Menu Monday: Fritters and a Shameless plug

I know I've mentioned it here hundreds of times so, let's make it hundreds + one -- breakfast is a pretty big deal in the Molloy household. We love breakfast; it's our favorite meal of the day. Growing up, occasionally, my mother would make "fritters" (A.K.A "crepes") using a recipe passed down from her mother. My sister and I would devour them!

Aaron isn't a huge fan of fritters (unless we're in Montreal [sell out]) perhaps because it's a French thing and Molloy, as you well know (hehehe) is Irish. Anyway, every now and then, if I'm feeling up to the challenge, (breakfast is Aaron's domain) I'll beat him to the kitchen and whip together my (grand)mother's fritters.

Fritters:

• 1 1/2 C water
• 1C flour
• 3 shakes of salt
• 1 egg

Beat egg, add water, salt and beat slowly while adding flour until it's mixed and smooth (batter will be very thin). Heat oil in a frying pan and pour 1/2 C of batter into pan. Tilt pan so batter is spread evenly. Cook until edges begin to curl and fritter is golden brown. Serve with honey and powdered sugar, bananas and Nutella, jam and granulated sugar, maple syrup, maple butter (my favorite) or Montreal style like a wrap with eggs and Canadian bacon... you get the idea!

The whole family usually comes out of the woodwork for breakfast! Clearly, we don't have rules about animals during mealtime. Enjoy!

Shameless plug:

I'm a busy career girl. On top of that, I also like to have fun, keep a tidy house and spend time with friends and family-- which doesn't leave much time to cook. I wouldn't go so far as to say I love to cook, nor would I say I dislike cooking. While I do find it relaxing and fun, let's get real and face the facts: I love food but lack the hours needed to prepare intricate recipes and meals.

For Christmas my mother gave me one of the most amazing books, Peg Bracken's: The I Hate to Cook Book

Inside are recipes for every busy woman who is looking to stuff her (and her family's) pie-hole with wholesome yet easy meals. If you like the type of cookbook that you need to read with a companion dictionary so you can decipher the names of the ingredients (which can only be purchased at an out-of-the-way exotic speciality store) than this is NOT the book for you.

Peg Bracken hated to cook and compiled this hilarious book of easy recipes in 1960. I asked for this book for Christmas not only because I love to own easy cookbooks but because I like this spunky Donna Reed antithesis.

Just to give you a taste (pun intended) of her humor, below are the names of a few of the chapters:

30 Day by Day entrees (or the rock pile)
The Leftover (or every family needs a dog)
Company's Coming (or your back is to the wall)
Last Minute Suppers (or this is the story of your life)
Desserts (or people are too fat anyway)
Equivalents Et. Cetera (or dreary details that you certainly have no intention of remembering)


Peg's sense of humor weaves through each recipe and side story. Peg Bracken (1960) discusses how much she hates:

"big fat cookbooks that tell you everything about everything. For one thing they contain too many recipes. Just look at all the things you can do with a chop, and aren't about to..."

Also they're always telling you what any chucklehead would know. 'Place dough in pan to rise and cover with a  clean cloth,' What did they think you'd cover it with? This terrible explicitness also leads them to say, 'Pour mixture into 2 1/2 qt. sauce pan.' Well, when you hate to cook you've no idea what size your saucepans are except big, middle-sized, and little." (pg. 2)

I am in love with this book. Aside from my Amish Cookbooks, it's the only cookbook I've wanted to read cover to cover. I plan to try out many of the easy recipes; I'll report back!