Green Juice and Tomettes (tomettes, and not tomates!)
It's a rainy day in Bandol, a perfect morning for some pancrêpes. Instead, Jean-Marc and I are drinking green juice (this time with fennel–and it's dill-like leaves–bergamot lemon, ginger, pomme, and celery). We'll definitely have pancakes this weekend! Read on… Meantime, put your pancake tips here in the comments and we'll keep them in mind for the next batch!
pâte (pat)
- batter (mix), pastry; dough
- base (for pizza)pasta
- play dough
- pulp (wood)
la pâte à crêpe = pancake batter
la pâte à modeler = playdough
la pâte à pain = bread dough
Expression: vivre comme un coq en pâte = to relax and enjoy life, to be very pleased with one's living circumstances, to be in clover
Audio File Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the words, above, and the sentence, below: Download MP3 or Wav file
Quels sont les ingrédients pour la pâte à pancakes?
What are the ingredients in pancake batter?
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE… by Kristin Espinasse
"Would you like me to go to the store and get ingredients for pancakes?" Jean-Marc is standing at the door to our room, a best-husband smile on his face.
Pancakes? What a complicated undertaking that was for this quiet and cozy morning. Why couldn't my husband just grab a couple cups of coffee and return to bed?
Well, if he wanted pancakes, he didn't have to go all the way to town.
"But we already have all the ingredients here," I point out. The informative tone of my voice tells Jean-Marc he might have first looked for the flour!
"What's the recette for pancakes, then?"
"But why don't you just make crêpes?" I suggest, not wanting to get all involved in the process of baking. Jean-Marc is an expert at crêpes. Why did he need to complicate things?
"Because I want pancakes! How much flour does it take?"
I sit up in our cozy bed. So much for a do-nothing Sunday morning. Jean-Marc would need a recipe, and for that he'd need me to get up and start searching for a cookbook.
…Then again, there was that Jamie Oliver recipe, the easy-to-remember one. I liked the one-two-three quality about it, like the fool-proof yogurt cake… only which number corresponded to which ingredient? How many cups of flour? Was it 2 eggs? And one of what? All these thoughts made me begin to grumble.
Jean-Marc's patience was thinning, too. "It's a simple question, no need to pass by Australia, South Africa, and Chile to answer it!
He always says that when becoming defensive! But it is HE who has complicated things by involving me in the first place!
"YOU are the one who's gone all the way to Chile by leaving the kitchen and coming this far to make your pancakes!
Harrumph! Throwing the covers aside, I follow the globe-trotter into the kitchen.
***
Standing beside Jean-Marc and the kitchen comptoir, I'm in pyjamas, he's wearing a raincoat. We are looking into a large mixing bowl, wondering whether or not to double the recipe. Suddenly, I am very hungry.
"Double-le," Jean-Marc decides.
As soon as we begin, I notice my husband's casual approach to cooking.
"But you didn't measure a full cup that time!"
"Don't worry. Ça ira."
Doubtful, I hand over the poudre chimique.
"What are you doing with the baking powder?!" Instead of dumping it in the center of the farine, in the "well", or trou, Jean-Marc is shaking it, ever so daintily, across the top of the flour.
"Just dump it! There, in the center!"
Rather than rush him through the egg and butter stage, I quickly crack and measure them myself.
"Je suis désolée, it's just that I don't have a lot of patience for these things… and I can't help but want to control things."
"Oh, si! Yes you have patience," Jean-Marc says, sweetly, stirring the pâte.
"Don't over stir…," I smile. "…just enough to wet the flour!"
***
I watch our 15-year-old daughter eat breakfast. "They're a cross between pancakes and crêpes," she notes, admiring the "starburst" pattern, as well (a happy accident. Our old sauteuse it so scraped up that the batter formed little jagged edges all around. Sun cakes!)
"Do you like them?"
"Beaucoup."
"It was your Dad's idea. Wasn't that sweet?"
'Mmmhmm.Where'd he get the recipe?"
"Oh… in Chile!"
***
To comment, click here. Looking forward to more pancakes this weekend… or maybe tomorrow morning! Any tips? For buttermilk pancakes, have you tried the replacement (one TB of vinegar? Does it really work?). What types of flour do you use? Bacon grease or vegetable oil in the pan? And pancakes sans gluten?
French Vocabulary
(click on the highlighted words to view the entries)
une recette = recipe
une crêpe = thin pancake
double-le = double it
ça ira = it'll do
la poudre chimique = baking powder
la farine = flour
je suis désolé(e) = I'm sorry
La Bonne Cuisine de Madame Saint-Ange: The Original Companion for French Home Cooking. Order your copy here.
Father and daughter playing cards, over the relaxing weekend. See the grape-cluster above Jackie? That is one of the gifts Caroline made. Click to enlarge the photo. Click here to comment.
Photo of a cabanon taken in Tulette. Marie-Françoise was here yesterday. Touring our new stomping grounds, she said, "come see…" She delicately lowered the branch of an almond tree, quizzing us about what we could see…. BUDS! Could it be that springtime is around the corner? And buds in your neighborhood?
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Vera thanks for the tips, as well as the cornmeal idea! Have been using it lately… as I continue to try to recreate the cornbread of an American childhood! Have learned the translations :: farine de mais :: for the flour and polenta for the cornmeal… Next time someone comes to south France Ill be asking for the blue corn meal. Thanks, Vera!
Vera thanks for the tips, as well as the cornmeal idea! Have been using it lately… as I continue to try to recreate the cornbread of an American childhood! Have learned the translations :: farine de mais :: for the flour and polenta for the cornmeal… Next time someone comes to south France Ill be asking for the blue corn meal. Thanks, Vera!
Healthy Pancakes,, my fav and keep this recipe inside my cupboard door – but now have memorized it as I love it so much.
I make this in 1 bowl, 1 liq measuring cup, a dry measuring cup, a Tablespoon and a whisk.
mix the following dry ingredients tog in a bowl.
1 c oatmeal
1 c ww flour OR optionally oatflour, spelt, rice or any other. The type of flour creates a different thickness of the batter – so some need to adjust. see below
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 teasp salt
Also preference of the day, any or all cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or cardamon for spice. Shake shake…
In a large liquid measuring cup
1-1/2 c milk, or(soy, almond, rice milk)
2 eggs
1/4 c ex virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
mix this together then pour into the dry mix stirring just to wet. I add some ground flax seed meal and or almond meal to thicken to desired consistency. Let stand for 5 min then add berries or nuts etc.. I cook them in a naked nonstick skillet on med heat. serving with
Real maple syrup or agave and if I’m really ambitious I have recently been making lilikoi syrup…..OMGoodness!
Healthy Pancakes,, my fav and keep this recipe inside my cupboard door – but now have memorized it as I love it so much.
I make this in 1 bowl, 1 liq measuring cup, a dry measuring cup, a Tablespoon and a whisk.
mix the following dry ingredients tog in a bowl.
1 c oatmeal
1 c ww flour OR optionally oatflour, spelt, rice or any other. The type of flour creates a different thickness of the batter – so some need to adjust. see below
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 teasp salt
Also preference of the day, any or all cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or cardamon for spice. Shake shake…
In a large liquid measuring cup
1-1/2 c milk, or(soy, almond, rice milk)
2 eggs
1/4 c ex virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
mix this together then pour into the dry mix stirring just to wet. I add some ground flax seed meal and or almond meal to thicken to desired consistency. Let stand for 5 min then add berries or nuts etc.. I cook them in a naked nonstick skillet on med heat. serving with
Real maple syrup or agave and if I’m really ambitious I have recently been making lilikoi syrup…..OMGoodness!
la poudre chimique = baking powder
Je préfère
La levure chimique = baking powder
🙂
la poudre chimique = baking powder
Je préfère
La levure chimique = baking powder
🙂
Kathy, me too, but he does it au pif… by guesswork!
Cindylee, sweet idea to pin the recipe inside the cabinet. My step-mother used to do this, only with meal plans. In our current kitchen, there are no cupboards with door that open out… but if that changes, Ill start pinning 🙂 Enjoyed the recipe, too! Thanks!
Cynthia, too funny! Jean-Marc used baking powder (the pink ALSA packets). When we use those, do we ever need to use baking soda? RE the soda, amazing all the uses for it in cooking and in cleaning–and in dog grooming 😉
Augusta, that is nice to hear, as I did not feel like a trooper at all — more like a slacker! thanks for the yogurt tip, will try it. And the baking soda, doesnt that defeat the purpose (is it the slight sour taste that people look for, when using the buttermilk?)
Kathy, me too, but he does it au pif… by guesswork!
Cindylee, sweet idea to pin the recipe inside the cabinet. My step-mother used to do this, only with meal plans. In our current kitchen, there are no cupboards with door that open out… but if that changes, Ill start pinning 🙂 Enjoyed the recipe, too! Thanks!
Cynthia, too funny! Jean-Marc used baking powder (the pink ALSA packets). When we use those, do we ever need to use baking soda? RE the soda, amazing all the uses for it in cooking and in cleaning–and in dog grooming 😉
Augusta, that is nice to hear, as I did not feel like a trooper at all — more like a slacker! thanks for the yogurt tip, will try it. And the baking soda, doesnt that defeat the purpose (is it the slight sour taste that people look for, when using the buttermilk?)
John, thanks for the correction. I tell you, each and every time I get it wrong! It must remind me of chemistry… and the idea that I cannot memorize terms associated with science!
John, thanks for the correction. I tell you, each and every time I get it wrong! It must remind me of chemistry… and the idea that I cannot memorize terms associated with science!
votre fille? soeur? next generation twin haha or is it you and Jean Marc?
votre fille? soeur? next generation twin haha or is it you and Jean Marc?
The Apple Oatmeal Pancakes with Maple Cream on cooking.com are wonderful for a healthy, sturdy and delicious breakfast. When the an occasion calls for elegance instead, try this: http://ivoryhut.com/2010/03/tiramisu-pancakes/ They are perfect for sleepover breakfasts for older teens.
The Apple Oatmeal Pancakes with Maple Cream on cooking.com are wonderful for a healthy, sturdy and delicious breakfast. When the an occasion calls for elegance instead, try this: http://ivoryhut.com/2010/03/tiramisu-pancakes/ They are perfect for sleepover breakfasts for older teens.
Nope, no buds here!! As I write this it’s 21 degrees at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Love the story. Pancakes are pretty popular chez nous at the weekend usually. But there are some evenings when “breakfast” for dinner is on the agenda. That’s when Grandpa A”s fabulous pancake recipe comes out. Perfect round, delicious pancakes every time. I can’t give you the recipe because then I’d have to cook you. It’s top-secret tied with red tape to keep the ingredients safe from prying eyes. Hmmm, such an ado for a pancake recipe, right??
There is a pancake recipe called “Apple Cheddar Pancakes” which runs a close second to Grandpa A’s. I’ll happily share it with anyone who’d like it.
In the meantime, hugs from the frigid Jersey shore.
Nope, no buds here!! As I write this it’s 21 degrees at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Love the story. Pancakes are pretty popular chez nous at the weekend usually. But there are some evenings when “breakfast” for dinner is on the agenda. That’s when Grandpa A”s fabulous pancake recipe comes out. Perfect round, delicious pancakes every time. I can’t give you the recipe because then I’d have to cook you. It’s top-secret tied with red tape to keep the ingredients safe from prying eyes. Hmmm, such an ado for a pancake recipe, right??
There is a pancake recipe called “Apple Cheddar Pancakes” which runs a close second to Grandpa A’s. I’ll happily share it with anyone who’d like it.
In the meantime, hugs from the frigid Jersey shore.
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Wearing a raincoat to make pancakes!!!! Daintily shaking the baking powder over the flour …. HAHAHAHAHA … Honestly Kristin, you guys could have your own sitcom!! The Kristin and Jean-Marc Show. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Wearing a raincoat to make pancakes!!!! Daintily shaking the baking powder over the flour …. HAHAHAHAHA … Honestly Kristin, you guys could have your own sitcom!! The Kristin and Jean-Marc Show. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
Kristin, I’m just so curious…do you and Jean Marc speak tout en francais or do you jump back and forth between English and French. I’m so jealous that you have your very own Frenchman to speak French with. My husband speaks not a word of French but I speak to him in French anyway hoping that it will soak in. How about your children. Do they speak to you in French seulment or on anglais assui? Have been meaning to ask you this for a long time.
All the best to you from beautiful Northern California.
Kristin, I’m just so curious…do you and Jean Marc speak tout en francais or do you jump back and forth between English and French. I’m so jealous that you have your very own Frenchman to speak French with. My husband speaks not a word of French but I speak to him in French anyway hoping that it will soak in. How about your children. Do they speak to you in French seulment or on anglais assui? Have been meaning to ask you this for a long time.
All the best to you from beautiful Northern California.
Kristin,
I thought that you only made Bisquik pancakes. They are so easy and very good. Remember Thanksgiving in Paris for American food items, especially for Thanksgiving and other American holidays.
Kathleen
Kristin,
I thought that you only made Bisquik pancakes. They are so easy and very good. Remember Thanksgiving in Paris for American food items, especially for Thanksgiving and other American holidays.
Kathleen
Buckwheat pancakes are what I remember my mother making me as a child. I loved the earthy, grainy taste. They were still nice and light, though.
Julie
http://www.abraceletaweek.wordpress.com
Buckwheat pancakes are what I remember my mother making me as a child. I loved the earthy, grainy taste. They were still nice and light, though.
Julie
http://www.abraceletaweek.wordpress.com