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Cereal Pancakes
I CUP LEFTOVER CEREAL (RICE, HOM- INY, OATMEAL OR OTHER BREAKFAST CEREAL) I CUP MILK I EGG, WELL BEATEN I CUP FLOUR (ABOUT) 3 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER 1/2 TEASPOON SALT I TABLESPOON SUGAR 2 TABLESPOONS FAT, MELTED Mix cereal to a thin paste with part of milk and add remaining milk and beaten egg. Sift dry ingredients together and stir into liquid mixture. Add fat. Try 1 small cake, and if batter is not right, add a little milk to thin it or a little flour to thicken it.
I CUP MILK STALE BREAD
A thrift pancake built on yesterday's porridge, and one of the more forgiving batters in the camp repertoire — the flour quantity is deliberately approximate because the cereal decides how much liquid it will absorb.
- The hinge: test one cake firstThe instruction to fry a single small cake before committing the batch is the whole recipe. Cooked rice, hominy grits and oatmeal hold wildly different amounts of water, so the batter can come out anywhere from pourable to sliceable. Adjust with milk or flour before the rest goes on the griddle.
- Break up the cereal properlySlaking the cold cereal with part of the milk first is what stops it from staying in cold lumps. Cold oatmeal in particular sets solid; work it with a fork or whisk until it is a smooth thin paste before the rest of the milk goes in.
- "Fat, melted"Unspecified in the original; the likely candidates for a recipe of this kind are bacon fat, lard or shortening. Melted butter or a neutral oil will serve, though butter browns sooner. Let it cool slightly before it hits the egg.
- Baking powder quantityThree teaspoons to one cup of flour is on the high side by modern standards, where one to two teaspoons per cup is more usual, and the heavy cereal plausibly accounts for the extra lift. It is not an error, but the batter is best cooked soon after mixing rather than left standing.
- Griddle heatMedium: a surface where a drop of water dances rather than vanishes instantly. The recipe gives no temperature. Watch them, as the cereal and the added sugar can take colour quickly.
- YieldAbout ten to twelve pancakes of three to four inches — two to three servings. The batter does not keep well overnight once the baking powder is in.