Austin Food Bloggers Hunger Awareness Blog Project: Spring Onion Pancakes
As a food blogger, I’m someone who cooks at least 3-4 times a week, visits the farmers’ market once a week, regularly shops at 3-4 different grocery stores, and writes about my kitchen experiences for fun. I devote a healthy portion of my budget to shopping for food, and I spend much of my free time reading food blogs, obsessively filing away recipes for future use, and dreaming up menus. In other words, I think about food a lot.
This week, the Austin Food Bloggers Hunger Awareness Blog Project has me thinking about food in a whole new way. A collaborative effort with the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB), the project aims to raise hunger awareness by giving food bloggers a list of the foods typically found in a monthly supply from the food bank, as well as a standard maximum allotment of food stamps, based on household size. The directive? Cook within these constraints for a week—and write about the experience.
Here’s the list for one family for a month (not just a week):
2 cans spaghetti sauce
4 cans veggies (choice of green beans and/or corn)
4 fruit cans (choice of sliced pears and/or mixed fruit)
1 meat selection, typically a whole chickens, fryer, or package of pork chops
3 drink items: choice of large bottle of cranberry apple juice and/or powdered milk (shelf-stable milk) boxes and/or apple juice boxes
1 bag spaghetti or egg noodles
1 bag pinto beans or white navy beans
1 bag white rice
1 package jalapeno slices
1 ready-made dinner (Hamburger Helper)
1 bag/container rolled oats
1 bag Cheerios
5lb. bag potatoes
I can use a selection of these ingredients (keeping in mind I’d have to make it stretch for a month), as well as anything already in my cabinets. I also have up to $80 to spend anywhere food stamps are accepted (the maximum monthly allotment for a two-person household is $367, or about $80 per week). Luckily, the Sustainable Food Center (which runs Austin’s three major farmers’ markets) supports food stamps, and since the food bank supplies mostly nonperishable items, I decided to devote most of my food stamp allotment to fresh foods. I volunteer for the Sustainable Food Center, so shopping at the farmers’ market was a no-brainer. It also allowed me to anchor most of my meals with local, sustainable ingredients—and prove that’s possible even within a budget.
My first meal doesn’t use anything from the CAFB list—just ingredients I always have in my pantry, plus some spring onions and cilantro ($2 for each bundle) from the farmers’ market. The great thing about these spring onion (or scallion/green onion) pancakes is that they’re filling, easy to make, and stretch easily (it’s exactly the same effort and cost to double or triple the recipe, since one recipe uses half a bundle or less of each fresh ingredient). I usually make them as a party food, but they fit beautifully into this unique challenge as a satisfying dinner for two, and everyone from discerning eaters to picky kids will love them.
Spring Onion Pancakes
Time: 20 minutes
Serves 2 for dinner, 4 as an appetizer or side dish
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tsp. sesame oil or vegetable/canola oil, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3-4 thinly sliced spring onions
- 1 handful finely chopped cilantro
- Soy sauce for dipping—here’s a good reason to save those little packets of soy sauce from Asian takeout or the mall food court (I like to add a little Sriracha or other hot sauce to mine)
In a food processor (or bowl), blend (or whisk) the egg, water, 1 tsp. oil, and salt until well combined. Add the flour slowly, mixing constantly until the batter is soupy but coats a spoon (or a fingertip). Then stir in the spring onions (or scallions/green onions) and cilantro.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, and add the remaining 1 tsp. oil, using a paper towel to spread it over the entire pan. Pour half the batter into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. Remove to a plate, and repeat until all batter is gone.
To serve, slice the pancakes into wedges and dip in soy sauce or chili sauce (or a combination). Serve alongside a simple salad of your choice; a head of Romaine can be had for around $2 at the grocery store, and half a pound of amazing salad greens from the farmers’ market goes for about $4.
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