Yet another way of using up sourdough starter is to use it in a pancake mix. I follow my mother's method of making pancakes - put some flour in a bowl and beat in an egg and some milk and water. The proportion of flour to liquid is subject to experience not weight or volume. It's a great method once you know what it should look like, but not so great for learning and in fact teaching your own children, although at least you can google for a recipe now. My favourite method at the moment is to use some sourdough starter in with the liquid. This has two advantages; it gives you an opportunity to feed the sourdough beast without it taking over the fridge, and it gives a slight tangy taste to pancakes and makes them much lighter and airier. I tend to make a batch of pancakes which is usually because my method of ad hoc quantities means that I can't judge how many I'm going to end up with. The excess pancakes are frozen ready for a future pancake feast without the hassle. This time I used some barley flour mixed with white stoneground flour. This made them a little more wholesome without making them too heavy - stealth tactics for good health! My first pancake was a bit thicker than the others as is sometimes the case, and it puffed up like a pitta bread so I thinned the mixture down for the rest.

With a bit of a sourdough flourish I made a mountain of scones for family tea. First I made a batch of cheese scones but when I realised that all our offspring and husbands (where applicable) were coming round for tea I hastily made another batch of scones but made fruit ones instead. A bit of a scone fest, but at least no-one went hungry. In fact, I found their scone limit and had some leftovers to put in the freezer. Family tea is a mostly weekly event which usually takes place on Sunday. It started a long time ago and we find that it is especially relevant  as a get-together now that we are not all under the same roof. Not everyone turns up every week, and it is not always in our little rented chez nous, but it helps keep us all up to date with comings and goings.