Delicious Reading: Life Skills Recipes

When I was about to start my freshman year of high school, I looked with excitement at the descriptions of electives in the student handbook. The problem was: because I was in the orchestra and choir, my counselor told me if I was college-bound, I wouldn’t have time for additional electives like Foods. My locker that year was right next to the home economics classroom, and every time I smelled them baking, I felt a little pang of regret. I was lucky my mother, grandmothers and aunts all helped me practice my cooking skills and I could check all kinds of cookbooks out of the school library, but I missed the chance to learn more about the chemistry of cooking, practice knife skills and obtain other culinary knowledge in an educational setting.

So I have been thrilled all of my children have been given the opportunity to take a family and consumer science (FACS) class — FACS is the new Home Ec — while in middle school or junior high. My youngest, Lily, is the most recent student, taking Stephanie Martin’s life skills class at Jackson Middle School. While all three of the kids became more active participants in the kitchen after taking their classes, Lily is probably the most eager and conscientious pupil. She brought home 10 recipes we could make at home. If we wrote about the results, she could get extra credit. She made several of them after school at my mom’s house, and one Saturday morning, she and I set out to create this pancake recipe together.

Pancakes seem so easy, but I inevitably live up to the French proverb: “la première crêpe est pour le chien” — “the first pancake is for the dog.” I was about to learn why maybe it makes sense to take a little more time, even with seemingly easy recipes. As we prepared the batter, I pulled out a pyrex glass measuring cup, and Lily said with horror, “Mommy! That’s a liquid measure! We can’t use that for the flour!”

I realized then I would not be able to do my usual “eyeballing” of the measurements, and that we would probably make more dishes than I am wont to create on a weekend morning. However, we created beautiful, fluffy and tasty pancakes. By taking my time, the first one wasn’t too doughy or too burnt. I only had to give one to the dog because Violet looked up at me so pitifully. Of course, then Lily only ate half of one pancake, admitting she doesn’t really like them; she just wanted to make them with me. I guess figuring out compromises like that is another important life skill.

Life Skills 5’s Best Pancakes!

• 1 egg

• 3 tablespoons melted butter

• 1 ¼ cups milk

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• 1 ½ cups flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine and whisk ingredients together. Spray a skillet or griddle with non-stick spray and ladle out one spoonful for each pancake. When small bubbles appear, the pancake is ready to flip with a spatula.