Homemade Play Dough Recipe

Emilia wanted to give Matthew a gift for his birthday, so she made him this play dough.  It made enough for her to split it in two and save the other half for Jonny's birthday later this month.

There are plenty of play dough recipes online, but here's the one we use:

2 C. water
1/2 C. salt
2 T cooking oil
Food coloring

Bring these 4 ingredients to a boil.

Remove from stove and add 1 T. of Cream of Tarter.

Cool slightly.  Then add 2 Cups of flour.  Continue to add more and more flour until it doesn't stick to your hands anymore.

We store it in a ziplock plastic bag.  It lasts for a long time as long as you remember to close the bag.  :)

My mom always made us homemade play dough when we were growing up.  There's something about kneading the warm, soft smelling dough that I find so appealing.  Takes me back to my childhood. 

And, here's a big plus to making your own play dough...if your child accidentally (or purposefully) eats it, no problem!

Enjoy!

Pannukakku

There are so many memories that come to mind when I make this delicious breakfast food.
And I make it often.  :)

My dad's mom, Grandma O, came from a family with 16 children.  Her parents immigrated to the UP from Finland and brought this recipe with them.

I'm sure there were mornings when her own mother made this breakfast delicacy to fill up the troops.  With 16 kids, I'm guessing she may have tripled the batch!

Then again, maybe not.

One of the stories I heard about my great-grandmother made her sound very frugal.  Her boys would ask for dessert after dinner and she'd say, in a thick accent, "Have another potato!"

The other story I heard was about the time she had a baby while she was working out in the field.
She wiped that baby off and got right back to work...

From L to R:  My mom, Glenida (can't see her face), Aunt Annie, Uncle Norm, Aunt Sina, Aunt Alice (4 of Grandma O's 6 children - missing are my dad and Uncle Leif), Cousin Luke

 Many times when someone in our family makes Pannu, especially if it's made when there's a loud, laughter-filled family gathering, we take pictures of the Pannu fresh out of the oven.

Why?  I have no idea, but it's become a tradition!
(I'm just glad that having a baby in a field is NOT our family tradition...)

My mom, me and Emilia

We have pictures of my dad's brothers and sisters pulling the Pannu out of the oven and waving the Finnish flag above it.  I do believe they're proud of their Finnish heritage.

Here I am, newly married, holding a puffy, gently browned Pannu. 

Me

My cousin, Amy, got in on the family tradition and had her picture taken holding her first Pannu creation.

Amy and friends

It's almost a right of passage in our family to make Pannukakku and make it well.  And once you make it well, you need a picture to show the world (or at least the family) that you're now able to follow in Grandma O's footsteps.

  

Uncle Norm, Aunt Sina (brother and sister), Uncle Ken (Sina's hubby)

Cousin Heather

 It's so easy and oh so good.

My sis-in-law, Amber, with her gluten free version of Pannu

Here's the recipe in case you want to try it.

Turn oven to 425 degrees and melt a half stick of butter in a 9x13 pan (put pan with butter in oven while it's heating up).

In a mixing bowl combine 2/3 C. flour, 1/2 C. sugar, 4 eggs, dash of salt (I may have edited the original version and added the salt - I think it gives it a nice flavor), and 2 C. milk.  For milk, I use one can of evaporated milk and then top off with whatever milk you have on hand.  The creamier the milk, the richer the Pannu!  Beat until frothy.

Pour the runny egg mixture over the butter that has melted in the 9x13 pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes. 

When it's golden brown and puffy, it's ready.  Serve immediately with velia (warm fruit topping made with whatever fruit is on hand), whipped cream, maple syrup, sugar, or plain.

It's excellent any way you eat it.  My mom told me that my grandma would even serve it cold, cut into squares, to the ladies she had over for a Bible study.

Another way to use this same recipe is to make "Skinnies".
Use the butter to grease the pan and pour the batter very thin.

Sprinkle sugar on top of Skinny.

Roll it up.

When I was a little girl, my grandma showed me how to cut my sugar filled Skinny into "wheels".  And I showed my kids how to do the same.  It's our favorite way to eat them.

As we photograph and eat our Pannu, we remember you, Grandma O. and we miss you...