book review

Bridge Daughter + Zucchini Pancakes

August 11, 2016 by Megan 2 Comments

Bridge Daughter came to my attention when a friend, who happens to know author Jim Nelson, recommended it. Based on the concept alone, I knew I had to read it. Once I got started, I finished it in less than a day.

A short dystopian novel, Bridge Daughter describes a world very similar to our own, with one exception - when a woman gives birth, she always gives birth to a bridge daughter. Fourteen years later, the bridge daughter gives birth to her actual child.

Hanna is one of the lucky ones. Raised by caring parents and taught to read, she grows up hoping to attend college and start a career. These dreams seem possible, until she learns that she, too, is a bridge daughter. Hanna must decide if she wants to accept her fate or become the woman she always dreamed she’d be.

A strong character, I found myself sympathizing with Hanna and rooting for her until the very end. The morning her mother forces her to make pancakes for breakfast, it becomes clear things are shifting for Hanna. Later on, pancakes are on the table again as her life takes another unexpected turn.

I’m sure Hanna made traditional breakfast pancakes, but since I decided to make them for dinner, I opted for a more savory recipe - adapted from Wonderland Kitchen's Pancakes with a Heart of Gold. An apt name, I think, as Hanna counts on the goodness of many along the way.

I began by finding my sifter so that I could get my dry ingredients together and shredding my small zucchini, so it would be ready to go.

After combining all of the ingredients to make the pancake batter, I heated my griddle and put the first one on. Here it is with some cheddar, pre-flip.

I always find pancake-making a little precarious - a flip too early can create a mess, just as a misplaced turnover can end up folding the little guy in half...or off the griddle onto the stovetop. Fortunately, no pancakes were harmed in the making of this post, so I call that a success.

Print Recipe

Zucchini Pancakes with a Heart of Cheddar

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Servings: 2

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 TBS olive oil
1 small zucchini about 1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded
2 scallions finely sliced
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp lemon zest
8 thin slices of cheddar from a block (I used sharp white cheddar)

Instructions

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
Shred zucchini and blot well with paper towels to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
Beat egg into the buttermilk and add this mixture, the oil, zucchini, scallions, and lemon zest to the dry ingredients. Whisk together until just incorporated. Allow to rest while bringing your skillet or griddle up to medium heat.
When hot, grease lightly with a little butter. Drop batter by the roughly 1/3 cup onto griddle.
When dry around the edges and ready to flip, place a slice of the cheese on top of the uncooked side and turn in over in the pan. Continue in this manner until all pancakes are made. I got eight 6-inch cakes.
Serve hot topped with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.

Notes

Adapted from: Wonderland Kitchen

Yields approximately 8 six-inch pancakes.

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Once Upon a River + Cinnamon Bread

August 4, 2016 by Megan 1 Comment

Confession: I’m probably in too many book clubs. My last post was about a novel I read for my book club, and this one is too. At this particular book club, we try our best to choose a restaurant we haven’t been to before that also reflects the culture or location of our latest selection. For August, we opted to vote on all Michigan-based books and ultimately went with Once Upon a River by Michigan author Bonnie Jo Campbell as our pick. (Our restaurant choice was a local brewery.)

When I received this book as a gift about two years ago, I was initially excited. It’s a novel by someone from Michigan about characters in Michigan, and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am nothing if not ridiculously proud of being a Michigander. That being said, I started it and couldn’t get past the first few chapters. So I set it aside, only to suggest it as a part of this vote. I don’t like giving up on books, and I wanted to give it another try (with some motivation to help me along).

Once Upon a River follows the journey of Margo Crane, a beautiful sixteen-year-old with a penchant for target shooting, a skill that ultimately changes the course of her life. As Margo sets off along the river in search of her mother, she does what she must to survive, both taking advantage of others and being taken advantage of by them. For me, Margo was a hard character to connect with - she wasn’t particularly personable and I questioned many of her decisions - but I warmed to her towards the end. She stumbles along the way, but she also grows stronger and more sure of herself.

Because of her ability to shoot a rabbit in the eye and her extensive knowledge of the world around her, Margo rarely goes hungry. She is able to hunt (and gut and skin) various game and to find edible plant-life along the way. Still, nothing beats the comforts of home, specifically her Aunt Joanna’s cinnamon bread.

Twelve times throughout the course of the story, Campbell mentions and describes this delicious bread. At one point, she writes, “Margo awoke dreaming of cinnamon bread and apple butter so vividly she could taste it.” I, too, found myself hankering for this delicious homemade bread.

So, despite it being 80+ degrees all week long, I decided to make some myself. (Thank goodness for central air!) I found a recipe for Amish Cinnamon Bread from Farm Girl Tails and got to work.

As I was assembling the ingredients, I realized my butter wasn’t softened, which is always the case when I am preparing to bake. Instead of making the mistake I usually make and softening (er, melting) it in the microwave, I remembered to use this handy Pinterest trick. I hadn’t tried it before, so I was a bit skeptical, but it worked like a charm! I left the butter sticks under the glasses for about 5 minutes, but 10 minutes would probably have been better.

After I was done creaming the (mostly) softened butter with the eggs and sugar, which I decided to do by hand rather than with a mixer, I added the remaining ingredients. The final mixing process was a bit slow-going, but I managed to work up the strength to get through it. Ta-da!

I filled each loaf pan with 1/4 of the batter and sprinkled with 3/4 of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. It felt like a LOT of cinnamon and sugar. I covered it with the rest of the batter and cinnamon-sugar, swirled, and tossed it into the oven. Here’s the before:

And, following 65 minutes of baking and 20 minutes of cooling, here’s the after:

It was definitely best served warm from the oven. I personally wanted it to be more cinnamon-y, but everyone else who ate it didn’t seem to have the same complaint, so that was probably just me.

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