Contrasting Saturdays,
a Surprise Visitor,
and Bacon for Breakfast
Not so many years ago, Saturdays at my house were mass
chaos. Two boys in the house can make a
lot of noise. Combine that with friends over and televisions on and slamming
doors and music coming from a bedroom or two and you have the formula for a not
so relaxing Saturday. As a single mother
with a very demanding job, I wondered if I would ever have even a minute to
myself again. If there is anything you
learn as you get older, it’s that everything will change with time.
These days, most Saturdays at my house are very quiet. As often as not, it is only Roger and me home
at our separate computers taking advantage of a little extra work time. The biggest excitement of these Saturdays is
loading Lacey (Nic’s beautiful black lab) in the truck for a ride to the store
after we drop the garbage at the end of our driveway.
Recently, the quiet of just such a Saturday was broken by
the sound of tires on the driveway and a closing car door. We had a visitor. A long-time friend was traveling through from
an archaeological expedition, and what a surprise we enjoyed to discover he
arrived with a surprise gift in hand.
We carried the package, wrapped in thick white butcher paper, to my
kitchen counter. As it was unwrapped,
the smell was unmistakable. It was fresh-sliced
thick-cut bacon from a local general store.
Yum.
Because Sunday always follows Saturday, the next day was
destined for homemade pancakes with bacon and eggs for breakfast. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast before
church that brought back memories of livelier pancake breakfasts with young
boys and more recent memories of a friend who took the time to drop by on quiet
Saturday. Perfection.
Best Ever Homemade Pancakes
¾ cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup self-rising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
Combine milk and vinegar and set aside about 5 minutes (the vinegar
will sour the milk). Combine flour and
sugar in a large bowl. Whisk egg and
butter into sour milk; add to dry ingredients.
Whisk until batter is smooth.
Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray and heat over medium heat. Add ¼ cupfuls of batter to hot skillet. Cook until you see bubbles in the
pancake. Flip and continue to cook until
browned on the other side. Serve hot
with your favorite syrup.
Spinach Omelet
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup baby spinach
1/3 cup shredded cheddar plus more for topping, if desired
Whisk eggs, milk and salt just until blended. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over
medium-high heat about 1 minute. Add
butter and tilt pan to coat evenly. Pour egg mixture into pan and swirl to
spread out to edges. As omelet begins to
set on bottom, lift edge and tilt pan to let uncooked mixture flow underneath.
Continue lifting edges of omelet and tilting pan, working your way around all
sides, until no more uncooked egg mixture will flow underneath and the top is
just a little moist, about 2 minutes total.
Spread spinach evenly over ½ omelet then top with 1/3 cup cheese. Tip
pan to slide omelet, cheese side first, onto warm plate; flip bare half over
cheese as omelet leaves pan.
