My husband is Polish and I'm Czech so I will be picking up some Paczki! No special dinner plans though.

Joanne

We celebrate the day as Shrove Tuesday with pancakes.

Our lenten activity for a number of years has been taking the place of a friend in the kitchen of our local soup kitchen while she helps the clients out front with their income tax.

--Doug

We'll definitely have pancakes too.

I may just get busy and whip up a King cake for my classmates too.

No special meal plans but I will be working from about 3 A.M. to 7 A.M. tonight at a local fire company packaging fastnachts for pick-up orders.

Fastnachts are a type of square or diamond shaped donut traditionally made by many PA Dutch groups (but not the Amish) on Shrove Tuesday. Pigging out on donuts was the last sugar blast before Lent and there is lots of folklore about Fastnacht Day, like greasing the householdÂs shovels with the lard for frying the donuts to ensure a good garden crop.

The sale of fastnachts tomorrow is a major fund raiser for many churches, fire companies and granges. The one where I volunteer will sell about 5000 dozen! They still make the dough with potatoes but fry them in oil instead of lard.

I'm in the land of Mardi Gras. Lots of parades and activities going on around this part of the country. Since the kids are grown, married or gone, we usually lock ourselves up in the house and forgo any of the Mardi Gras. But, this year we may go downtown BEFORE the big parade and wander around and people watch. Here, people set up their RV's and travel trailers. BB-Qing for the day or in some cases days.

I don't give up anything per se. I just try to be a better person. Hell, I've been doing that same thing for Lent for years...I wonder if it's working? LOL!

DH just finished packing the van with his keyboard. We are off to a major southern city where his band will play tomorrow night a traditional Dixieland concert at a posh, private party. It is an annual affair enjoyed by those who love this old time music and good food. Succulent native jumbo shrimp piled high on a bed of ice. Oh, yes! Southern cooking. Lots of it. The clarinet player will quietly play Just A Closer Walk With Thee and a hush will come over the crowd; a tear or two will be noted in observance of the great jazz musicians who have left us over the past year. The drummer will strike a few upbeats and the band will romp off on a familiar tune. The crowd will applaud. It's the same every year appreciated by a group of grey heads that have followed this type of music which has sustained them through depressions and wars. They will dance, eat and celebrate. As usual some will try to tease recipes out of the chefs who nonchalantly mention "a pinch of this or that".

The party will end with When The Saints Go Marching In. The groupies that always hang around DH will thank him for a wonderful evening with a kiss and a hug. He will pack up the keyboard, pay the band and we will head home full of memories and good food. A fun time!

Hey Karen - Every year I give up my New Years Resolution for Lent ;-)

Ok what's Paczki and King Cake? And Thx ruthanna for the the fastnachts explanation [never heard of em]!

Sands: Here's a King Cake and a recipe: Gumbopages King Cake.

Pretty! Do you do the coin/ring/token in the cake too? What happens to the classmate that gets it? :)

Paczki (pronounced Poonchki) are basically jelly donuts coated in powdered sugar. Of course, there are flavors you won't usually find in a basic jelly donut, such as poppy seed and prune, as well as basic flavors like lemon, raspberry, strawberry, apple, and blueberry. The reason I buy them, instead of make them, is that I really don't like deep frying.

Joanne

We loveee Mardi Gras and miss being down in New Orleans at this time of year. I lived there for 9 years and my DW is from there so all family is still there. Her birthday was Saturday and I made shrimp stew [shrimp creole] for her and we got to talking about family Mardi Gras traditions. Her grandparents lived in the Irish Channel when she was young. That's part of the major NO parade route. Her grandmother would always have big pots of food ready on the stove so any of the large family could wander back and forth from St. Charles during the parade and feed. One of Christys fondest memories is the big pot of hot dogs simmering on the back of the stove waiting for the kids and everyone. Nothing like a boiled dog. Smiles. So, to surprise her I'm going to make boiled hot dogs tomorrow. We rarely eat hotdogs at all, so this will actually be a treat. Whodathunkit, eh? They also had gumbo and a pot of meatballs going, but I make both of those often, so I think she'll get a kick out of the hot dogs. Think I'll make some homemade rolls though.

Sands, the person that gets the baby [or whatever] either has the next King Cake party or makes the next King Cake. I love making King Cakes and use to make them alot when I lived down in New Orleans for various catering gigs. I bought a bag of babies and since there were a gross in the bag, I still have babies twenty years later. LOL.

Christys sister usually sends her a King Cake for her birthday. A cheese filled one. Yum.

Sands:
Didn't realize this week was Ash Wednesday.

I think they should do these things all year long.
Why just Forty Days.
Sounds Good !!! keeps you Young.
Lou

coconut you don't by chance live in Central NJ and put up mardi gras decorations, flamingos and palm trees at christmas and halloween? The next street over has a family from NO LA that love to remember [and show the flavor from]their favorite place to call home... :)

In Iceland we call Shrove Tuesday "Bursting Day" and the traditional meal is split pea soup with salted mutton. I will probably cook some dhal instead of the pea soup, since the salted mutton doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Today is Bun Day. On this day we bake buns and serve them with whipped cream, jam and various icings, and some people also cook fish balls or meatballs for lunch or dinner (Icelandic uses the same word for "bun" and "ball").

On Ash Wednesday kids will put on costumes and go from door to door singing and receiving gifts of candy, and some schools will have pinatas (usually made from wooden barrels) for the kids.

I'm 90 miles north of New Orleans, but we'll be staying far away from the craziness. Most businesses are closed and school will be out Monday and Tuesday, so it makes a great long weekend for those of us who want to get away and leave the area clear for tourists!

Joe and I will be riding the horses tomorrow as the weather will be beautiful.

We'll be at church on Ash Wednesday and I'll try to think of my Lenten plan before then. For several years now, I've tried to DO something during Lent as opposed to NOT doing something. IE.... take up a good habit/do some kind act regularly etc as opposed to "giving up" something. One possibility I've been mulling over that this year is to make a real effort at remembering to say a blessing before each meal and/or to write a letter every day.

Grace

Sands - I don't do the plastic baby in the cake. I put a dried bean in (usually a kidney bean). Whoever gets the bean is supposed to bring the king cake the following year - but since I'm graduating, that won't be happening! So we'll just say they'll have a year of good luck.

No Sands. I live in Northern South Jersey. Between Ft. Dix/McGuire and Bordentown. That sounds like a fun family, but in our tiny little town I prefer a bit more of a low profile. LOL.

Howdie everyone!!

So far this morning I have made blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup. I also bought a box of Paczkis-bavarian creme-yum!!
For supper its going to be a pot of jambalya with sausage and shrimp. I have some bananas to make some bananas foster but I haven't made it in years plus since we don't drink I have no liquor in the house...prob just make a caramel pan sauce and warm the bananas in the sauce and drizzle over some ice cream.

In past years I would order a king cake from Gambinos...they always arrived beautifully!!

As for lent I volunteered to run the company used book drive with the proceeds going to MDA. On a personal note I don't drink, smoke or swear so I guess I will just try to get to the gym more often and to cut out all junk foods which somehow creeped back into my diet LOL!!

Tomorrow I will get up early and get ashes on my forehead but they will no doubt be gone by noon so I may have to go back for more-good thing it doesn't matter what church you go to, they are all open all day for ashes!!
It is a day of Fasting and Abstinance...which means only one meal and no meats. This rule only applies to healthy adults. I will probably make a tuna casserole and salad.

Cheers!
Susie

coconut - NJ
I thought that was Central Jersey. It is straight out from Philly towards the Coast.
Are you in Browns Mills ?
- - - - -

I made an Apple UpsideDown Cake, with Butter, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Maple Syrup, etc.
All gone !!! Sorry!
Lou

{{gwi:1487906}}

I was going to make Jambalaya (more for husband's birthday) but am making a roast chicken with cajun spice (which was supposed to be for the Jambalaya). Will do the potatoes with the same spice - very mildly for the kids though.

We are always inundated with King Cakes for at least a week or two prior to Mardi Gras here at the office. I'm in Houston, so close enough to Louisiana that we have a lot of Cajuns here. So I've had my share of that sweet stuff.

Mardi Gras is also a fairly large celebration in Galveston. Despite the devastation caused by Ike in September, the party is as strong as ever. We couldn't make it this year but have enjoyed the festivities in previous years. Never been to the New Orleans one though.

No plans this year - I found out about the local parade the day after it happened - it was on Saturday at the Boardwalk.

I've been to New Orleans many times for Mardi Gras because I had friends that I would visit there, but we've been out of touch for some years now. I've also been to Carnaval in Veracruz, which is the largest one in Mexico. It's not good to wear contact lens there, however, as people continually throw confetti in your face, which they get in egg shells.

Lars

coconut - worth an ask, hey you never know! ;-)

Lou the mason dixon line in NJ is at Trenton for some, at Somerset County for others, at NYC for me :) displaced native Ny'ers get leeway in being PITAS! btw that cake looked good!

I made this oven fruit pancake for our supper. We are definitely a pancake family for Shrove Tuesday. When I blew the dust off this recipe, I realized I hadn't made it in YEARS! Like maybe 20? It used to be our fav brunch dish, so why had it been so long? Oh yeah, now I remember. 20 yrs ago we didn't have kids. They're teenagers now, and the elder is finally getting to accept the kind of REAL homemade food I like to cook, but the younger is determined to be a junk-food-junkie. "Ooeuww!!! I don't like cooked apples!"

Oven Fruit Pancake

1/4 c butter
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced
4 eggs, separated
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/3 c milk
1/3 c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400F. Melt butter and brown sugar in an oven-proof pie dish, or cast iron pan. Cover with apple slices and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place in oven for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites until foamy. Add granulated sugar and beat until stiff. In another bowl, beat yolks with milk, flour & BP. Fold in whites. Spread over apples. Bake for 20 minutes, or until puffy and nicely browned.

Immediately invert onto serving platter and EAT!

Sands, I'm glad you asked. That would have been fun to live close! You're right too, around here we consider Central New Jersey to start above Trenton.

No, Lou, I'm not in Browns Mills. That's on the other [east] side of Ft.Dix. Our tiny town is called Jacobstown. It's in Burlington County and strictly South Jersey. Smiles.

Well, we just finished our Mardi Gras dinner with a late dessert of beignets and Christy had a big cup of coffee with chicory and boiled milk. The beignets were from a Cafe du Monde mix. We also had the boiled hot dogs for dinner and it was really fun. We spent the time talking about New Orleans and Christy's family. She had a cute story about being a kid and her family going to Morning Call for beignets. At that time it was a drive up. With 3 kids in a car and all that powdered sugar, lmao,, the car was covered by the time they were done. Can you imagine? Beignets in a car.. lol..

Happy Mardi Gras Everyone. Les et bon temps rouler!

I always spend Mardi Gras a bit teary-eyed if I'm here in Colorado. It's the only time of year I get homesick. I love being together with all of my cousins, eating so much good food, going to the balls and parades, and just spending lots of time together with family. To me, it's better than Christmas because we actually spend time just being together for several days. And, it's about having simple fun, and not about gifts and fancy things. It's a lot less stressful than other holidays.

My kids had lots of afterschool activities today, so we had Raising Cane's Chicken (a Louisiana-based chain), and I tried to buy a King cake at Whole Foods but they were sold out by the time I got there. I wore my beads and other Mardi Gras stuff to look festive and try to cheer myself up.

I did spend some time sitting at my computer watching the live-streaming of parades. This year would have been a great year to have been there -- the Queen of Mardi Gras (Rex in NOLA) is the daughter of a childhood friend of mine. It was a very well kept secret until yesterday, so I just found out by looking on the internet.