My Momma’s Pancake Theory

When I was a girl, I spent most of my time making mental notes of all the ways I would not do as my momma did. I would not make my daughter sit in the middle of the back car seat between her brothers because she was the youngest and the only girl. I would not fold my towels just so because that’s the only (insert the stankiest face ever after “only“) way towels should be folded. I would not apply lipstick whenever I left my home because, “you never know who would see you, and you want to look your best.” I would not make my husband’s dinner plate every night. And I definitely would not wait to eat my pancakes after everyone else has eaten multiple servings before I even ate one. No way. No how.

I used to ask my momma to eat the pancakes that were on the plate as she continued to make many, many more servings without taking a break to eat any. She would say, “No, honey. I will make mine last,” optioning instead to forge ahead cooking more for the family.  For years, I thought she was the pancake martyr–sacrificing herself for her family’s steadily-growing appetite. It wasn’t until I was a young adult, and completely feeling myself (as though I would ever have any kind of authority in my mother’s kitchen) that I slightly demanded/requested that she sit down and eat some pancakes–first. She replied, “No, honey. I will make mine last. I like them fresh and hot.”

Then, I understood.

There is something about fresh, hot pancakes that could bring about world peace (too much?) Oh, well…stay with me here. The fluffy interior and crisp edge…the salty fat in the form of butter when I was a child…now Earth Balance as an adult…the sweet maple syrup (or homemade fancy syrup creation I dabble with from time to time)…the fruit or nuts or whipt cream on top. Pancakes in the morning set the tone for the day. The day must act right, yes?

Whenever I make pancakes, I think of my mother. I always eat my portion last, because I like them fresh and hot. My children also ask me to, “Eat some now, Mom,” and I decline. Not only was my mother right about how to fold towels (oh, how it pains me to admit that, lol!), she was right about how and when a momma should eat her portion of the Sunday pancakes. She was right about many, many things.

Sunday Pancakes

• 2 TBSP ground flaxseed meal + 1/4 cup rice milk
• 3-4 cups almond milk, or more (depends on how thick or thin you like your batter) you can use soy milk or milk of choice, also
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBSP sweetener of choice (maple syrup, honey, agave, sugar, whatever you like)
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• coconut oil, light olive oil, or melted Earth Balance for frying pancakes

Embellishments:

• maple syrup or homemade syrup of choice
• fruit
• toasted nuts
• whipt cream
• butter or Earth Balance spread

Directions:

1. Whisk together your flax seed meal and rice milk and set aside for 5 minutes to bloom. 
2. Whisk together your almond milk and baking soda into a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: flour(s), baking powder, and salt.
4. Add your flaxseed mixture to your almond milk/baking soda mixture, and stir to combine. Add your olive oil and vanilla extract and sweetener of choice to this wet mixture.
5. Fold your wet mixture into the dry ingredients–you can even gently fold with your hands (wear gloves if that’s how you do things in your kitchen), but don’t over do it. This is still a “cake” we are making…so stirring too much will make them too tough. This is also your time to add more milk of choice to achieve your desired batter consistency.
6. Set your griddle or frying pan over medium heat with your fat of choice.  Remember, this is a treat. Don’t freak out about “frying” these in a bit of oil. Yes, you could use a non-stick spray, but they won’t taste the same…so live a little. Life is about balance.)
7. Portion 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. I am not in your kitchen…if you want smaller, do less batter…bigger, do more. Do you.)
8. When you see bubbles form on top of the pancakes, flip them and cook until the bottom is nice and golden.
9. Serve fresh and hot with your embellishment of choice.