these plants are from my friend Joan’s Garden
Wordless Wednesday
these plants are from my friend Joan’s Garden
Tag: Lent
these plants are from my friend Joan’s Garden
Silver Dollar Pancakes Guest Blog
My sister Mary sent these two photos from New York City as she indulged in a pancake breakfast a day early.
She and a friend are headed to the orchid show on Tuesday and no pancakes at the Botanical Garden. When we were growing up, many churches had Pancake Suppers in the church basement on Shrove Tuesday *
“Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday) refers to events of beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday the beginning of Lent which is also known as Shrove Tuesday “
“….final day before the austerity of the Lenten fast, Shrove Tuesday
also has many customs pertaining to food. Pancakes are traditional in a number of European countries because eggs, sugar, and fat, commonly forbidden during the Lenten fast, are used up so they will not go to waste”
Past years I posted about the Polish pre Lenten Tradition of Paczki (click link to see the filled doughnut like treats )
*The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be “shriven” before the start of Lent.
PĄCZKI is pronounced Poonch-Key or Punch-Key
Happy Fat Tuesday.
Today some friends brought over this fancy box of Pączki from the Oakmont Bakery, decorated with a Mardi Gras mask. What a nice surprise to find on the porch. Steve and I cut one in half and shared it.
Later we cut another one in half and shared it. So a total of one apiece but two different fillings on Monday.
Looking forward to Tuesday’s sampling. The idea is to eat the last of rich fatty treats prior to Ash Wednesday that marks the beginning of Lent.
Two years ago I posted how my friend Donna introduced me to Pączki in the Brookline neighborhood Party Cake Shop bakery. (pronounced Poonch-Key or Punch-Key)
Pączki means “little package” in Polish. It is a traditional filled baked good fried in deep fat and filled with different fruit or cream fillings. They can be glazed or sugared on the outside.
on
A sign in the Party Cake Shop window
Pączki Sales are Hot for Fat Tuesday
Tuesday March 5th is Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras.
Pączki is pronounced Poonch–key. The Pączki sign was in the bakery window as my friend Donna and I were headed to her home after eating breakfast in Dormont. I had never heard of them.We parked and I went into the bakery and Lynn was wonderful to tell me all about the Pączki. I bought six, three for Donna and three for Steve and me. Lynn put each order in white bakery bags. When we got back to Donna’s we cut one in half and shared it along with a cup of tea.
If you live in Pittsburgh they are available through Fat Tuesday at the Party Cake Shop on Brookline Boulevard.
Here is what the Party Cake Shop says “Pączki is a pre-Lenten Mardi Gras tradition deriving from the Polish word meaning little package.
These little packages are large pastries enriched with egg yolks and deep fried like a doughnut. Each Paczki is available plain or filled with various fillings that include: vanilla custard, lemon, apricot, buttercream, chocolate buttercream, raspberry jelly, or prune and finished off with a toss in granulated sugar. “
The taste reminded me of a fresh doughnut from childhood. Much tastier than any doughnut I have eaten in years. I see there are recipes online to make your own but a trip to Party Cake Shop would be well worth the effort. Last summer visiting friends took the ‘Burgh Bits and Bites Food Tour in Pittsburgh’s neighborhood of Brookline.
Fat Tuesday
Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday
Butter
French Fries
Pancakes
Mardi Gras Beads
Fried onion rings and beer`
Sugar