Learning How To Make | Pancakes

cause some things just take practice…

I love pancakes.  Rarely go bought breakfast without them.  Easy enough to do at home, right?  Yeah, not for me.

It’s not like I haven’t tried.  I tried a lot when I was a kid.  Mine were always dahhhk, yet half done and gummy.  Never, ever great.

Well, not unless you count the time I was on ThatSystem and hated all of the food except the pancakes.  I would make a bunch and freeze them for the week.  I used to love popping them into the toaster and pretending they were the Eggos that mom refused to buy.  So, yeah, the ThatSystem pancakes were my only success.

You’d think that since I love them and can’t make them that I would live at some pancake emporium getting my cut+soak* on.  Apparently, no.  I can see an A-frame off in the distance with its 24 hour sign ablaze.  It’s like literally blocks away and I’ve been there once.  Late night post-karaoke fest with former co-workers.  Yeah, once.

The dawning of pumpkin season has done something to me.  I need to get in there and get to making or burning or overcooking or under-cooking.  I need to get my pancake on.  Buttermilk Pancakes!  Pumpkin Pancakes!!!  Heaven on a plate with butter and syrup.

Spatula and a Cast Iron Pan.

I didn’t realize until I decided to climb this pancake mountain that I didn’t own a spatula.  Even though, most of my cooking is done with a wooden spoon or chopsticks, I’m surprised I hadn’t even thought about it.

On the way from the farmers’ market last Sunday, I stopped into the Home Gadgets Galore.  After staring at the spatulas and reading all the packaging, um, I actually asked if I could use silicone on a cast iron pan.  I really didn’t know.  Getting a stainless steel spatula seemed so old school and not in a cool retro-trad kinda way.

I don’t even know why I asked, I really should have known better or googled from home.  The guy gave me the answer I needed, but he didn’t seem that sure.  The only other decision to make was color.  Yes, color.  Black handle  or silver and black.  Silver, for a dollar more, Alex.

To Mix or Not to Mix

I’d been thinking for a few days about how I was going to approach the actual making of the pancakes, from scratch or just add whatever.  Usually, I’m a from scratch-er, but even the idea of pancakes has been an automatic fail for years.  This time, I wanted to start out with lowest possibility for human error.

Next stop, Trader Joe’s.  Even though both the Buttermilk and Pumpkin mixes were both giving me the eye, I just went simple and picked up the buttermilk.  I really want to make the pumpkin from scratch and with puree.

And the last time I bought syrup, I think I was doing the master cleanse.  {♥: Seriously, so LA.}  I’m glad I was at TJ instead of a regular store.  The thought of staring at brand after brand and reading high fructose corn stuff instead of syrup on the labels of those well-known names would have sent me into a fit.  I just picked up some 100% pure Canadian goodness and kept it moving.

So. Well…. I did it!

I made pancakes!  Pancakes, worthy of being eaten.  Up top, that’s batch number 2.

I think one of the things I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is patience.  Patience and a love of and respect for process.  I’m paying attention to how the pan reacts to heat and adjusting for that.  I’m learning not to rush things.  Learning how to just watch and wait.  Then, act.

I had a “duh” moment, too.  I was looking at the butter on the sides of the pan get darker as the center looked bare.  Instead of putting another pat in the pan, I used a paper towel to quickly move some of that liquid gold around the surface.  Everything was right as rain.  Didn’t need to add anymore butter to the pan.  Um, duh.

I think I’m ready to take this on from scratch.  I need a bit of real buttermilk kick that I didn’t get from the mix.  And, no offense, Canada, but Vermont might be in my syrup near future.

I’m kinda excited that another thing that I was afraid of and frustrated by is no longer daunting.  Perfect, nah.  Just need to keep at it.

Nikki♥

*You do have a pancake eating prep, right? I can’t eat them if I don’t follow the proper steps.  Each cake in the stack gets a bit of butter.  Then, I get my grid on.  Only after all the cuts are made can I pour on syrup.  Simple plain maple syrup.