Viking Sunday Dinner

Whole wheat pancakes

I reject wholeheartedly the notion that pancakes are an indulgence - they're a weekend requirement, as long as they're these reasonably healthy whole-wheat versions.  Replacing white flour with wheat and butter with canola oil produces a pancake that equally helpful as gentle introduction to the day after a late night or as fuel for the day's projects.  Key here:  only flip once!

A note on whole wheat flour: it's wonderful to have around but it does tend to spoil somewhat rapidly.  Slide the whole bag into a zip-lock bag and stash it in the freezer, however, and it will keep fresh for months.

Donovan and I easily finish a platter of pancakes made with the quantities below for brunch, but if you're including other things on the menu (a nice apple-pork sausage would be good) this will stretch for 3 or 4 - and if not, it's easily doubled.

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 2/3 cups milk
• spray canola oil

Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl, stir and set aside.  Crack the eggs into a 2-cup measuring cup and beat with a wire whisk or a fork until smooth.  Add the 2 tablespoons of canola oil and fill to the 2-cup mark with milk (about 1 2/3 cups milk); gently whisk.

Add the milk mixture into the mixing bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.

Prepare a large frying pan by spraying with canola oil and setting it over medium high heat.  When a drop of water sizzles when dropped on the surface, it's ready to go.  Scoop - using your flour measuring cup - about a half-cup of batter onto the surface.   Let it sit for a couple of minutes and WATCH it.  When it starts to look less-than-shiny around the edges, and some bubbles appear on the surface, it's ready to flip over.  Flip and let it cook for about another minute, then yank off and serve.  Lots of people swear you have to have pancakes fresh off the griddle - and that is nice - but I find these hold up pretty well in a warmed oven that you've turned off if you're making lots.

I love these best with some grade-B maple syrup (darker, thicker and generally more flavorful than the grade A light amber stuff).  My in-laws also love this with Roger's Golden Syrup, which is wicked sweet and thick cane syrup from Canada - but put high fructose corn syrup anywhere near these babies, and you and I will have words.

Variations (more autumnal in spirit):  add a half-can of pureed pumpkin and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter, or a sweet potato that's been steamed up tender and mashed in the blender.

Salad and eggs

One of my favorite things to eat during the day, either as a mildly hungover brunch on the weekend, or as a luxurious midday meal when I'm working from home, is a green salad with a fried egg on top. 

The most basic version is a green arugula salad, lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, with a runny-bellied egg perched right on top and sprinkled with sea salt.  The egg yolk drips down through the bitter green leaves, wilting them and enriching them: absolute bliss.

A slightly more textural and version is pictured above and was an experiment one sunny Tuesday that I will definitely repeat.  A few stalks of celery were sliced down into thin crescents and tossed with fresh peas briefly blanched using the teakettle technique; I added lemon juice, honey, and olive oil and sprinkled the whole operation with fresh chopped parsley, sea salt and pepper.

Homemade croutons emerged from a stale loaf of ciabatta bread cut into one-inch cubes and sauteed in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of oil until crisp and brown; drain these on paper towels.

Pile the celery and pea salad on a plate, and top with croutons.  In a small fry-pan, bring a teaspoon of olive oil to shimmer until a drop of water hisses on contact.  Carefully break an egg into the pan, taking care to keep the yolk intact.  Cook over medium heat until the white is mostly solidified and carefully tip onto the pile of salad and croutons.  Sprinkle with salt and a few extra bits of parsley.