I Just Love Vintage Recipe Cards

I recently came across an old pancake recipe from Swan's Down for "Lightest Ever Pancakes". The recipe card intrigued me, since it looked like it was probably created mid-century, and I LOVE old recipe cards. Since I happened to have some Swan's Down cake flour, I made them for breakfast this morning. I followed their recipe exactly at first, even though the batter looked too thick. The first few pancakes were really thick and never created the bubbles you look for to tell you when to flip.

So I added a few splashes of milk and a little vanilla to the batter to thin it out. Also, it irks me to make pancakes without vanilla, pancakes need vanilla. The vintage Swan's Down recipe card can be found here. I just love vintage recipe cards. Measure sifted flour into sifter; add baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Do not over-mix pancake batter, it makes them tough and chewy. It should be slightly lumpy, not perfectly smooth. Bake on hot griddle, turning only once. Verdict: These were awesome. The texture is very, very light. This is how the first stack came out, before I adjusted the liquid level. They were dense and not as fluffy as I like. They were still good though.

A traditional Irish breakfast is another immensely popular dish, and it can be served all day long at many places. An Irish breakfast is a large meal consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding and toast, and you can't leave Ireland without trying it at least once. You can't eat all this pub food without ordering a pint to accompany it. Grab a Guinness, Dublin's drink of choice, at the Temple Bar. Arguably the most famous pub in Dublin, the Temple Bar will give you the traditional Irish pub experience.

This is the perfect place to have some fish and chips or steak and kidney pie and a pint and take some touristy pictures while you're there. A fun way to experience Spanish culture, as well as try Spanish food is to participate in a Tapas Bar Crawl. Whether you are in Madrid or Barcelona, travel companies such as Trip Advisor and Bus2alps have created tours where travelers can visit Spain's finest tapas dives. Your taste buds get to explore a range of dishes from Chopitos (small toast topped with quail egg) to croquettes (lightly-breaded tapas delicious-ness).

If there's one food item you must try when visiting Spain its paella. Seen by many as the country's national dish, paella began as famers' and farm laborers' food in Valencia, Spain. Although India has the opulent and grand Taj Mahal Hotel on the salty coast of Mumbai and the JW Marriot in the historic streets of Delhi, these luxurious restaurants are not where the locals frequent.

You will find them standing on a roadside and greedily waiting for their small cup of masala tea from a portable vendor or demanding some more gravy in their usal at a tiny stall. People who make their lively hoods by selling food on the streets have come together and established 'khau galli's (food lanes) in the metropolitian cities. These lanes offer a variety of lip-smacking Indian, Muglai and Chinese delicacies (the occasion Italian as well) and are crowded with locals, tourists and curious foodies alike.

Others have simply set up small food stalls under banyan trees, on beaches, near public gardens and any place where hordes of people gather. One of the best Indian foods is found in Mumbai. For any Mumbaikar the only thing better than their mother's roti is the spicy vada pav. The vada is a mixture of potatoes boiled using turmeric and then rolled into balls, put into batter and deep fried. The pav is an ordinary bun sliced halfway in the middle, lathered on the inside with mint chutney and spices. The vada is then inserted in the pav and eaten with your hands, along with a side of raw chillies.

Warm milk in microwave or on top of stove until lukewarm, not hot (you should be able to keep your finger submerged for 10 seconds). Whisk milk, egg, melted butter and the vanilla extract until combined. Heat a large skillet (or use griddle) over medium heat. The pan is ready if when you splatter a little water onto the pan surface, the water dances around the pan and eventually evaporates.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour milk mixture into the well and use a fork to stir until you no longer see clumps of flour. It is okay if the batter has small lumps, in fact you want that - it is important not to over-mix the batter. Lightly brush skillet with melted butter. Use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to spoon batter onto skillet. Gently spread the batter into a 4-inch circle. When edges look dry and bubbles start to appear and pop on the top surfaces of the pancake, turn over.