Pancake Chef Conor

Over the past month or so, Conor has taken on the role of pancake chef in our house. He own the process now and seems a little put out if someone else offers to make pancakes.

He has memorized the recipe (but wrote a copy just to confirm everything is in the mixing bowl) and can whip out some truly tasty pancakes! He knows to get the step stool so he can reach the eggs in the fridge and also knows to crack the egg into a small bowl instead of the big mixing bowl (makes fishing out any shells easier!). He measures carefully and is very methodical and precise ... right down to having a "favorite" whisk to use!

I have to say, one of my favorite parts of the whole thing is he wears the Snoopy apron I wore when I was a child. (I believe it was given to me as a present on my 5th birthday.) He loos so stinki' cute in that thing!!

Beyond the specific task of making pancakes, he's learning kitchen safety, proper food handling, and a life skill. He is also gaining confidence that will (hopefully) help him continue down the path of self reliance and personal growth.

The recipe ... plus a little Spanish lesson thrown in for flavor!

Scooping the sourdough starter

Olson Family Sourdough Pancakes
1 c. sourdough starter
1 c. milk
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T sugar
2 T vegetable oil (we usually go the lazy route and measure out "2 glugs" and call it good)

Mix all ingredients together until the four is incorporated. Pour 1/4-1/3 c batter onto a greased griddle (medium heat). When 1st side is golden, flip over the pancake and leave on heat until the entire pancake is cooked through. Eat. Yum. Repeat!

Sourdough Chocolate Cake

I've taken on a new profession (of sorts) ... sourdough starter rancher. It is a great profession .. I feed and care for my precious stock and get to turn it into all sorts of yummy baked goods. Really, how could that be anything but a good thing??

I found myself pondering about non-bread uses for my starter, which made me turn to my trusty friend the Internet. Oh, how I do adore the Internet and all of its recipes! (Except for Emeril's cornbread ... that was GROSS! But I digress...)

While surfing the 'net, I ran across a sourdough chocolate cake recipe on the King Arthur Flour website and decided to give it a try. Oh my, but am I glad that I did (and so are my co-workers). The cake did take a bit of forethought because it required 2-3 hours for the sourdough to get fed and eat (geez .. who takes that long for a flour/water meal??). Then, it is time to make the cake (easy!) and chocolate/espresso frosting (easy and insanely yummy!) and chocolate drizzle (a snap!).

The only issue I had was the 9x13 pan I have probably needed to be about 1/4" taller to keep the frosting from oozing over the edges. Oh well ... small price to pay for a yummy cake. As promised by the recipe, the cake doesn't taste like sourdough; I think the sourdough provided the great leavening and poof to the cake.

Will definitely keep this recipe on hand for future use!

Sourdough Chocolate Cake