Then the whispers turned into a buzz, and that buzz included words like "themes" and "blogging groups" and panic started setting in.
I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal.
So here it is, March 31, and my theme is that I have no theme, and all I can think about for the letter "A" is apples (I am a preschool teacher, after all), and otherwise, my mind is a blank.
And then, I remembered today a conversation I had through a video chat with my bloggy friend Lizzi, who lives in the U.K.
They don't eat applesauce for dessert, or even as a side dish. In the U.K., applesauce is a condiment, like mustard or horseradish.
ARE YOU HEARING ME?
No applesauce cake? Or applesauce bread? Applesauce muffins? No little cups of applesauce that you eat out of desperation when you want something sweet and that's all there is in the house? No big jar of Musselman's applesauce that your mom pours into small bowls and sprinkles with cinnamon and calls dessert? No substituting applesauce for the oil in a cake recipe when you want to cut calories and fat and can convince yourself and your family that it tastes JUST THE SAME as a regular cake and no, it is NOT rubbery and YOU CAN JUST EAT A BOWL OF APPLESAUCE FOR DESSERT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT?
The Pilgrims didn't leave England because of religious oppression; it was because they wanted to eat applesauce the way God intended, with plenty of sweetness and preferably some cinnamon and not as a dipping sauce for roast pork.
(Can you imagine what the fine people of the U.K. would think of the SQUEEZABLE applesauce marketed for kids? And don't even MENTION such things as strawberry applesauce, because that concept is, apparently, completely unfathomable.)
Just Say No to applesauce as a condiment and make your tummy happy with this recipe:
Applesauce Pancakes
2 cups buttermilk complete pancake mix
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup water
Cook on a lightly greased griddle as you would any pancake.
Serve hot, sprinkled with powdered sugar. (Syrup is completely unnecessary, unless you are my husband.) I make these every year with my pre-k class during "A" week to wildly positive reviews.
One down, 25 letters to go....
I enjoyed reading your amusing article.
ReplyDeleteThe applesauce pancakes look delicious.
Thank you, Romi! I made some this morning just to get pictures!
DeleteYou are so funny. I don't even know which was my favorite part, but I did laugh out loud at this: "The Pilgrims didn't leave England because of religious oppression; it was because they wanted to eat applesauce the way God intended, with plenty of sweetness and preferably some cinnamon and not as a dipping sauce for roast pork."
ReplyDeleteNice job for Day 1! I would like to see a recipe every day, please :)
Well, now, Kris, that smacks of a theme, doesn't it? But the wheels are already turning for doing that next year :)
DeleteThe annals of history really need to be rewritten to reflect the whole applesauce debacle.
Food. Food is your theme. B is for blueberry? C is for cookie, of course--it's good enough for me. OK, I need to go pour myself a bowl of applesauce--this is making me hungry. Despite what the Brits might think, applesauce is certainly not a condiment! (Can you imagine eating a bowl of mustard?)
ReplyDeleteExactly, Kristi! Applesauce as a condiment - pssshhh!
DeleteI'm taking all these suggestions for a food theme under advisement for next year.
I went themeless last year and it was so much easier and less stressful! A for applesauce B for baboon.... the world is your oyster...look I already did O for you!
ReplyDeleteNow what do I do for C-N?!
DeleteOhhh yum- now i want applesauce pancakes for dinner!
ReplyDeleteOooo, yes, you should make them! They're like really flat muffins!
DeleteI just made my favorite Banana Bread recipe that uses applesauce for sweetener. Glad we made the break and crossed the Pond!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know those Pilgrim women just couldn't WAIT to get a decent jar of applesauce when they hit Plymouth Rock.
DeleteSTRAWBERRY APPLESAUCE!! You what? Only 'Mericans could come up with that!
ReplyDeletePurlease, we don't use applesauce for desserts! We pick apples from the tree in the garden, and peel them, and cook them properly to make delicious apple pies and crumbles and turnovers and over yummy things. We also use them to make proper applesauce - for eating with hot, freshly cooked roast pork and delicious crunchy crackling.
Applesauce in squeezy packets, I ask you! *rolls eyes*
Oh, Piper, Lizzi could have written this exact comment! We do indulge in the pies and crumbles and turnovers, too, but applesauce with cracklings? Okay, cracklings AT ALL? Mercy Maude, no!
DeleteAnd I thought those squeezy packets would be too much for all y'all over there....
APPLESAUCE IS REAL APPLES!
ReplyDeleteI omitted motting because I didn't want to get kicked off of the Challenge with my first post. But I snickered thinking about it!
BLT! BLT!! (the less than the most perfect of sandwiches)…
ReplyDeleteI believe you have grassroots support growing here!…
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S ON A BLT!
DeleteBeats, lemons, and turnips, yo! Everyone knows this >.< What's wrong with you?!
DeleteDyanne! I fell off the blogsphere for a while and decided to hop back with this challenge. I am so glad to see you on here!
ReplyDeleteWhat?! No applesauce in the UK? Applesauce (Musselman's with cinnamon) was a staple in my cold lunch as a kid. In fact, pretty sure I have a snack size one in the fridge at work for me. I use it in my banana bread and muffins. So how do we get Lizzi on board with eating scrumptious applesauce with us? The plot thickens...
Kate at Daily discovery
Kate! Glad you're back! It's so weird that I was just asking about you and Jak both just a few days ago, since it had been so long since you had posted anything.
DeleteThey have applesauce in the UK, just not GOOD applesauce. And they don't eat it right, treating it like a common condiment and all. Really need to set Lizzi straight....
Ahh yes, we are still here, alive and well. I will even poke Jak for you. (He turned around and said, "Yes?" and I told him I was just poking him for you. He smiled, chuckled and said, "Oh okay!")
DeleteAh yes, I simply meant no applesauce in terms of how they eat it -- it is pretty much a staple food group in all the lives of American children here, not some side condiment.
Maybe B should be bananas?
Glad to see you on board with the A to Z, Dyanne! I am imagining a good handful of the gang are participating? It's actually where/how/when I met Christine last year, I believe. I hope she is doing it, but it seems like a handful of those that participated last year are skipping this year. Sad Panda.
ReplyDeleteI love applesauce, and used to eat it all the time growing up, but it's honestly been a long time since having it. Or at least to any memorable capacity. It may have been used in a cake I suppose, and I'd forgotten, but I don't count that.
Those people in the UK are odd. A condiment? Weird. So much wasted potential there.
The pancakes look really good. Perhaps I can try to convince Kate to make some! She has been making omelets from time to time for breakfast, which are great :-)
One letter down... I also skip using a theme, even though I swear I told myself this year I would. Ah well!
Good luck with the challenge!
Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink
It is Christine's fault that I've gotten myself into this A to Z thing, because I enjoyed her posts last year so much, and I didn't realize how HARD it was to write that much!
DeleteI keep those little cups of applesauce around when I want something sweet but not ridiculously caloric. And they come in handy for applesauce pancakes, too :)
Yeah, a condiment. Freaks.
Yes, have Kate make them for you. You will love them. They really put the "cake" in "pancake."
Challenge accepted!
Well, who knew this little fact about applesauce? Not I! Interesting. While I'm not a fan of the stuff, those pancakes look delicious. I think even theme-less you are off to a great start!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sandy. I only eat it when I'm desperate for something sweet, but I do like to cook with it.
Delete