We love pancakes in our house. Andy is a purist: plain fluffy cakes made from scratch with white flour. I experiment with cornmeal johnnycakes and multi-grain flapjacks. They are sometimes topped with peanut butter, homemade applesauce or whole milk blueberry yogurt. They are always topped with Grade A maple syrup and salted organic butter.
When we were 19 we fell in love over pancakes in Andy’s mom’s kitchen. In Jackson, Wyoming, when we were 22, we ate pancakes on the floor of our tiny apartment with the only two forks we owned on the only two plates we owned on a blanket on the floor…click here to read the rest of this essay at mamalode.com.
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johnnycakes
2 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Put cornmeal and salt into large bowl. Bring two cups water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of butter and pour over the cornmeal. Stir well and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in yogurt, baking soda and powder.
(The recipe I was following said I could then grab and form a cake in my floured hands…my batter was way too runny for that so I just spooned it on the griddle and it worked just great)
On a griddle, melt a bit of butter over medium-low heat. Spoon about two tablespoons of the batter to form a cake. Cook about 4-5 minutes on each side. Repeat the process, adding butter to griddle each time. Serve with butter and syrup.
12 Comments
What a fun post! So, so true, all of it. Mamas do not eat warm pancakes, ever.
When Dan and I first met he invited me to a pancake breakfast fundraiser. One of the few pictures I have of us from the courting days of our 20’s is us eating pancakes on the back porch of my rental. Dan has always made the pancakes. First just white flour, then whole wheat and now spelt and rice flours.
Pancakes characterize weekend mornings; usually with maple syrup, often with fruit and always with sticky interruptions from kids.
i have no luck cooking pancakes, but i will try these, because i have been dying to make something called a johnnycake, ever since i read _journey cake, ho!_ a wonderful children’s book, featuring a bound-out-boy and a talking journey cake.
plus, i love cornmeal in pancakes and waffles. thanks.
So true…mama’s pancakes are always cold…..the things we do for our children we do not do for anyone else…even ourselves. Wouldn’t change that for the world!
Love our little chef decked out in her new apron!
xoxo!
Damn it all – now I want pancakes more than I can say…
I tried to make egg and dairy free pancakes this weekend. Let’s just say that they were not successful.
I’m a waffles girl…I like the crunchy edges.
My girl, who is a month younger than Margot, won’t sit in her own chair to eat. Starts in her own, takes a few bites then pushes her plate over by mine and climbs into my lap.
So, I would have to add that a mother’s pancake is cold…and her pants are always VERY dirty. 🙂
Nothing better than the slow Sunday morning breakfast ritual….
i love pancakes too.
grandpa gates recipe in our house…and it’s a special occasion. my grandma used to spread butter, then a heap of brown sugar, spoon a little hollow into the sugar and pour cream into it.
this felt good to read…comforting. homey. needed that…it’s gray and rainy.
so wonderful talking to you today. xoxo
Once again, one of your posts rings so true for me.
I, too remember the long, warm, pre-parenthood breakfasts “with NPR lulling us into conversations…”
I had coffee-reheated-7-times and Mother’s Pancakes last weekend (ours were Trader Joe’s Buttermilk mix with added organic blueberries and a touch of Mexican vanilla).
Cold, a bit soggy, but delicious.
🙂
This reminds me of Journey Cake, Ho! (by Ruth Sawyer), too! I love the book & will try your recipe soon. Thanks for sharing it.
it’s funny, all these common experiences we all seem to share.
can’t wait to make these!
and i’m so glad i’m not the only one with a toddler on the table or standing in his chair . . . but i also think he looks so cute when he sits on the table, spearing his fork into bits just so, or just dipping it into the syrup. xoxo
My Aunt Janie always made us vinegar pancakes. They are the best. She made them the size of a quarter dollar and stacked them high. I loved staying there to wake up to those.
Sweet story about you and Andy falling in love over pancakes.