I have not cooked much at all this week but I have a good excuse–my dissertation, all 350 pages of it, is done. Nearly. I submitted it for the defense, which is scheduled for a little over a week from now. It still needs some tweaking, but more or less, it’s ready. I hope. I also picked up a very surprising full time gig this week for the next academic year. I’ve been in school every year since I was four–this is my first salaried job with benefits, ever. And I’m much closer to thirty than twenty! So it’s been a very good week but also a very zany week, getting all these pieces together. The few days I did cook we pretty much just snarfed down dinner in short order, so no photos. But finally, after some mad printing Friday night ini the department office, Saturday morning lent itself to a leisurely breakfast. So I made blueberry pancakes.
Several years ago I searched long and hard for a good pancake recipe, one that rose up nicely and stayed formed, rather than spread out to make a thin cake. After I tried a whole bunch, I settled on one I think I initially found on allrecipes. I’ve been modifying it ever since.
The basic recipe is as follows.
Put in a bowl and whisk together:
3 1/2 t baking powder (that’s how they get so tall)
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1 1/2 c flour
Then, in a big old liquid measuring cup, whisk together
1 1/4 c milk
3 T canola oil or melted butter
1 egg
Add liquid to dry and mix until just combined–it’s not going to be very smooth. You’ll see a reaction pretty quickly from the baking powder–this stuff gets incredibly thick and airy.
Cook pancakes over medium high heat–this usually takes at least one batch to get just right. I added blueberries since they’re in season now. Makes anywhere from 10-12 pancakes, depending on how big you make them.
When fall comes around again, I’ll have to remember to share my pumpkin pancake recipe with you. They’re perfect on a cold morning, but that won’t be anytime soon!
