Pancake Tuesday

In the US today is both Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras -- but in Ireland, Great Britain and Canada today is also Pancake Tuesday! Also known as Shrove Tuesday, the tradition of making pancakes the day before Lent came about because families wanted to use up their milk and eggs that were likely to expire during the Lenten season. 

When we lived in Ireland I was a part-time nanny for a 10 year old girl named Claire. She introduced me to Pancake Tuesday and all of the fun that comes with it! On this day every year Claire and most Irish children eat pancakes for breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner!) and I was in charge of whipping some up for her and the neighborhood kids as an after school treat. In Ireland, "pancakes" are actually more like what we think of as crepes here in the States, thin and eaten with jam or Nutella. But Claire always wanted me to make "American pancakes" which were extra thick and fluffy. Up until that time I had never made pancakes without a mix of some sort but cake and pancake mixes are nearly impossible to find over there so I learned to make them from scratch, which is actually very easy and saves money.

Here are a couple of recipes for everyone, courtesy of the Irish Times. I love the tradition of Pancake Tuesday, might have to be a new annual treat in our house!

Basic Irish-style pancakes: 

225g plain flour 

2 eggs 

1 pt milk 

3tbs melted butter 

A pinch of salt 

Sieve the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre, drop in the eggs and add the milk. Mix to a smooth batter then stir in the melted butter. Try to leave the batter to rest for an hour before you use it, or make it the day before.

American-style pancakes (with baking powder) a la Jamie Oliver: 

3 large eggs 

115g plain flour 

1 heaped tsp baking powder 

140ml milk 

A pinch of salt 

First separate the eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another. Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the yolks and mix to a smooth thick batter. Whisk the whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold into the batter – it is now ready to use. Heat a good non-stick pan on a medium heat. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm. Turn over and continue frying until both sides are golden.

PS. More types of pancakes from around the world!

(Image and image) 

Christmas in Ireland

Two years ago we spent Christmas in Ireland. As I've mentioned, Patrick and I spent the 2010-2011 school year living in Dublin while he studied for his MBA. While we would have loved to have gone home,  ultimately we decided that flights were too expensive and we'd rather spend our limited funds on traveling within Europe after the program. But....we ended up having one of the most memorable and magical Christmas' I could have imagined! 

One of Patrick's best friends in the program, Christopher, invited us to join his family in County Sligo for the holiday at their 250 year old "farm home" in the country. That week before Christmas brought a very unusual foot or two of snow to Ireland and the country was a winter wonderland. We had a "picture postcard" experience on the farm, joining in all the Irish traditions and loving every minute of our white Christmas. We were so blessed to be embraced by a wonderful family. The photos tell the story better than words I think, thanks for indulging my walk down memory  lane. 

Christopher's family home in Co. Sligo, Ireland

A Christmas Eve stroll on the frozen pond and through the woods

Christopher and his mother and brothers

View from the living room on Christmas morning

Church we attended on Christmas day, this church has no power or heat and it was about 25 degrees. Quite and experience with everyone all bundled up in the pews!

After church we took a walk on the beach with my favorite dog, Tiffin! One of the older guys even decided to take a dip in the sea, brrrr.

Having some a "picnic" at the beach. I love this photo

Christopher and Patrick

Christopher's parents opening gifts - everyone wears a funny hat while opening!

Christmas dinner in their huge old dining room with a blazing fire. We all did "crackers" and wore our crowns.

Holiday Traditions With Friends: Little Women

Last week, I wrote about family Christmas traditions, but do you have any annual holiday traditions with friends?

For nearly 10 years Jenny and I have gathered with some college friends, family and whoever else is around to snuggle up and watch the best "holiday" movie ever: Little Women. I cannot get enough of this movie so I only allow myself to watch it once a year at Christmas (or if I'm really depressed once in the summer too) and it's always a fun treat to spend a couple of hours with Jo, Laurie and the gang. This year Jenny, Brittany, my mom and I gathered on a Monday night in front of the Christmas tree and a blazing fire to eat macarons, watch the March family, and make clove oranges.

Jenny came up with the fun idea of making designs on oranges with cloves! The whole house smelled AMAZING and we had a cute display afterward. Plus it felt very late 1800's New England of us. 

How do you and your friends celebrate the holidays?

(March photo and Laurie)

Family Christmas Traditions

One of our Christmas Eve traditions since I was a little girl is to eat dinner at the round coffee table in my parent's living room. When we were kids it was such a unique and fun experience for that one day a year to have our meal sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the fireplace. We usually have salmon and shrimp as the main course and after dinner we go around the table and share our best and worst memories from the year before. This is always a special time of reflection, some years we can all share in the joy of one another's accomplishments or good luck while other years it's a time to comfort each other.

Next we open two presents that my mom gets us, one is pajamas and the other is an ornament for the tree. Over the years I have accumulated enough ornaments from my mom to fill my own tree because of this tradition! When we were little kids we used to have a dance party to Christmas tunes in our pj's before we went to bed. Those are some great memories that I'd love to recreate with my own children someday.

Nowadays it's a tight squeeze with five to seven adults sitting on the floor around the coffee table, but it doesn't quite feel like Christmas unless we're cross-legged in front of the fire.

What are your Christmas traditions? I'd love to hear in the comments!