Here is another recipe in my series to help you reduce food costs.

I grew up Catholic in the 1960s, and during that time, we had meatless Fridays.  Well, they weren’t exactly meatless, as fish wasn’t considered meat and could be consumed. I think of the Fridays of my youth as times that I dipped my appetite into being a vegetarian or at least a pescatarian. I have many fond memories of the non-meat dishes my mom would make on Fridays.  I never felt that Fridays were deprivation days. 

Growing up, I was told the Pope conspiracy story where some maniacal Pope made a pact with the fishing industry to promote the sale of fish.  That is a great story, but unfortunately, there isn’t any real data to support that conclusion.  Rather, the history of meatless Fridays seems to stem from the fact that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, so as a measure of respect, no warm-blooded animal could be eaten on that day. Fish, being cold-blooded, was fair game.

As we deal with runaway inflation and the additional burden of Trump’s tariff taxes, food has become increasingly unaffordable.  This is especially true for beef, where even a simple hamburger now seems like a luxury food. 

Potato pancakes are a dish that is prominent among many cultures, particularly among the various Eastern European groups with which I am familiar.  The ingredients are simple, and the results are delicious.  Growing up, we often had them as a Friday main course, served with applesauce or sour cream. I always liked dipping a piece of a potato pancake into the apple sauce, as the result was sweet/salty goodness. Sometimes, my mom would make them with fish sticks. By themselves or with fish sticks, we loved them.

When we make potato pancakes now, we still serve them with applesauce and sour cream. It is the end user’s choice which condiment to use.  Sometimes I choose both and alternate my dipping, one piece into the applesauce and the next into the sour cream. We add a side of bacon or sausages so the meal is no longer meatless.  However, it is still very economical.

Now, some people prefer whey protein bars or a tofu stir-fry over traditional foods.  I do not argue with your food choices.  However, I ask that you be respectful of mine.

Potato pancakes and many other meals served in the 1950s and 1960s would be considered “unhealthy” by current food gurus.  However, look at the obesity rates then and now. Most were of normal weight in the 1960s, and they ate those foods. Food fads are constantly being pushed on us.  No sugar, no fat, high protein, low protein, only raw foods, and so it goes.  Yet, we have been a nation that has moved from being mostly normal weight to one of being overweight, and we are now a nation of obesity.

I have battled obesity all of my life, and I have great respect for those who also deal with that affliction. There are many reasons for obesity in America. I believe that it is contributed to by the amount of engineered ultra-processed food that we consume, coupled with the high availability of food designed to be irresistible, and possibly by the high amount of sugar we ingest. Methods for losing weight have long been promoted. Drink some strange juice, eat only meat, don’t eat meat, fast, only eat soup, and so on.  Honestly, I have tried just about every diet to lose weight, and some of them do work.  The problem is that eating a diet that restricts entire categories of food is impossible to maintain.

My current view of “healthy eating” is not a radical plan that involves eliminating food groups. Instead, it is simple-minded.  I try to limit my intake of ultra-processed foods and aim to eat a diverse range of foods.  Additionally, I try to reduce snacking and cut back on the amount of packaged foods I eat.  Unfortunately, I’m still a sugar junkie (I’m doing my best). Lastly, I attempt to limit my eating to three meals a day, with a rare small snack around 4 PM, only if I’m feeling extremely hungry. 

I find that if I eat a lot of packaged foods or diet foods, I’m starving an hour later.  If I eat traditional foods, I’m satisfied until the next meal. I would rather eat a smaller portion of a food that I enjoy than a larger portion of some concoction with lower calories that tastes like it was manufactured at DuPont Chemical. 

Beyond being real food, potato pancakes are incredibly economical. The ingredients are simple, and most households have everything on hand. My mom would spend a lot of time shredding potatoes with a box grater; however, I use a food processor to shred both the potatoes and the onion. I’ll start with the shredding disc to shred and then use the “S” blade to turn the shredded potatoes into pulp. This is a speedy process. 

After I initially shred the potatoes and before I use the “S” blade, I use a colander to press out as much liquid as possible from the potato-onion mixture.  This results in a better product.  However, at times, I’m lazy and skip this step, and still get acceptable pancakes. However, the extra water in the mix will result in more splattering when you fry them. 

One of my kids prefers chunkier hash-brown like potato pancakes, which can be achieved by only shredding the potatoes.  However, I prefer more traditional potato pancakes. An egg or two, a little flour, garlic, some salt, and pepper, and your batter is ready to go.

Add some oil to a hot pan, drop in the batter, and use the back of your spatula to press it into a pancake. Cook one side until browned.  Turn the pancake and repeat…done! I’ll toss our pancakes into the oven at a low temperature (as close to 200°F as your oven will allow) to keep them warm so we can all eat together.  You can use your regular oven, but I prefer a toaster oven because it is more energy-efficient.    

Here is the recipe.

Simple Potato Pancakes

4 large potatoes or equivalent

½-1 medium onion

2 eggs

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½-1 tsp. salt or to taste

1 heaping tsp. of jar garlic (you can use real garlic or powdered garlic if you wish).

¼ tsp. black pepper or to taste

1. Using a grater or food processor, shred the peeled potatoes and onion.
2. Place the grated mixture in a colander and, using a paper towel, gently squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
3. Replace the shredding disk on the food processor with the “S” blade.  
4. Return the potato/onion mixture to the food processor and use the pulse control until you have a slurry with some chunks remaining. 
5. Transfer the contents to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, then mix them all together.  You may need to adjust the flour slightly to achieve a lumpy pancake batter consistency. 
6. Heat some cooking oil in a pan and drop in dollops of the potato mixture. Flatten into pancakes using your spatula (pancake turner).
7. Cook at medium heat until one side is brown, turn the pancakes over, and repeat.
8. I’ll turn my toaster over to its lowest heat setting (a bit over 200°F) and transfer the cooked pancakes to an aluminum foil-covered dish, so all the pancakes are hot when served. 

Served with a side of bacon, applesauce, and sour cream, this meal is truly delicious and satisfying.  

Bon appetite!

Mike