Pancakes

When I was a child there was no food on Earth I loved more than pancakes. Hot stacks of syrup-covered heavenly pancakes! I requested them every year for my birthday dinner until I hit puberty. In fact, there are two things I remember about my fourth birthday: Being so excited I threw up, and that the menu that night featured pancakes.  Oh wait... I also vaguely remember the pink lace-ruffled dress I'm pretty sure was my favorite gift just after Strawberry Shortcake.


Anyway, I still have quite the fondness for pancakes. Imagine my good fortune that I have married a man who's specialty (after all things BBQed or smoked) is pancakes. For years he's been making me weekend pancake breakfasts. It all started back when I was pregnant with Normy, and therefor not too hung-over to enjoy weekend breakfast. I'll always remember feeling something like a big pregnant princess sitting down to a pile of his light fluffy pancakes.

Banana Princess Preggo Pancake circa 2006

Now that we have a whole mess of kids the weekend pancake breakfast is becoming quite the tradition. It is the signal that this is a day Dad doesn't have to go to work and that fun can be expected. Well, fun or yard work. We had been having our pancakes on Saturday, but these days he's working Sunday through Thursaday, so now Friday is our pancake day. And let me tell you, they are delicious. He started out with a Bisquick recipe but has adapted a new one based on the fact that we no longer buy Bisquick or even white flour. Instead we grind our own grain. In fact here's his recipe:


1 1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt


Smoochy mixes all the dry ingredients together then whisks in the buttermilk followed by the melted butter, and the eggs last. He heats butter in his skillet before scooping in the mix. When the pancake is cooked on one side it is flipped to the opposite side. The pancakes come out thin and light with a little crispy edge. When they're done he flips them on to the kids' plates.

The flip is optional, but highly suggested.

I think it's cute that even though his recipe has changed not much else has. Like he is still resistant to being photographed in the kitchen.

Stank-Eye 2006

Stank-Eye 2011

The other constant is how much love I taste in these pancakes.

Keep 'em coming, Smoochy.