Patriotic Pancakes for a Blog Birthday

Culinary Types turns two-years-old today, marking twenty-four months and thousands and thousands of words devoted to food and the people who love it! Many thanks to you – my loyal readers – who regularly drop by for a taste of history, drama or comedy, topped off with a great big slice of Retro Cake.

Today is also Independence Day, the birthday of the United States of America. What better way to celebrate both occasions than with a stack of Patriotic Pancakes dotted with the colors of Old Glory? Not just any pancakes, but George Washington’s favorite. Hoecakes – cornmeal pancakes made with buttermilk – are a colonial classic. Field hands were said to cook them on their hoes. According to the archives at Mount Vernon, Virginia, General Washington dined on hoecakes for breakfast each morning, drenched in butter and honey.

The table is set with Liberty Blue Staffordshire Ironstone depicting scenes from the American Revolution. The centerpiece is a Minute Man Teapot, depicting a member of the militia leaving his family to go fight the British.

Mom contributes a Pioneer Bread studded with walnuts, raisins and dates.

My star spangled breakfast concludes with a Cherry Clafoutis made of deep red cherries purchased at the New Amsterdam Market and baked in a puffy golden custard. Legend says that – as a young boy – George Washington cut down a cherry tree on the family homestead at Ferry Farm. When confronted by his father, he admitted to the act by saying, “I cannot tell a lie.”

In the great tradition of George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. The hoecakes, and the Cherry Clafoutis were exceptional!

©2008 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved