When our grandchildren stay over night with us, often in our camper on special outings, I ask them what they want for breakfast, and the answer is almost always the same: pancakes. They are used to a variety of breakfast menus at home, but pancakes with syrup are rare treats, usually reserved for holidays. Grandpa, however, doesn’t mind making pancakes. It is very easy, the way I do it. I follow the recipe on the box of Bisquick. It satisfies the grandchildren and has created memories enough that they are sure to ask for pancakes again when they have breakfast at grandpa’s. They also like to test grandpa’s promise of making what they want for breakfast. I’ve made macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese sandwiches just for fun when a child has requested it. Pancakes, however, are the overwhelming favorite request.

When I am cooking just for myself, I’m not likely to make pancakes. I do, however, like to fry potatoes for a special breakfast when I have a bit of extra time. Usually, I just scrub potatoes, and cut them into small pieces with the skins on and pan fry them in a little bacon grease, or olive oil. I like them with eggs and bacon, or just a couple of eggs when I don’t have bacon. When we have leftover potatoes, I’ll sometimes fry them up for my breakfast. When there are leftover mashed potatoes, I make a sort of potato pancake, adding egg and flour so that a fairly thin cake can be fried.

We don’t have a tradition of potato pancakes in our house, but it certainly is a common tradition around the world. Ashkenazi Jews make Latkes to celebrate Hanukkah. People with Irish roots make potato pancakes to celebrate St. Brigid’s Day. Although we associate potatoes with Ireland, they were relatively late comers to that part of the world, arriving in 1589 with Sir Walter Raleigh who brought the tubers from the Americas to County Cork where he once lived. The Irish took to potatoes and they are part of Irish national cuisine in many different dishes, including potato pancakes, called Boxty by those in the know.

We often think of St. Patrick as the patron saint of Ireland and celebrate his day in March by wearing green. Potato pancakes, however, are associated with another of Ireland’s saints, Brigid, who is often referred to as the patroness or mother saint of Ireland. Ireland has a third national saint, Columbia, who gets even less press. Brigid is an interesting saint. She has the same name as a Celtic goddess. There is a debate over whether Brigid was a real person. There are few historical facts known about her. Some historians suggest that Brigid is a Christianization of the Celtic goddess. Both the saint and the goddess are associated with poetry, healing, protection, smithcraft, and domestic animals. Brigid’s celebration day is February 1, and the Irish celebrate by cooking Boxty.

The trick to a good potato pancake is to grate the pancakes into a strainer and press out as much liquid as possible before mixing with flour and egg to fry. If you save the potato water, it can be used as a base for vegetable stock. And if you let the potato water settle, the sediment can be used as starch for ironing. We try not to waste food, but extracting starch from potatoes is not something we’ve ever tried. I just read that in former times the Irish did it.

Holidays seem to move around the calendar, or at least around the week, so the Irish are celebrating St. Brigid’s day on February 6 this year. Like our tradition of Monday holidays, the recognition affords a three day weekend for many.

I don’t know much about St. Brigid. She is said to have founded several monasteries in the early days of Christianity in Ireland. Christianity came to Ireland in the 400’s and developed distinctive practices and traditions as it was celebrated in relative isolation for centuries. Among many of the tales told of Brigid is the story of her miraculously converting water into beer. I suspect that there are a few faithful followers of Brigid who honor her by tipping a glass or two.

Being neither Catholic nor Irish, we don’t make much of St. Brigid’s Day around our house. And we don’t have any grandchildren visiting overnight for grandpa to have an excuse to make pancakes. Reading and writing about Brigit, however, has sharpened my appetite and the thought of trying to make some good potato pancakes is occupying part of my mind as I write. I’ve got a small bag of skagit gold potatoes. Perhaps grating a few of them would make for a tasty breakfast.

I didn’t know until I moved out west that there were large potato farms out here. Having lived in North Dakota, where the eastern Red River Valley produces some very good potatoes and in Idaho where the potatoes are famous and even proclaimed on the license plates, I guess this is yet another place where there are some tasty potatoes produced. The fields where the potatoes grow are favorites of the trumpeter and tundra swans as well as the snow geese that winter in the Skagit valley. And skagit gold potatoes are good potatoes for baking, boiling, and frying.

As the grandkids grow older, it might be fun to allow the traditions to grow with the children. Perhaps adding potatoes to the pancake recipe would be a good way to maintain the memories while adding a bit of culinary sophistication. On the other hand, sometimes simple is just fine and so far I’ve gotten no complaints about Bisquick pancakes. I’ve been known to add blueberries in season for a special treat.

The problem about writing about food first thing in the morning before I’ve prepared my breakfast is that it makes me hungry. I have no need of a hearty breakfast. I don’t have much physical labor in today’s plans. I’d do better with a bit of yogurt and fresh fruit with a dash of granola. However, those potato pancakes do seem good. And it is St. Brigid’s weekend. And, as we know from St. Patrick’s Day, there’s a bit of Irish in every one of us.