The buttermilk syrup caught my attention. I've never thought of anything but maple syrup, traditional for Canadians. But, buttermilk is one of my favourite things. This is something I'd like to try. No flour on hand at the moment, I used it up making buttermilk pancakes.
German Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
BUTTERMILK SYRUP:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- confectioners' sugar
Directions
Place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour the butter into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; add the batter. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the first five syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Dust pancake with confectioners' sugar; serve immediately with the syrup.
People don’t always know what I mean when I talk about pencil crayons. I thought that was a pretty universal term for them. Someone assumed I was talking about regular crayons, wax crayons. But, pencil crayons are coloured pencils, not made out of wax.
I’ve had pencil crayons since I was a kid. We did arts and crafts and drawing and at times I illustrated my diary. (Not too often as I thought my drawings were pretty sad, even at the amateur level).
I always had a set of at least 12 colours which went to school with me. We made crafts for holidays at home and the pencil crayons would come out along with the scissors and glue, an arts and crafts staple, always in supply. I would keep mine in a pretty pencil case to keep them from being broken or having the points chipped. I also kept my handy pencil sharpener there cause you had to be ready for the odd broken tip. Sometimes I got especially creative and used the side of a pencil, so it needed extra sharpening to get it long to cover more space.
There are endless crafts and memories created with pencil crayons. I still have them around. I use them to make illustrations even now. I still don’t think highly of my drawing skills but I like trying, learning more as I go.
What do you remember about family and holidays, arts and crafts when you see a set of pencil crayons? When did you last use coloured pencils? Maybe you should treat yourself to a new set, explore some shapes, lines and colours and have fun like a kid again.
Victoria Day weekend here in Ontario today. I made pancakes for breakfast for the group. This is the recipe I went with, standard and basic and simple. Of course, I changed it to suit myself. Half the sugar, added a touch of real vanilla and I added some white vinegar to the milk and let it sit a few minutes to turn it into buttermilk. I cooked them in a hot pan with butter melting all over the bottom to give it a nice stick-free coating. I could have added blueberries, but I really don't like fruit added to anything, except when it is dipped in chocolate.
Happy long weekend if you have one. Make the most of your day off.
Pancakes
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 egg
- 2 - 3 tablespoons oil
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the milk, oil and eggs. Mix well and try to get some of the lumps out of the batter. Don't worry about making it perfectly smooth. It will be fine.
Heat a skillet on medium heat. When heated, scoop the pancake batter recipe into the frying pan with a large spoon to make individual pancakes. The pan will probably only take 1 or two pancakes at a time. Cook on one side until the top begins to bubble, then flip over and cook on the other side.
Omit the sugar for a sugar free pancake recipe. It will obviously be less sweet but it still tastes great. You can also replace the sugar with your favorite sugar alternative.
Once the pancake batter is in the pan, dot the surface of the pancake with blueberries, raspberries or thin slices of banana. Everyone will love it and it is a great way to get more fruit in your diet.
A tasty tip, especially for diabetics. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to our easy pancake recipe. It adds wonderful taste and the bonus for diabetics is that cinnamon helps control blood sugar a bit.
You can omit the oil, but it adds a nice richness to the batter. If you leave it out you will probably need a bit of oil in your pan when you fry them.
Lots of links, not in any real order due to a small mishap with cut and paste somewhere along the way. Most of these are for beginners who draw on pen and paper, but not all. I think everyone will find something to stir their imagination and (I hope) pick up a pen to doodle. Join in for Doodle Week this weekend.
After being inspired by photos taken of little dolls in peril or just trying to cope in the big world, I have found my own little people to experiment with. I’ve seen people use Barbie dolls, some kind of revenge against the media thing I think. I know an artist who uses tiny figurines which are sold to be set up in model train villages.
I have been using two Bratz dolls which I bought at a GoodWill store. I like their sort of bitchy expression and the fact that they aren't blonde princess types. These Bratz dolls have a range for true torment, real peril and facing it all with an annoyed look.
So far the hardest part is getting the photograph in good focus. Even when I’m sure I’ve got several good photos, I end up deleting all but one or two cause they are blurry looking. I’m going to see what tricks and ideas I can find from other sites and people who are taking close up photos of little things. It's almost macro photography, but not quite that close up and focused on one small thing.
My best tips for anyone giving this a try:
- Clear out anything you don't want in the photo's background. Get clutter out of the way. Look through your camera before you start and see what you still need to move out of your way.
- Get in close to your dolls/ toys. In the photo you should clearly see their faces and details of hands and other small items you pose with them.
- Tidy up her hair. The Bratz dolls hair becomes a mess pretty easily.
- Practice different angels: overhead, to the left, to the right, from below, over her shoulder, etc.
- Practice focusing on something in the background and have your foreground be a little blurry, not in direct focus.
- If you are indoors, bring a light you can move around. Don't let it cause glare but experiment with moving it around for different effects, like shadows.
- I bought a tripod to help me get a better photo, without blurring due to any least movement of my hand. This should help me get better, clearly focused photos. Also, it's nice cause it keeps my camera in the exact same spot if I want to try playing with the light.
- Use the macro button/ feature on your camera. This means you have to move the camera really close but it does give you better luck catching the details.
Orchid Dolls - Ten Tips For Doll Photography
- Align the eyes, forward, upward or sideways: spend the time you need for that.
- Focus the eyes. Make the doll look directly at your lens, or at some distant point from the camera.
- Another important thing are the eyebrows: even if the wig has a fringe, I always try to show the eyebrows because this is what enhances the expression in the doll’s look.
- I don’t use high angles with my dolls, because it makes them look like simple dolls. To make them look alive, I put myself to their eye level or even, sometimes, below it.
- Try to avoid elements out of our doll’s scale in our framing, such as benches, litter bins, people walking… unless, of course, your intention is to show just that.
A Source of Inspiration