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So, dear readers, what are you up to this weekend? I've been tasked with providing the cupcakes for a co-ed baby shower on Sunday, and as a result I've got visions of ganache-capped devil's food cakelets and cream-cheese-topped carrot cupcakes swirling in my head. No pink and blue buttercream here!

Also, we've started a new tradition of making pancakes on weekend mornings. I introduced Max to buckwheat pancakes two weeks ago (he liked them, sort of), last week we had buttermilk ones studded with blueberries that I picked last summer and froze, and tomorrow we're going to try whole wheat. Do you have a favorite pancake recipe?

Here's what I'm reading, cooking and craving this week:

Francis Lam waxes rhapsodic about Gabriel Kreuther's turnip sauerkraut.

I can't tear my eyes away from the soft, glowing pinks, creams, yellows and greens in these photographs of baby root vegetables.

Scaccia Ragusana looks like a cross between a jelly roll and a pizza, but in the best possible way.

Do any of you grind your own flour? Old-fashioned grain grinders are a dime a dozen here, so I'm tempted to give it a try.

Marisa's vanilla-flecked orange Creamsicle Jelly looks dreamy and I love the idea of stirring it into plain yogurt for the full Creamsicle effect.

Don't miss Sara Dickerman's little mustard overview in the Wall Street Journal and her blink-and-you'll-miss-it tip to swirl a spoonful of mustard into lentil soup before serving. Brilliant.

Might soy-pickled mushrooms be my gateway to cooking like a Momofukan?

And finally, I've been in an Edna Lewis state of mind lately, can't stop thinking about her, really. I've been re-reading her books and poring over her recipes. Then I found this short documentary about her life, which includes some stunning photographs of her as a young woman, regal as always, footage of her cooking, and some bittersweet memories from her friend and companion (and so much more) Scott Peacock. Oh, what I wouldn't give to go back in time, sit down for a roast chicken dinner at Café Nicholson with a slice of caramel cake for dessert, and see her peeking out of the kitchen now and then to gaze at her guests (Williams, Faulkner, Capote, Magnani!)

Have a nice weekend, folks. I don't really know what to say about what's happening in Japan right now. I keep writing something, deleting it, writing something else, deleting that, too. The footage is terrifying to watch; I can only imagine, though I don't want to, what it's like to experience it. I hope those of you who are in Japan are safe, and your loved ones are, too.

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26 responses to “Friday Link Love”

  1. Shira Avatar

    Ah, Fallot mustard. Just last week, I opened our last jar, reflected on why UK supermarkets only sell the strangest varieties and debated getting some shipped over.
    As for pancakes, would you try them with blackcurrants? Too tart? I have some of them frozen from last summer.

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  2. Valerie Avatar

    Hello.
    A while ago my husband started making pancakes with the children on Sunday mornings. It’s a nice tradition. I love these that I discovered in a bed-and-breakfast run by an Englishwoman in Wyoming:
    http://nettleandquince.com/2010/09/26/orange-thyme-pancakes/
    Have a lovely weekend!

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  3. lauren @ spiced plate Avatar

    I grind my own flour in the blender — I have a little post about it here: http://spicedplate.blogspot.com/2011/03/experimentation-yeilds-satisfing.html
    Somehow I hadn’t heard of Edna Lewis, but her work looks amazing and comforting…thanks for sharing that!
    I also enjoyed the photographs of the baby root vegetable…our “corner store” which is really an amazing local grocer has baby fennel, which I had never tried before. So lovely.

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  4. Claudia Natera Avatar
    Claudia Natera

    I have two favorite delicious recipes from Gourmet magazine 😦 one are with egg whites beaten and butter melted so they are light as a feather (it is an old recipe from 1990’s) and the other one gingerbread pancakes also from Gourmet December 2007 or 08 or maybe 09 issue (currently my favorite) and since I have been presented with two cans of pure maple syrup (a gift from my Canadian sister in law, and since I’m currently living in Argentina and all they know is dulce de leche) I was planning on making them this weekend for my brother and nice who are here visiting!!!!

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  5. Kidandnancy.wordpress.com Avatar

    I’m a tad obsessed with these pancakes, which are tangy and oaty and really just magnificent:
    http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oatmeal-Buttermilk-Pancakes-101971
    If you make them with quick oats the waiting time is somewhat less but there is always some delay to the gratification of these pancakes. They’re perfect for a weekend when you don’t mind eating breakfast at 11. The recipe makes a boatload but they freeze and toast up like a dream.
    Love your site, love these pancakes.

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  6. Sasa Avatar

    I love Molly’s oatmeal pancakes – I thought they’d be heavy but they are a total dream.

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  7. Sam Avatar

    I can’t imagine how scared the people struck by the disaster that hit japan must have been. A reminder that we should never take our safe homes and health for granted. As for pancakes, i make them every weekend per my childrens request and I always complain my way through it (lazyness), Some times I use all whole wheat flour which workes fine, I use a martha stewart recipe as a guide, which is basically 1 cup flour 1 cup milk 1 egg, bp, salt and melted butter (I use oil though, again bc Im lazy) Sometimes I add dark muscovado sugar and fry them in a little butter, so they caramelize at the surface. Im eager to try the coconut ones on 101cookbooks, have you seen them?

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  8. Katie Avatar
    Katie

    Since we made the beet pancakes from “Good to the Grain”, we don’t feel like make any other recipe.

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  9. Sasha Gora Avatar

    Schöne Wochenende!
    Growing up in Canada where my sense of nationalism was cultivated by elementary school visits to sugar houses/cabine à sucre (where maple syrup is made), I take pancakes very seriously.
    I made sweet potato coconut milk pancakes a few weeks back and the recipe is playing on repeat in my kitchen.
    http://paperdollparade.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-am-big-believer-in-big-breakfasts.html
    I would love to try some of the recipes that Mark Bittman wrote in January when the Minimalist Column still existed: Bulgur-Ricotta Packages, Cornmeal Pancakes with Vanilla and Pine Nuts, and Cardamom-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes with Apricots and Almond. Yumm.
    I wish that Pancake Tuesday was not just once a year.

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  10. Susie Bee on Maui (Eat Little, Eat Big) Avatar

    I use a “base” whole wheat pancake recipe then doll it up with whatever sounds good (chocolate; bananas; almond butter;…..)
    http://eatlittleeatbig.blogspot.com/2010/10/chocolate-hazelnut-whole-wheat-pancakes.html

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  11. Kimberley Avatar

    So with you on the Francis Lam piece and Sunday Suppers’ dreamy root vegetables. My absolute favorite pancakes are oatmeal pancakes. But I use cooked oatmeal in mine, rather than plain oats. (And it’s a shame that I can’t point you towards a recipe, but once it’s up, I will.) Hope you have a lovely, pancake-filled weekend.

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  12. Stephanie Avatar

    My favorite: Polenta Pancakes
    http://thetriangleplate.com/2011/02/28/polenta-pancakes/
    I created this recipe 7 years ago, and have never turned back.
    Thanks for the ruminations on all things delicious…I love Fridays for their possibilites of “what to cook” over the weekend. Guten appetit!

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  13. Stephanie @ Dollop of Cream Avatar

    I love lazy Saturday mornings . . . We have a tradition of pancakes/waffles/crepes and bacon. And, of course, strong coffee (for him) and marzipan tea (for her). I like a bit of interesting chew to my pancakes, so I’m currently in love with banana oatmeal pancakes. I found the recipe in Chatalaine (a Canadian magazine). Here’s a link to it: http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Banana_oatmeal_pancakes
    Trust me. You will be happy it graced your breakfast table. Also delcious popped in the toaster the next morning.

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  14. Gina Avatar

    My favorite at-home pancakes are made with a generous scoop of plain yogurt, cinnamon and thinly sliced apples and strawberries. Crushed almonds in the batter too, if I’m feeling crazy.
    It’s horrible about Japan–I know just what you mean about the unsayability of it all. We must send our best.
    xoxo,
    Gina

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  15. Suzy Avatar

    I love this new addition to your blog, it feels a bit like reading the Sunday papers. Ideas sparking all over the place.

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  16. Dorothee Avatar
    Dorothee

    I’m going with Sasa – because Molly’s oatmeal pancakes also belong to our weekend ritual. Tomorrow I’ll be adding some blue berries as well. Cannot wait!

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  17. Keri Avatar

    I am old fashioned, and I have two choosy daughters, so our Sunday ritual revolves around whole wheat pancakes that are a riff on either the ones in the Joy or Edna Lewis’ sour griddle cakes. Maple syrup is mandatory, blueberries and raspberries are in high rotation as well.
    I’m giving to the Red Cross. It makes me feel a tiny bit less helpless and sad, especially because living on the West Coast of Canada time is ticking for us too.

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  18. Johanna Avatar
    Johanna

    Luisa, just wanted to say that I am so glad that you have been writing more regularly lately. I’ve missed you. Attempting dutch krokets this weekend, here’s hoping they turn out as well as my Oma’s.

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  19. Adrian J.S. Hale Avatar

    Everyone seems to have pancakes on the brain! I, too, make pancakes with my kids every week, and I posted about it on my blog (www.communaltable.com) this week, along with an oatmeal & whole-wheat pancake recipe. There are so many other great recipes here. I’m stashing some of them for next week’s messy pancake foray. Thanks!

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  20. Jaimie Avatar

    Grinding your own flour goes perfectly with making pancakes! I feel like I discovered an entirely different breakfast food since I’ve started eating pancakes made with fresh stone ground flour – they have so much more body and texture than any store bought flour, white OR wheat. I can never go back. I like flour ground from either hard/red or hard/white winter wheat for pancakes.
    I make them using a typical whole wheat pancake recipe (with an egg, butter, milk, and the rest), and I add a little cinnamon and vanilla to the batter. Enjoy with honey drizzled over. SO good!

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  21. Gemma Avatar

    I’m going to go and read the mustard article right now – we keep English mustard, English mustard powder and dijon mustard on hand but I think there is space for more mustard varieties in our life! And on pancakes, I would happily make pancakes more but living with someone who doesn’t eat breakfast and doesn’t have a sweet tooth seems to limit my pancake eating opportunities. I need some house guests to cook breakfast for…

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  22. Ziu Avatar

    I always add grainy mustard to the lentil soup! It lifts it up like nothing else.
    Love the idea of pancakes at weekends. Romantic!

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  23. Emily Avatar

    I noticed that you live in Ontario. I’ve been meaning to check this flour mill out for quite some time now. Have you heard of if it? It’s the Historic Arva Flour Mill. It’s by London so it should be reasonably close to you.

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  24. chinese grandma Avatar

    my family loves these whole wheat flaxseed pancakes, and my kids don’t even eat whole wheat bread. might be the chocolate chips. =)
    http://www.chinesegrandma.com/2010/09/flaxseed-pancakes-weekend-special/
    love all the enthusiasm for molly’s oatmeal pancakes…excited to try those.

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  25. Adrienne Avatar

    Thanks for the link love, Luisa 🙂

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  26. Matinaki Avatar

    This is a great post! I especially love the tomato and cheese pie link, fantastic idea!!

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