Cooking Through Cultures: Let The Good Times Roll & Pancakes Too!

Mardi Gras and Carnival celebrations have been held in countries around the world for centuries as a last hurrah before the 45-day period of fasting and contemplation called Lent. Whether or not you celebrate Lent, Mardi Gras is a fun cultural celebration to share with kids. After several years of celebrating this traditional carnival season in college in New Orleans, I can’t pass up a Mardi Gras without some sort of celebration.  

We have taken our kids to Southern Mississippi and New Orleans to experience some of the festivities and parades (which is quite kid-friendly despite what some think) and when at home in Nashville, we like to indulge in a Mardi Gras King Cake, make New Orleans classic beignets, throw and share beads with friends or make masks as a fun art project.

Also while in college, however, I spent a semester in Ireland where Fat Tuesday is referred to as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake day and everyone eats pancakes for dinner (they don’t eat them at all the rest of the year).  Well, my husband, the girls and I are avid pancake eaters, no doubt.  The girls can pretty much eat their weight in pancakes on any given morning (it’s astonishing, actually).  We cook them up most weekends and occasionally for dinner too.  We’ve made many different varieties including sourdough, sweet potato and our February favorite, red velvet pancakes.  But our best go-to recipe is this one (which we found online several years ago when the Bisquick ran out).

Some other traditional “Fat Tuesday” Foods around the world include:

• Polish Paczki Doughnuts
• La Galette des Rois – French King Cake
• German Potato Pancakes
• Denmark’s Cardamom Cream Puffs (Semlor)
• Danish Carnival Buns (Fastelavnsboller)

Here’s our easy and delicious go-to pancake recipe if you’d like to get into some easy cultural foods that you probably already have all of the ingredients for!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

 

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter.  Mix until smooth.  Pour about 1/4 cup into medium hot skillet.  Brown on both sides and serve hot.  We often add fruit, chocolate chips, flaxseed or rolled oats too – but they are delicious on their own.