This sign went up recently in a Wells Fargo parking lot in my neighborhood.  It brought back so many memories.  When I was little before my father left, and even after he left, Sunday was pancake day.  The day my father made breakfast.  It was always pancakes.  They were nothing fancy.  He used Bisquick pancake mix.  They were thin and he made big stacks of them.  It seemed like I ate five or six at a sitting but that could be my memory exaggerating.  I loved putting loads of butter between each one and dousing them with syrup.  Again, it was Log Cabin syrup, nothing fancy.  When I cut into them with a fork all the butter and syrup would squish up, the pancakes acting like a saturated sponge.  It was starchy, buttery, syrupy pancake heaven.  I looked forward to Sunday all week.  I ate until I was sick (literally once!).

After my parents divorce my father would still come around on the occasional Sunday to make us pancakes but as time went on, and he remarried that ceased.  That’s when we started going to pancake breakfasts put on by the Lions Club, or the Kiwanis, or some other men’s social group.  Just like the one in the picture, they took place outdoors if the weather was nice, or in a church hall if it wasn’t.  There were long tables with chairs to sit at and eat.  The men’s club members made the pancakes, and I believe some of them were all-you-can-eat.  They were also inexpensive so for my mother raising two children on her own it was the perfect outing.  Food her children loved, away from home, we might have gone with neighbors or friends so it was social as well.  I grew up in a small California town so these pancake breakfasts had a real community feel to them.

Living in large cities all my adult life I’d forgotten about them until I saw this sign.  I just might have to go this one.  The area of Los Angeles I live in, Atwater Village, has a small town vibe to it so a Lions Club pancake breakfast fits right in.  I’ve lived here for five years, this has been going on for sixty-seven, I’m not sure why I never noticed it before.  I’m glad I did.  It’s brought back some very nice memories.  If I do end up going, I’ll report back, and post some pictures.

Are there pancake breakfasts in your community?  Do you go to them?

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the world of food:

#1 – Honest Cooking ~ I’m now a Contributing Writer to the new online food magazine Honest Cooking.  My most recent story is “L.A. – Casa Vega, Hang With The Stars on Cinco de Mayo.” I’ll be writing several pieces a month about the L.A. food scene.

#2 – Los Angeles ~ Sunday, May 15, 1 pm – 5 pm, ~ Taste of the Eastside 2011, an all-star regional tasting event with a diverse array of Eastside restaurants at Barnsdall Art Park.

My Status:  Enjoying the arrival of spring in So Cal and the new spring produce: artichokes, asparagus, peas, spring garlic.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  A visit and tour of Ojai Valley citrus grower Friend’s Ranch. More The Local Reports. Cookbook Reviews: Heartland: The Cookbook by Judith Fertig, and Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.

First and foremost ‘Cooking Light’ aims to help the overextended working individual or family eat healthily and economically by highlighting meals that are quick and easy to make without forfeiting nutrition or flavor. The magazine contains such sections as ‘Restaurant Navigator’ which offers healthy strategies for dining out; ‘Feed 4 For Less Than $10,’ healthy easy-to-make meals for a family of four; ‘A Carb Lover’s Guide to Nutrition,’ this section offers guidelines on what carbohydrates to eat and how to eat them. In addition to the many pages of recipes, the magazine is full of lifestyle tips: diet and exercise guidelines, information on health and beauty, travel and shopping, food and nutrition.

When I first saw the magazine I was afraid there would be recipes with ‘frozen’ and ‘can’ on the ingredient lists but the opposite is the case. For the most part the ingredients are fresh. Many of the recipes list low-sodium products, skinless chicken, premium products like pecorino Romano, fresh herbs and spices, and the occasional exotic ingredient like spicy Sriracha sauce. This speaks to efforts to make the dishes both healthy and tasty. Not always easy to do. Once I became used to the idea that this wasn’t the more staid design of those ‘other’ magazines; that it was, well, uhm — busier, I liked it. It’s clean, easy-to-follow, modern, and colorful. It grabs the reader and pulls them in. It’s the kind of magazine that says ‘hey, look at me! I have important things you need to know! Things that will make your life easier, healthier, happier!’ and it works. Right up front on page six is a recipe index. Need something fast? Don’t have time to read the magazine? Or to spend time thumbing through it? Find a recipe in the index and turn right to it. Single page layouts have category identifying banners across the top corner of the page (’Healthy Living Cooking’ or ‘Dinner Tonight!’) and big, bold titles that grab your attention; many also have step-by-step instructions with numbers and lists that are boxed or shaded making it to easy to follow along. I like these touches. They make the pages accessible.

While the magazine outwardly has little to do with the idea of one hundred miles and sustainability, it does promote eating and living a healthy lifestyle and that alone is a very good thing. To be honest I wasn’t sure I’d like the magazine when I first received it but after spending a little time with it I do. It’s comfortable like a favorite pair of slippers. The redesign, the recipes, the writing are all very approachable. This is a magazine to use on a daily basis not to take to bed for bedtime reading. Leave it on the kitchen counter as you’ll need to use it tomorrow.

Please Vote For Me! The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook Contest: I have entered my baked papaya recipe, ‘Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya,’ into the Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest. If selected the recipe will be published in cookbook published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. To vote go to the top of my blog to the Foodista icon. Thanks!

My Status: winter in Southern California — warm days, cold nights, comfort food. Off to Yosemite at the end of January to attend a ‘Chefs’ Holidays 2010 at the Ahwanee’ event: three days of cooking demos, lectures and eating with chefs Suzanne Goin, Duskie Estes and John Stewart. Can’t wait! Also new cookbooks to try, some to review; new kitchen equipment to use. More cooking, eating, writing, and blogging.

Upcoming Posts: Reviews: Venezia: Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur by Romney Steele, The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.