Credit Crunch Cooking

We seem to be entering some uncertain times. Everyone is muttering "recession, recession". The papers are screaming "fat cats" and "off with their heads" at the bankers, and after nearly a decade of telling us to buy more things so we can be more like famous people, they are suddenly proselytising: frugal is the new luxury, parsimonious is the new black. Although when the Times2 tries to tell me that there are countless ways to trim my beauty regime but I absolutely must not forgo a professional pedicure, I wonder if the journalist even managed to kid herself...

Shoo has some pretty admirable principles when it comes to shopping and making the best possible use of what you buy. Most of it comes down to never doing one big shop, but buying only what you need for one or two days, keeping track of leftovers, and thinking about meals in advance. That last one never a problem for me, as I spend 10 minutes of every given hour considering what to cook next! It also makes perfect sense if you don't have a car. Who wants to lug three full carriers, threatening to split, half a mile in the rain?

This week (again with Shoo's help, making extra for dinner and putting leftovers aside for me) I managed to take a packed lunch to work 4 days in a row. My record for some time, mainly due to being disorganised and getting up too late. So what did I do on Friday? Spent most of what I saved on lunch at Itsu, the pseudo-Japanese take-away with grandiose claims to healthiness. Bah, I'll do better this week.

Actually, today's theme was inspired not by consciously setting out to cook something on the cheap, but because a couple of supermarket 'value' packages found their way into my photos of breakfast: a dish of fluffiest-ever-yet american pancakes with butter and honey.

American-style Pancakes
Makes about 8 good-sized pancakes
150g self-raising flour
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
150ml milk
2 small eggs
50g butter, melted, plus about another 50 for frying
pinch salt

Tip, or if you can be bothered sift, the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. In a cup or a jug beat the eggs and the milk together. Whisk the eggs and milk gradually into the flour. Whisk in the melted butter and leave to stand for a few minutes, then whisk again briefly to make sure there are no lumps.

Melt a knob of butter in a heavy-based, non-stick pan on a med-high heat, when the butter foams drop a small ladleful of batter into the pan, turn down the heat slightly. When bubbles appear around the edges of the pancake, and begin to spread towards the centre, you should think about turning the pancake. With a spatula. No crepe-flipping heroics necessary or warranted for these New World babies.

Cook each pancake as above; I usually add more butter every other pancake, so that they don't get too greasy. Serve the pancakes quickly so that a little extra butter will actually melt on top, and drizzle on something sweet and syrupy; honey was all we had aroung, maple syrup would of course be the real deal (but not very thrifty).

A word on frying: It's tricky getting the heat just right, and for the temperature to be high enough for the pancake to brown satisfactorily, the butter will probably burn. I haven't yet found a way around this, and am happy to live with a smoky kitchen in return for tasty pancakes! Oil would just not be a substitute, and nor would pale and pasty cakes.