Sometimes writing a blog reminds me of an old friendship.  Some periods you visit with your dear friend every chance you get and then one day you realize life had been happening and directing you down so many different and busy roads, that it has been sometime since you have seen your dear and trusted friend and enjoyed their companionship. Though you had good intention of stopping by to say hello, life continues on its fast lane merging and weaving in and out of traffic until you just take full control of the wheel and veer for the first off ramp you see because you need to have a visit! On the way to your friends for a surprise visit, as you know they will be surprised as it has been so long since they last saw you, you fear it may be slightly uncomfortable, dropping in from nowhere to pick up where you left off.  Maybe conversation might lag, maybe you won’t have anything to say.Trepidation slows you down, you take a couple detours while you contemplate what will you say. Will you point out the lapse of time since you saw them, will you apologize for the apparent thoughtlessness ?  Will you just not say anything at all, knowing life happens to them too and the time apart is totally understandable so you just pick up where you left off?  

That is what blogging is like to me.  In a day and age where bloggers understand that content is king, the more the better. So many (including myself I am sorry to say) want content, content and more content from those I follow.  When you aren’t there in a daily presence you lose contact with your readers.  Their lives move as quickly as yours and there are so many things demanding and encouraging their attention that they have to pick and choose what is going to give to win it. So picking up after a long absence seems unnatural, or the very least, it can feel that way.  Picking up where you left off with no major reasons or excuses, just life happening, as it has happened before requires a perfect blog post to pick up at. That is why I have chosen pancakes LOL! Pancakes are perfect!

I was cooking pancakes yesterday for supper. During the process usually one of my clan will throw out this remark “Momma’s cooking pancakes” when they walk into the blue haze of the smoke filled cabin. If you have never cooked pancakes on a wood cookstove, boy oh boy, you are missing out!!!  There is nothing like it.  Putting a 3 foot griddle on a 4 ft cooking service.  You can make multiple pancakes at one time on that size griddle, however you also have multiple heat levels at the same time on a 4ft cook surface.  Slight fluctuations in the fire (which sometimes does not take much) can cause the heat to rise quickly and before you know it you have a large amount of smoke coming from you griddle that you butter with each new addition of batter. This of course does not imply you are burning anything,  oh heavens no!  You should never let a pancake burn, they must be golden brown and delicate to get the full enjoyment from such a creation!  But butter, in its beautiful richness, will most certainly create a smoky environment when you are cooking cakes for an hour or more.

After about a half hour of cooking last night, Zebulun, who had been upstairs, came down and ceased his decent about ceiling level and said “sure is smoky in here!”.

RJ who had been in the living room said “Momma’s cooking pancakes” which led to a memory that was shared with Zeb.

First I should point out that Zeb and Simmie are cut from a different cloth then RJ and Josiah when it comes to sleeping. Oft times our two youngest are up by 4:30 (yes that is a.m.) but averages 5:30 on the norm, and NEVER can I recall where they have slept till 8:00 a.m. A few 7’s and 7:30’s but not many.

RJ was our best sleeper and on weekends he would often sleep till 9 and sometimes 10 in the morning. Josiah didn’t sleep much past 7 or 8 but none the less liked to lay around on the weekends reading until breakfast was ready, this was back before the last 2 were born and when Ron worked a job away from home so weekend breakfasts were important.

Saturdays was the day I made pancakes. Ron and I, for the most part have always been early risers and Saturday was no different. We would get up 6ish or so, sit in our chairs by our big picture window in our home in southern Michigan that looked out into the small patch of woods that bordered our property. This was a special alone time for us. There we would sit drinking our coffee and fixing the world’s problems each Saturday until we talked or coffeed ourselves out and I then would start our Saturday breakfast of pancakes.

The stove would be prime, the batter ready and the griddle on, the cakes flying. The process would begin slowly but as the cakes would stack higher and higher on the platter, often 2 platters, a window would need to be cracked to help move some of the smoke out. Eventually the crack would turn into being fully opened and then it would happen.  The stairwell to the upstairs was in our kitchen, of course like any responsible adult, we had several smoke detectors (all functioning of course), one on the stairwell.  The smoke would congregate from in the stairwell landing setting off that smoke detector. Ron or I would rush to set it right and that is when we would hear movement upstairs. One, if not both boys would descend to announce “Momma’s making pancakes!”

Like the grinding of the coffee, this is a memory forever etched in the minds of RJ and Josiah, the smell of coffee, mixed with the smell of pancakes on a Saturday morning. The sounds of their Momma and Daddy in hushed soft spoken tones, building their relationship, directing the world with our suggestions of what it needs and the sound of smoke detectors.

Memories, much like old friendships, don’t always have to have monumental moments to be made, sometimes they just have to have a comfort and dependability that the friend will show up when they can and when they are needed and the smoke detector won’t fail you!

As for those of you reading this who can’t fathom a smoke filled kitchen from the blue haze of a buttered griddle, enough to where you have to open your window or turn off your smoke detector, it’s  okay, we don’t hold it against you J

Our pancake moments don’t have a set time in our current life as mornings are not “our” time like all those years ago.   Ron now works from home and breakfasts are most often the main meal of the average day and everyone has been up for a couple hours by the time it is put on the table.  Pancakes are great for any meal and can be made in advance and warmed up later. This is one reason I make such a big batch, they are good for a couple days without comprising the texture etc.  I have stored them out of the ice box, like bread or in the ice box if I am going to have them for longer than a few days.

Pancakes are very versatile and with a few variations you can alter them to fit your likes and needs. They can be made with a variety of flour, but for my recipe I prefer the forbidden all purpose organic white flour, with buckwheat flour being my next favorite though there is a different playbook for that and buckwheat really isn’t a flour but a seed, so let’s stick with all purpose flour for this go around.

This recipe is super simple and a basic pancake recipe similar to many:

2 cup flour

2 to 3 tablespoon sweetener, you can use organic white sugar, maple syrup or honey.  Maple syrup is my first choice but I don’t always have it on hand.

½ tea salt

2 to 3 tablespoon fat source: melted butter, melted lard, melted shortening or even olive oil. Butter is my first go to.

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 eggs (but one works too if that is all you have)

1.5 to 2 cups milk (maybe more…..I know this can leave many questions)

Fat for frying. Any of the previously mentioned fats work, butter is my favorite then organic shortening or lard.

Put all your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Melt your fat (if using a solid) add milk and then eggs. I usually use a sauce pan to melt the butter so I can add the milk directly to that, cooling the butter then pour it into my dry ingredients. I then had the eggs before mixing liquids into the dry portion.

Mix well.  This is where everyone differs. The “experts” say leave lumps thus don’t use a batter beater BUT  I personally prefer a batter beater and find I like my pancake batter with view lumps though I have found it next to impossible to get rid of them all.  The 1.5 to 2 cups milk is a starting point. The thicker your pancake batter the “cakier” (is that a real word? Probably not) your pancakes will be. I like a thinner batter as I like a lighter pancake. So I often use more then 2 cups milk going by visual of the batter. This is where you need to work with this recipe to find what suits you.  Eggs vary in size, measuring dry ingredients isn’t always precise so I can’t give you an exact amount of liquid, simply a starting point.

You can use this recipe as soon as you mix it BUT I like it best when it sits over night.  It has more of the texture that I am after. Also it makes it convenient when you are making them and you just can’t make yourself flip another cake, put it in the ice box…sorry, refrigerator and come back to it tomorrow.

TOPPINGS:

Our preferred toppings is REAL maple syrup (grade B is our favorite by far) and homemade raspberry syrup. 

Other ways we like to have it is with pie filling on top with a sprinkle of powder sugar and whipped cream.  Homemade jam also works great!

You can also use this batter to help a sweet tooth you really don’t want to give into, yes using the above toppings isn’t just giving into the sweet tooth but taking it home and marrying it. But by simply adding fresh bilberries to the batter is a phenomenal way to ward off a sweet tooth. Sometimes I will sprinkle chocolate chips in it but on this we prefer to fry the batter plain, sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top (this does not take many, maybe a tablespoon or 2) slide it in the oven to finish melting, this doesn’t take long in a warm oven. Spread the chocolate as thin as possible then slide in the freezer or frig till the choc sets up.  You will be amazed at the incredible crisp crunch the chocolate creates with each bite when allowed to set up completely. The cold pancake is a delicacy under the chocolate! When fried in butter and allowed to cool with a thin layer of dark chocolate chips, it is similar to eating a donut in chocolate frosting.  With any of these suggestions no additional topping is needed.

My guys also like to spread peanut butter on them for a quick snack.

You can cook your pancakes extra thin and use them for a sandwich wrap for meat, though I do recommend reducing the sweetener you put it the batter.

Pancakes are versatile and delicious. They are economically affordable and filling. They are easy to make and keep nicely for several days.  They can be made with abandonment of  health concerns or with some health savvy alterations to them. Pancakes can make memories. Pancakes are magical.