Plattar-The Morning of the Swedish Pancakes

It was very, very late in the morning and I was starving for Swedish pancakes

and was actually able to talk my non-pancake loving hubby into them!!

I grabbed my 'long time, not used' cast iron platt pan and....

"lightly greased" all of the indentations (or at least thought I did that) then heated it.

While the platt pan was heating, I started the breakfast sausage and mixed up the pancake batter (this time from a prepackaged mix rather then a recipe).

and mixed, mixed, mixed it some more.

Stubborn little batter clumps!

First with a spoon and next with a whisk, I mixed the batter, hunting down every last clump till they were all happily dissolved in a thin, smooth liquid. Then I cooked the first 7 little pancakes.

They ended up looking rather mauled..

I'm way too embarrassed to show you them; after all this is a culinary arts post. Besides I scarfed the little, defective evidence (um, pancakes) all down within minutes.

I was really, really hungry.

The second batch (or was it the third) was OK, not shredded this time, but a bit on the done side--although they looked very much like the ones on the box. My hubby dutifully ate them...

although he referred to them as 'caramelized',

his favorite adjective for 'overcooked' --'burnt' --'overdone'.

He was exaggerating I'm sure.

I experimented with batter amounts---

1 Tbsp as recommended by the package, then 2 tbsp and finally 3 tbsp

I thought 1 Tbsp was too little (it wasn't a measuring tablespoon), 2 Tbsp was more to my liking and 3 was---well don't go there if you are using a platt pan.

It's not a pretty picture; see above for the proof.

and with pouring methods--

First from a tablespoon, as recommended on the package, and then from a cup - carefully! The cup was faster and I was really hungry.

I 'm an impatient lot when I am THAT hungry.

I experimented with butter vs. cooking spray--

'lightly' vs. more heavily greased.

I decided the cooking spray worked better then butter and ended up with a light to medium greased pan.

and with the burner setting--

The pan may not have been hot enough or too hot.

I grew faint--literally--with all the experimenting.

And then they were done -- and I ate more, a lot more.

Yum! Swedish pancakes with geijost cheese and breakfast sausage.

Summary:

**We used (yes my hubby helped when I got faint) a small knife to turn the plattar. They're very thin and each indentation of the platt pan is small and shallow. Go slow and loosen all edges before flipping them. Remember, patience is a virtue--or at least that's what they say.

**The pan must be hot--400 degrees the package said for them to cook properly because of the thinness of the pancake. You can use a platt pan (available on the Internet or at your Scandinavian shops or you can try a cast iron griddle or skillet). Watch the greased pan closely if you have trouble mixing the batter (of course if I had used the whisk from the beginning....)

**It took awhile to get the batter totally mixed and smooth--those 'clumps' were stubborn little guys. At first I used a spoon but then traded that for a whisk which worked better. You can buy a package or make the pancakes from scratch (when I did them years before I always did them from scratch). There are many recipes on the Internet (google 'plattar")

**I prefer a 'doneness' somewhere between the two samples shown above, but the lighter pancakes were totally cooked. When you are cooking them they don't really bubble but turn dull--like a matte finish as they cook. They are delicate, thin, mouthwatering, fantastic....

**We used orange blossom honey on these, but they're so much better with lingonberry jam or another berry preserve. Some people like theirs topped with whipped cream or powdered sugar too.

I love lingonberry jam, but I think we all know that now...

Try them, you'll like plattar (and they're very kid friendly). I know because I've loved them since I was a child:)

Breakfast Blessings, Aimee

As the Blank Pages of a Journal Are

Aimee sat with the new journal in her lap, its pages blank and not filled in yet with the record that would be. It was dawn and as she watched, the light from the sun came over the mountains and dispelled the darkness that was the night -- the nightime that had stood between the old but which had also given birth to the new. The first day of the New Year had begun.

Trees stood bare in the countryside, surrounded by tall bushes and taller yet rock formations and mountains. They awaited the coming of their leaves which would herald in the springtime--but that would not be for several months more--for the season of snow, rain and cold still held court in the lands of the NW.

Aimee looked down again at the book which lay in her lap--there were pages to write in this new chapter of her life, before she placed this book too on the shelf with the others of times gone by--the journals of her childhood and youth; many of motherhood and more recently those of being a grandmother.

So as a new day and New Year began, Aimee picked up her pen and started to write...

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A New Year, like a new journal, has a beautiful cover. You can't see it's length--nor the stories in it--and yet it is full of promise for this journal will hold stories of the priceless gift that is your life.

As you open it and turn to that first page, you can turn the page on things of the past too--of hurts, fears and mistakes made. They belong to your past and you will always remember them, but this is a new chapter in your story and you can use these painful times and memories to learn from --- and go on.

Make this year the best yet--strive to fill each page with beautiful stories of love, joy and peace. Stories that will be remembered by others who are just starting their own books or have just a few chapters completed. And remember, this journal will be your legacy. so make it a good one!

Happy New Year from the mountainside.
Blessings, Aimee


Photo: Columbia River Gorge area

A Walk in His Gardens-the Coastlands

The Coastlands of the Pacific NW

I walk in the high places and see the beauty of the panorama below me. The mountains and rivers, the bay and the ocean to the west.

The sand of a beach, washed smooth by the surf..

Rocky cliffs high above the sea...

A bay, where many boats set out to sea carrying men in search of fish for the dinner tables of the NW.

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"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1: 9, 10 KJV

Blessings, Aimee

Photos: NW Coast Views