‘ELE’ELE — There was a little treat in store for those who ventured to the annual pancake breakfast Sunday to benefit the Episcopal Church on West Kauai. In addition to the pancake offering, dishes that were gleaned from the pages
‘ELE’ELE — There was a little treat in store for those who ventured to the annual pancake breakfast Sunday to benefit the Episcopal Church on West Kauai.
In addition to the pancake offering, dishes that were gleaned from the pages of “Our Daily Bread” cookbook were also offered up on a table outside the serving area.
“She made the miso soup,” greeter Jane Nakashima offered, referring to Grace Morimoto, who joined the greeters from her post of collecting tickets at the Eleele School cafeteria where a steady stream of breakfast diners passed through the serving line.
“They make good Christmas presents,” Nakashima added as some of the diners stopped by following their meals to sample some of the goodies on the condiments table.
“You came too late! The breakfast was good,” contented diners cooed as they exited the cafeteria to the rumble of a group of motorcycle cruisers who arrived to partake of the morning offering.
The motorcycle enthusiasts have been enjoying several of the church breakfasts around the island, and after getting their meals, quickly replenished the dwindling crowd in the cafeteria.
Nakashima said she had a few recipes in the pages of the cookbook, but her neighbor Ruby Uyeda said she had a lot. Some of these recipes cannot be found anywhere else, and after being tested in the kitchens of the matriarchs, have found their way into the cookbook.
Meanwhile, in the back of the house, a vintage stove modified to take a propane-tank hookup churned out batch after batch of pancakes, under the watchful eye of chefs Kaoru Fujita and Teddy Rentrop, as Maggie Martin stopped by to check on the progress of the cooking.
Martin, whose husband Rodney Martin was helping cook chicken for the Waimea High School Project Graduation fund-raiser elsewhere, noted that the Eleele School cafeteria staff also turned out to help with the breakfast.
“They’re great,” she said. “They were here from early this morning.”
Vicar Mary Lindquist, her hands filled with collected tickets, was pleased with the day’s turnout.
“We had some faces that we’ve never seen before,” she smiled. “And, with just half an hour left, we’ve already gone through over 600 meals.”
Linquist mentioned that, in the 21 years the breakfast has been served, there was one year where the total topped 700 meals, but Sunday’s event was close.
Ross Barker, aka “Dr. Ding,” the surfboard doctor, changed from repairing dinged boards to ladling out the miso soup, with Lynn Barker passing Styrofoam containers as fast as Dr. Ding could fill them.
Some of the businesses, the owners of which have supported the annual breakfast through donations and discounts, include Ventures Associates, HFM Food Service, Kauai Coffee Company, Esaki’s Produce, and Medeiros Farms.
And, for those who missed out on the breakfast, the cook-books are available by calling 335-5533.
