Pancake Love

Pancakes are fun. They are meant to be shared. They are a new creation every time. Sometimes, if you get the batter just right, you can mold it into various cartoon forms. When I was a kid, my relatives would sometimes make me bunny rabbit pancakes. In those moments, I was always amazed at how my breakfast could be so cool. Not much has changed. One of my favourite scenes in a movie is in Uncle Buck when John Candy uses a shovel to flip a GIGANTIC pancake. Truly awesome.

I inherited a stack of old cookbooks from my mom. There is one in particular that has been invaluable. It has been my reference point for breakfast food as well different ways to cook meat and bake sweets. "The Better Homes and Gardens - new Cook Book",7th edition, not sure what year. But its old. You can tell by the hard binder, the yellowed pages, the pictures, the fonts used, the stains that pepper many pages. Its helped a couple generations of my family create their masterpieces.

When I began to get more confident in cooking, I began to try out different recipes on my friends. (Thank you for your willingness to be experimented on). Page 79 is where I learned to make pancakes. Initially, I ventured into general pancakes, not taking too many risks, as not to upset the delicate pancake balance. But eventually, I got really good at it. I built confidence. I experimented with different ingredients - fruit, chocolate, coconut. (My recent favourite is banana coconut - which turn out particularly yummy if you brown the bananas a little by adding them only in the frying pan.) For the emerging cooks like me, I share my adapted Pancake recipe and instructions....

Pancakes
Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens: new Cook book p. 79.

• 1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder (wise not to confuse this one with baking soda as the results are ...not good)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons salad oil

Mix up ingredients. When the batter starts to rise and bubble, you are ready. If the mixture is a little runny or you feel its too liquidy, add a couple tablespoons of flour.

Use a big pan. Heat the pan ahead of time (2-3 mins ahead, depending on your type of stove. - if you have a gas stove, you will need less than a minute). Put the stove to Medium heat. You can check if its ready by sprinkling a few drops of water on the pan, if it bounces, you are good to go.

Put some oil in the pan, then add your pancake batter. You may want to try and start with smaller ones first, until you get the hang of it. When little bubbles start to appear across the whole pancake, it is time for you to flip it. Usually the first side takes the longest.

This post goes out to my awesome friend Nixie, my official pancake tester, and my courageous friend embarking on a big adventure across the pond. Miss you.