Swedish Pancakes

“Who is getting more pleasure from this rocking, the baby or me?”

-Nancy Thayer, author

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers! I wish you a day of rest, relaxation and joy. Or if you have a small child, like my sister, who has a sweet little baby, maybe just a day of happiness, since the rest and relaxation part is quite a tall order.

Speaking of my sister, Melanie, she is the kind of mother I like to celebrate on this day. She loves her children so much and it shows. She’s a great listener to them. They can talk to her about anything. Her first two are teenagers now, and in college. I just think she’s done a great job in raising 2 young men. Happy Mothers Day to my sisters, who are all great mothers, Mel, Mendy and Mary!

These pancakes are a simple pleasure. Simple ingredients, the basics, really. Eggs, flour, milk, a touch of sugar, that’s all. Yet they are quite delicious, and very easy to make. It’s the kind of thing you can decide to make right when you wake up, and be sitting down to eat it in about 15 minutes. Better still, it’s preferable to make the batter the night before, making morning prep time even faster.

The recipe comes from an old cookbook called, Seattle’s Celebrity Chefs. It was a book made for charity. They aren’t all celebrity chefs really. The recipes mostly come from business owners. One from the Seattle Times, one from the Seattle Supersonics, one from the University of Washington, that sort of thing. But there are a few recipes from restaurants. Including a recipe for Canlis salad from the famed restaurant of the same name.

I do like cookbooks like this. My theory is that if you are asked what is your one favorite recipe of all time, it’s got to be a good one right? My experience with books like this is regrettably hit or miss. The reason for the misses in my opinion are coming from people who don’t cook but sometimes throw a few things together if they are hungry enough, and call it their favorite recipe.

But when the recipe is coming from someone who likes to cook, (or from a restaurant, of course) it can be wonderful. So I continue to read such books.

This one is definitely a hit. It comes from The Petra Corporation. Marv Harshman, the man who submitted it, says, this is his favorite recipe. His wife’s grandmother brought it from Sweden almost 100 years ago. She doesn’t use measurements when she makes them. They had to ask her to sit down and measure to create this recipe.

I love a recipe with a story, don’t you?

Swedish Pancakes

adapted from Seattle’s Celebrity Chefs, and Marv Harshman from the Petra Corporation

this amount feeds a family of 4. I halved this to make enough for 2. (I used 2 eggs.)

Marv says they are even better if you make the batter the night before. I personally didn’t because of poor planning. I still thought they were great.

Ingredients

2 cups (300 g.) flour
3 cups (750 ml) milk
4 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch of salt
5 eggs

In a large bowl add all ingredients except for the eggs. Whisk them all together until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk well again.

Heat a skillet on medium high heat, or use an electric griddle on 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 6.

Pour batter into thin pancakes onto hot buttered skillet. When one side is lightly browned, flip it, and cook the other side. (It only takes a minute or 2 per side.)

Roll them up like a crepe filled with jam, or stack them up like regular pancakes and serve with butter and syrup.