I know that I have sorely lacked in updating, and anyone who has read my blog in the last 2 years pretty much knows all the struggles that we have dealt with. Well, we were dealt another one…on Mother’s Day.

My Pappap passed away.

My Pappap, for those who are uninitiated, was my grandfather. But more than that, and I can say this with all due prejudice, one of the best!

This man, with a ready smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes, taught me to fish, to love watching all kinds of movies, to play with my food, to ‘drive’, to be careful when telling ghost stories cuz you yourself might just get the jibbies scared out of you, to enjoy a good fried bologna sandwich with Fresca®, to laugh, to love and so much more.

He also taught me, along with the other 3 great men in my life (my Daddy, my Uncle Art and my Uncle John), what real men are supposed to be like, act like, live like. I mean for heaven’s sake, the man let me sit on his lap when I was little and ‘pluck’ his whiskers from his chin after he got home from work, with my fingernails, and never flinched! Yeah, thinking back on it, ewww, but when I was little, all I knew was that his whiskers tickled when I went to get my hugs and kisses when we saw him.

I’ll have to scan some images into computer, but let me tell ya, I know why my Nanny married the man. Sure, he was great, sure he nice…etc., but, I know the real reason! It was his black hair mixed with bright blue eyes!

There is so much more to tell and maybe one day I will, but for now, my heart is still hurting and I want to keep the rest of my memories to myself. For now.

What does one of the worst days of my life have to do with pancakes?! Well, I’ll tell ya, my Pappap was a great cook, and he taught me that it was okay to play with my food, to experiment if things didn’t work. He, along with my Nanny, also taught me that great things can be made from scratch and not from a box!

Well, about a week ago I was kinda down, not really hungry, but having not eaten for 2 days, decided that I really should, but what?! Thought about pancakes, which I hadn’t had in years. I’ll be honest here, my Mom had a husband in the military, she worked, plus had 4 daughters, our pancakes came courtesy of Bisquick® Baking Mix. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them! But now, I don’t keep it on hand, because I make my biscuits, breads, buns, rolls, etc., from scratch. I love the flavors and it’s better health-wise. But, I hadn’t tried making pancakes. Didn’t even have a pancake recipe that didn’t call for help from a baking mix.

Good Housekeeping to the rescue! Up on the cookbook shelf was one of my Mom’s old cookbook from the 50’s and there inside it, Homemade Pancakes. Awesome! Until I read, how much sugar, how much salt and butter in the mix. Hmmm, I well, I’ve been baking for a couple of years now *smirk*, I’ll just switch things up a little and test it.

I am happy to say that I’ve tested and tweaked and I think came up with a pretty gosh darned good recipe, and it helps in rotating out my food storage! So, I thought I would share it.

In honor of my Pap, here you go…

Homemade Pancakes

• 1/2 C = all-purpose, unbleached, flour
• 3/4 C = whole wheat flour (freshly ground if you can!)
• 2 t = baking powder
• 1 1/2 T = brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 t = salt
• 2 T = powdered whole eggs
• 3 T = powdered milk
• 1/2 t = vanilla extract - I use 1 tsp, cuz I really really like it. :o)
• 1 C = buttermilk (I use the ‘milk’ left over after I make my butter, you can use it or real buttermilk, or, even use powdered buttermilk)
• 1/4 C = warm water

Reminder: C = Cup; t = teaspoon; T = Tablespoon!

• Preheat pan or griddle on medium heat, you’ll know it is ready when drops of cold water dance and skate across it.
• Add all DRY ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl and grab a whisk. Mix the dry ingredients together.
• Add the vanilla extract, as well as the other liquids. Whisk all together, just until dry ingredients are completely incorporated. Batter should be just slightly thick. If you want thinner batter (thinner pancakes too), then add a little more water or buttermilk.
• Check pan for readiness, then using 1/3 C measuring cup, drop batter onto pan. I usually make 2 at a time. Watch closely, when the edges take on a matte/dry look and bubbles start to pop, flip them once. Do NOT press down the middle when it rises. Let cook another minute or so, check bottom, and then turn out onto waiting warm plate. I usually keep plate in oven, set on warm. Make sure your plate is allowed in oven!
• Add real butter if you want, and then your favorite syrup.
• Only one thing left to do at this point - ENJOY!

I just have to ask, so that I don’t get into trouble. Is snorting legal?

Noooo… not aerosols, or any of that stuff, I’m talking, snorting toilet paper!

I remembered that we were going to need a new roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, so while I was putting stuff away in storage, I grabbed a roll of toilet paper off the shelf. As I went to put it down on the bathroom counter (to hopefully be put ON the roll at a later time) I got a faint whiff of something that smelled really nice. Thought, to myself of course, uh-oh, GP is starting to put fragrance on their paper. Which for me is a big no-no, because I have asthma, so most fragrances that other people can handle no problem, sends me reaching for my inhaler.

So, I did what any normal person would do, right?, I put the brand new roll of TP up to my nose and took a big whiff. Hmmm. Took another whiff. Hmmmmmmm. And another just to make sure. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

That third whiff and then the subsequent snorting of the toilet paper, confirmed it… my toilet paper smells good!

You see, when I grabbed that roll, I didn’t think about what was in front of the rolls on the shelf. Before I tell you though, I will say this, every roll of tp on that shelf, smells heavenly! *grins* You see, on the shelves I can fit rolls 2 deep, which leaves a small space in front of them. So, that is where I keep my Tarts®! I had forgotten that, because I normally don’t get stuff out of that storage, until we run out from the regular pantry and storage.

Tarts®, for the unknowing, is wax that is pressed into molds, and then when put into a tart warmer, with a candle underneath it, the wax melts. I know, real technical, but keep up with me, please.

Now, as I said earlier, there are a lot of fragrances that I cannot be around, just cannot. So, when I do find a fragrance that I can breathe with, well, I go bonkers. So, when Yankee Candle® came out with their Vintage series, of Merlot, White Zinfandel, Chardonnay, as well as Vineyard and Blackberries… I pounced. You see, no matter who the company is, I usually find that any scent I can be around, usually does not last long with the company. They get rid of it. Inevitable, but extremely frustrating. So, I bought as many as I could.

Here’s the thing though, if using them as they are intended, they really do last a long time. I’ve had same wax in a warmer for at least 4 months. But I do something else with most of my Tarts®, I shave off some of it to be melted in with my beeswax for the candles that I make.

Okay, back to original reason for post. When I realized what I was smelling, all I could do was press my nose and face into the fresh roll and snort up the scent. That roll is now sitting on my desk, by the laptop. A new, unscented roll is in the bathroom. And yes, I keep on snorting! Please, tell me this is legal, I would really hate to have to give it up! I can see the headline now:

“Girl thrown in jail because she wouldn’t hand over the toilet paper! News at 11:00.”

Well, got my FTP straightened out, thank goodness. Found out it was not just my account, but anyone on the same grid that my site was located. (mt) Media Temple did a great job, not only of catching the problem, but taking steps to immediately start damage control. Turns out, my account, thankfully, was not one of the actual ones that had a problem, but since I am on the same grid, chances could not be taken and so my account was ‘locked’ also. Which is fine, I was sick as a dog at the time, and quite frankly, didn’t care. *grins* Now, I have to get used to all the new passwords… pain in the rump, but worth it.

While I was sick, there were some bananas getting awfully ripe, too ripe to just eat, unless you like mush, but, perfect for banana nut bread. Well, I wasn’t up to making it at the time, so, I threw the bananas in the refrigerator and watched as the skin turned black. This of course was on top of the ’spots’ from it ripening.

Even now, I am still not at 100 percent, but I am up and moving and those bananas were just hollerin’ my name! These beauties were made on the 5th… one has been nibbled on for the past 3 days, and the other is safely ensconced in the freezer. Now these were full sized loaves, but, I ordered Wilton Aluminum Mini Loaf Pan, which is great since it is 6 pans together. I figure this will be a great size to make individual loaves, and with Christmas coming up… well, you know where my thoughts are headed.

In the last post (sorry it was so long, but it honestly was the short version!), I talked about how much dehydrated corn will fit into a quart jar (roughly 6 pounds!). Well, I couldn’t add images at the time, but, I can now. :o) Having dehydrated foods, along with my home canned foods, has really made making dinner or lunch, and yes, even snacks super easy! Not to mention, we know exactly what is in our foods… and it is not loads of salt. As for the dehydrated foods, if using them in sauces or soups, just throw the amount in that you want and they will rehydrate in the liquid that you have in there.

I try and make fixing dinner easy on myself, so I’ve started grating carrots (okay, actually I threw them in my food processor and it grated them for me, as well as having sliced carrots. For roasts and stews where you want larger food, then I use my home canned, which I usually have quartered carrots as well as sliced. These are just some options… but it works for most fruits and veggies. Now, your banana chips, apple slices, etc., that you are wanting as snacks, then of course, just pop them in your mouth and enjoy!

Now, to save up money for a WonderMill grain grinder. :o)