Pancakes in the woods

My long time readers will be familiar with Amanda and I alternating who hosts Pancake Day. Last year I was still living out of a hotel room but I still managed to go pretty large with my effort by reserving the whole rooftop restaurant for a fancy pancake date on the roof where we were waited on hand and foot by the very diligent restaurant staff

This year we were at the complete opposite end of the spectrum with Amanda hosting us at her cabin in the woods and handling all of the cooking duties herself between us scoffing each round of pancakes. Sometimes it is nice to keep things lowkey though, especially since Amanda was feeling very well. So yeah, a pretty quiet one this year.

Oh, and please don't ask why Amanda's chair was so much sorter than mine. I honestly have no idea but she was sat so low that it felt like I was eating with a child rather than another adult. As I say, I have no idea why that was. When someone hosted Pancake Day, it is their prerogative to set things up as they wish and they should not be questioned.

Pancakes on the roof

Amanda and I take Pancake Day very seriously! It has become a tradition between us that we take it in turns to host each other for an evening of all-manner of treat-filled pancakes.

This year, it was my turn to handle hosting responsibilities. However, my current living situation, i.e. being stuck in a hotel, does particularly afford me the sort of facilities that one would require to put on a pancake party.

Nevertheless, shirking my pancake day responsibilities is something that I simply will not do. One way or another, I will see that the day is properly celebrated.

It was lucky for me then, that my hotel was putting on pancakes in the restaurant. What was not so lucky was that, by the time that I became aware of this, all of the tables had already been reserved.

All was not lost though, as they were prepared to open up the rooftop terrace restaurant for the booking overflows. 

They probably wished they hadn't in the end, as Amanda and I were the only guests they actually had to seat up there. We weren't complaining as we had the place to ourselves. It's wonderful not having to compete with other guests for the waiter's attention!

Mind you, the rooftop terrace is normally for VIPs only so we did have to dress the part, turning it into the poshest pancake day I've ever been part of. It's always nice to dress up once in a while and I have to say, I think we both scrubbed up pretty well!

Amanda also had to coach me in how to eat pancakes with dignity after she looked on in horror as I used my fingers to roll my very first pancake. By the time we were stuffed full, I had well and truly mastered the art of folding and rolling pancakes with my knife and fork.

I think that I got to around 9 or 10 pancakes and that Amanda had a similar number. For mine, I added a mixture of Nutella, sugar and strawberry sauce. Amanda went a bit more organic and had honey, marmalade and a sneaky bit of Nutella.

The only blemish on the evening was when Amanda leaned across the table to wipe some Nutella from my lip and accidentally leant on the Nutella-smeared pancake that she was in the middle of preparing. She only made things once when she tried to rub it off.

To spare her embarrassment, I had to distract the waiter with my cleavage whenever he came over to check on us. He probably thinks I am a right hussy now but it certainly stopped him from noticing the stain on her dress. There was only one place he was looking!

I then had to smuggle her back to my hotel room without anyone seeing so that I could give her one of my hoodies to wear over the stain on her way back home. I think we managed to do that ok so I suppose that all's well that ends well.

Yummy, yummy pancakes

Om nom nom!!! Happy Pancake Day everyone!!!

Last year's Pancake Day was hosted by Amanda so it was my turn on hosting duties this year. Inspired by her setup from last year, I decided to move the proceedings outdoors to enjoy a spot of fresh air.

Amanda was running late so Panda came over in advanced and started scoffing Nutella pancakes as if his life depended on it. Good job I'd made a giant batch of batter so there was still plenty left for Amanda and I when she finally graced us with her presence.

It was interesting to observe our different pancake eating habits. Amanda would carefully spread a topping, whether it be sugar and lemon or Nutella, across half the pancake before carefully folding it in half, adding another layer of topping and then folding once more to get a neat quarter shape that she could then daintily slice with her knife and fork.

I, on the other hand, would quickly either sprinkle some sugar or spread some Nutella onto my pancake and then roll it into a tight roll that I could grab with fingers and then nom on the end of.

We also had contrasting fortunes when trying to flip our pancakes. All was going well for me until I got a little over-confident and launched one pancake particularly high into the air, where it got caught by a sudden gust of wind and got carried out to sea. Things went badly for Amanda from the outset though. Thinking she'd nail her first flip like a pro, she demanded that Panda and I film it on our phones to put on Tik Tok. Instead the poor pancake went splat on the floor.

Pancake Day 2020

Last year I hosted Amanda on Pancake Day so this year I insisted it was her turn to return the favour. And I think she did a splendid job setting up a little garden party for us to enjoy our pancakes outside.

I went for a classic - sugar and Jif lemon juice. Amanda went for a combination of Nutella and honey. They were all super yummy but I did manage to get sugar everywhere, including all over my face.

Pancake Day 2019

Mmmmm, pancakes for pancake day! Yum yum.

I discovered that Amanda likes to fold her pancakes in half and then fold them again to make a little triangle.

Me, I'm old school and just give them a good old roll instead.