 pm before she is feed.  When Abby is on the leash, the rabbits just lie low and don't run off. Being the trained huntress (snort) that she is Abby doesn't even see them.

When it's just me leaving our house to run an errand or take the recycling out, they don't even bat an eye.But when Abby is let out late day, she's off leash, so I give them a heads up that she is coming out before I let her out.

While she waits on the sun porch I'll go down and gently shoo them out of the yard before I let her out the door.

They know the game, and just hop to just the edge of the fence and wait for Abby, and as Abby runs towards them, make one hop through the fence and then just sit there and laugh at Abby who runs at about the speed of molasses (and if she gets close she just "points" so the bunnies are in no danger). It's even funnier when she tries to "sneak up on them" and they hop through the fence at the last minute.

"Hasta La Vista Baby!"

It's a game for all involved I think.  It's gotten to the point that when I'm letting Abby out into the sunporch to start the rabbit hunt I'm humming the Mission Impossible Song but it's-


Bun, bun, bun bun, BUN BUN bun bun.

Abby Lab Says - My Pawrents are WEIRD!

If I lay here, Dad will get home sooner.

Abby T. Lab here.  My paw-rents may seem all normal to all you but I have to tell you, they are actually rather STIR-RANGE.  Case in point, a conversation Friday night when Dad got home.

Mom:  Hon - could you please pick up that small pile of clothes on the bathroom floor and take to the laundry room? (in the basement)

Dad:  Your knee bothering you?

Mom:  No, a giant spider just ran under them and although I stomped on the pile for a while, it might still be lying in wait.

Seriously Dad? Mom's afraid of a pile of underwear?

Dad:  (sigh)  You have rappelled into a canyon in the dark, you have landed an airplane as a typhoon approached and I've seen you up to your elbows in enough gore to make a maggot gag. . . .and you're afraid of spiders.

Mom:  It was HUGE!!!

Dad:  How big?

Mom:  The size of a QUARTER!

Dad (chuckling):  That's not huge!

Mom:  Spiders the size of a quarter can skeletonize a cow in under two minutes.  

Dad (laughing and pointing outside):  Look! a centipede is stealing your hubcaps!

See what I mean folks - non-stop weirdness in this house.

But they feed me treats!

Saturday Smiles