Pancakes have always been a frustrating and disappointing experience for me. Most of my life I have been completely unable to cook them without burning the outsides or leaving them raw in the middle. After making pancakes every Saturday for three months, I can honestly say everything I knew about pancakes was wrong. If you are like me, you grew up making pancakes from a box, not a recipe. Box pancakes are generally easy to make because there is only one way to make them; but as soon as you enter the world of personal, customized recipes everything changes. All the tricks (like, don’t flip it until the bubbles stop closing) lead me astray the more creative I got with my cooking, to the point where I nearly abandoned pancakes entirely. I think it actually took me three months of regular pancake making to gain any confidence in making or adapting them. So, let me first share a few of tips about making pancakes, then go over 3 of my favorite pancake recipes.
Recently I spent an extraordinary amount of time testing grenadine recipes, trying to find one that wouldn’t sacrifice color for flavor, or flavor for color. There are a lot of complaints out there about home made grenadine being brown (from the pomegranate molasses) or too watery (when it’s made with juice) or too expensive and time consuming (when you make your own pomegranate molasses). I thought I had found the solution when I saw on someone’s website that a combination of the two (using pomegranate molasses and juice) produced a bright and deep red grenadine that didn’t turn brown in drinks. But alas! Still brown. So for about a month I thought about how to solve this problem. There was a time when no one cared that homemade grenadine was brown, but in this newer age of cocktails people are looking for beauty as well as artisanal methods. Food coloring simply won’t do, but neither will a muddy drink. While working on other syrups I discovered the key in a flower I use in almost everything. It’s so simple, so inexpensive, and so beautiful, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner: hibiscus. And you can believe me when I tell you this will make a beautiful, bright, and deep red grenadine that won’t dilute to brown when you mix it.
I have to admit that I love this time of year. Spring is right around the corner, and here in California the rain storms are raging and the citrus is still booming. All around me people are griping about the cold and impatiently awaiting Spring days and the long stint where we won’t see a drop of rain for at least 6 months. But as we get closer and closer the end of the season, I begin to lament the loss of the rain, which I love, and Meyer Lemons, which are possibly my favorite citrus. So, as it pours outside, I sit inside thinking of things to bake to keep my house warm and trying to find new ways to use my favorite lemon. That’s more or less how this cookie was created. It is a combination of some of my favorite sweets and favorite ingredients: salty, chewy, Meyer Lemon, olive oil, and it only uses one bowl!
If you want the perfect mustard, you’ve got to make it yourself.
So this is it. Borders has officially filed for bankruptcy. They have released a list of 200 stores they will be closing over the next several weeks, and it is expected that they will close at least another 75. How should we be feeling about this? As booksellers, as book lovers? Personally, I am afraid, delighted, and saddened. The part of me that works in a bookstore across the street from a Borders that is closing down is delighted. The part of me that works in a bookstore in a city that is losing two bookstores this month (only one of them a Borders) is saddened . . . but also hopeful we will get their business. The part of me that recognizes the impact of a major chain closing down that owes the six major publishing houses around $40 million each is actually freaked the fuck out. This is a big deal.
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA A. LARENAS: Perfect little fractal trees that are exactly the right size for pickling.
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA LARENAS: Still scrambling for a holiday gift idea? Homemade hot chocolate is a delicious gift for less than $5.
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA LARENAS: The skillet or upside down cake is a perfect alternative to traditional Thanksgiving fare
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA LARENAS: Unraveling the mystery of the perfect Hot and Sour Soup
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA LARENAS: Keeping bag lunches interesting with a homemade treat
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA LARENAS: Late summer is the prime time for fresh fruit
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA A. LARENAS: Everything is fair game in an infusion
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA LARENAS: The totally adaptable, refreshing, and amazing wine spritzer
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA A. LARENAS: The secret to killer shortcakes
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA A. LARENAS: An excellent all-purpose mayonnaise that is easy to make
SIMPLICITIES BY JANINA A. LARENAS: Cooking a stiff milk caramel made that is wildly popular in Central and South America
Concluding our series of affordable holiday and seasonal recipes, with cheap and easy tips for homemade mulled wine and bread pudding
Dispelling the myths of a delicious chutney
It’s not too late–there are a ton of cheap and easy gifts you can make at home
Paul M Davis