PANCAKE DAY!!!!!

According to WIKIPEDIA:

“Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed in English speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and Germany. Shrove Tuesday is linked to Easter therefore its date changes on an annual basis.

In most traditions the day is known for the eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.”

That is to say: It is a day to enjoy eating those things you won’t eat while Lent if you are Christian or an excuse to eat special recipes you don’t eat every day. One of these things is the PANCAKE, which is a thin, flat cake, made of butter and fried in a pan. Delicious!!!

Here you have ONE of the millions of recipes you can find in the net to do a pancake.You can also find some videos on YOUTUBE.

Pancake Recipe

Ingredients For the pancake mixture: 220g/8oz plain flour, sifted pinch of salt 2 eggs 1 pint of milk 50g/2oz butter Makes about 8 pancakes Method for making the batter Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets a airing. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs making sure any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl are mixed in with the egg. Gradually add small quantities of the milk, still whisking Continue whisking until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a non-stick frying pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of the melted butter into the batter and whisk it in. Let the pancake mix stand for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Pour any left over butter into a dish. This will be used later to grease the frying pan after each pancake has been made. Make sure the non-stick frying pan is really hot before adding about 2 tbsp of the batter mixture. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip the pan around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. Carefully lift the edge of the cooked pancake with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife to cook the other side Slide it out of the pan onto a plate. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate.

To serve

Traditionally pancakes are sprinkled with caster sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice .......

....and rolled

Other favourite toppings include

Melted chocolate or chocolate spread

Chocolate spread with slices of banana

Jam especially strawberry jam

Golden Syrup

Ice Cream

Toffee sauce and whipped cream

BUT It is not only celebrated in England!!!!

Other names for Shrove Tuesday

United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia - Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday

Brazil - Terça-feira gorda - Fat Tuesday - the final day of Brazilian Carnival.

Greece - Apocreas, which means "from the meat" since they don't eat meat during Lent, either.

Sweden - Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday).

USA In Catholic and French-speaking parts of the United States this day is called Mardi Gras.

Germany - "Fastnacht" (Also spelt "Fasnacht", "Fasenacht", "Fasteloven" (in the Rhine area) or "Fasching" in Bavaria.)

In France they call it Mardi Gras, which means Grease or Fat Tuesday.

In Iceland the day is known as "Sprengidagur" (Bursting day).

So, you know it… this Tuesday 21^stFebruary … don’t forget to celebrate it among all the others celebrations Spain has for Carnival time!!!

Charles Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870)

 Charles Dickens is one of my favourite English writers because he reflected the Victorian society in his books in a perfect way. He depicted the miseries and troubles an innocent could have in that period of time. That is why "Oliver Twist" is, in my opinion, his most important novel. Here  you have a little summary and a page of a comic, just in case you want to have a look. If you want to know more, just ask me for information or have a look to the sources I give you.

 "Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse(=hospicio) and then is placed with an undertaker (=enterrador). He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets(=ladronzuelos). Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities."

wiki-source 

  As I told you in class, a good way of learning English is reading and listening a lot. The comics are the easiest and the funniest way of improving your English.

Try to read "Oliver Twist" a little. It's a sad story, but it is also very beautiful. 

Enjoy it.

See you in class.

(Educational purposes - not copyright ofence intended )

HERO - MARIAH CAREY

The song we listened in class is uploaded for your oral skills practice.

(Educational purposes - no copyright offence intended)