Favorite Things: Heritage Grill . . . and Lefse, Too

I got my Bethany Housewares Heritage Grill with Teflon finish for making lefse. I’ve used it 5 or 6 times for that and it works great.

Better yet, it is the best grill I’ve ever had for frying eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, pancakes, or cooking just about anything else that’s grilled. The non-stick finish means it’s not necessary to use more than a light brush of oil to fry eggs, hash browns or other food that contain little grease of their own.

And the Teflon seems indestructible. My grill has been used almost daily for a year and a half, often by family members who are not as protective of the finish as I am, and it’s still pristine.

Come to think of it, I’ll have to take back the bit about me being the most careful one using my grill. Just the other day, I left it on with a turner on top—a turner that melted into a liquid plastic pool on the beautiful non-stick surface. But everything wiped right off once the hot plastic cooled enough for me to do the wiping. Did I mention the surface seems indestructible?

The only drawback, I suppose, is the late sixties look. That, I’m guessing, is because it’s such a good product there’s been no big push to change things up since the sixties. I think of it as stylishly retro and rejoice that this grill’s consistency over the years means I can order replacement legs or a new probe control from Bethany Housewares if needed. [Update: I also found replacement handles.]

I could live without my electric fry pan or George Foreman type grill, but I wouldn’t want to live without my Heritage grill. A quick google search shows that this grill is available from several different suppliers, including Amazon and Target. I bought mine at the Ace Hardware store in my Minnesota hometown.

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Speaking of lefse, here’s the recipe I use to make it. It comes from my friend Judy, who calls it Norwegian manna. [Update: See photos of the lefse making process.]

• 2 1/2 pounds of baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• Soft butter and sugar for serving

Peel and boil potatoes. Drain and cool.

Put potatoes through a ricer or mash. Beat in butter, cream, sugar and salt. Refrigerate uncovered.

The next day add flour. Stir well. Divide into 20 pieces. Heat grill or pan.

On a floured surface roll out the balls into circles as thin as possible. (My grandmother would slip the wooden stick out of a window shade and use it to transfer the lefse to the griddle.) Cook on each side of the ungreased pan. Stack between towels. After they are cool I stack them together, fold in half and place in a large plastic bag.

As needed butter and sugar a circle. Fold in half and butter and sugar again. Fold once again and cut the quarter in half.

My kids have been know to spread their lefse with peanut butter and fold it up, or wrap it around a hot dog.

CD Review: Indelible Grace V

Wake Thy Slumbering Children

The church has a glorious heritage in the hymns of those saint who went before us, and I’d hate for all that that richness to be lost as generations pass and music styles change. That’s why I appreciate the work of Indelible Grace Music, known for putting old hymns to new music in order

to rekindle a love of hymns and to invite many who would never associate rich passion with hymns to actually read the words.

The most recently released CD from Indelible Grace is Indelible Grace V: Wake Thy Slumbering Children. It’s a collection that reminds me, oddly enough, of a gray-haired lady who sings and accompanies herself on her guitar at my dad’s country church. I suppose that’s because the songs are not too polished, a little down-home bluesy, and genuine. What you get here, most of all, is truth and sincerity, and that’s a really fine thing.

My favorite songs?

• Go to Dark Gethsemane, Sandra McCracken. This hymn by James Montgomery has poetic words that beg to be revived, and the simple gentleness of this rendition seems exactly right for them.
• In the Hours, Emily DeLoach. Bluesy, with a little black gospel sound, and more quality poetry, this time by Helen L. Parmlee.
  
• Beneath the Cross of Jesus, Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken. A perfect example of how a familiar hymn with familiar words can takes on fresh meaning with new music.

My nitpicks, which are small, but I’ll mention them anyway.

• Face to Face is set to music in a minor key. Minor keys are perfect for words of lament, but when we behold Jesus face to face, it will be a glorious time, a time of rejoicing, and this music seems like a poor fit.
  
• Slow can be good, but there are a couple of pieces that do seem go overboard in the slow department.
• I’d like to throw in a few changing dynamics, too, so there is more variation throughout the multiple verses of a few songs.