I love chatting with Matt Swaim on the Sonrise Morning Show, Sacred Heart radio, every Thursday morning. It was Matt’s idea to talk about Shrove Tuesday – the history behind it and why pancakes should be on the menu. Here’s some fun information I found online.

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, England’s Christians went to confession and were “shriven” (absolved from their sins). A bell would be rung to call people to confession. This came to be called the “Pancake Bell” and is still rung today.

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9. In 2019 Shrove Tuesday will fall on March 5.

Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients.

The ingredients for pancakes can be seen to symbolize four points of significance at this time of year:

Eggs ~ Creation

Flour ~ The staff of life

Salt ~ Wholesomeness

Milk ~ Purity

SHROVE TUESDAY/AKA UP NORTH PANCAKES

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted or 1 teaspoon Canola oil

Instructions

Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk egg and buttermilk until blended. Stir dry ingredients into into egg mixture and blend well. Stir in butter. Blend again. Let sit a few minutes before frying on hot greased griddle.  Pancakes are ready to turn over when golden brown on the bottom and bubbles appear around the top edges and in the middle.

Serve with maple pecan butter

Whip together 2 sticks softened butter with 1 cup chopped toasted pecans and 1/2 cup maple syrup.