Whole wheat buttermilk pancakes
Well, it has been nearly six years since I’ve put down any words or recipes here. It’s not because there haven’t been words or recipes, there have been a million of each at least, but time just whizzes by like a too small sign on the side of a busy highway and before you know it you’re past 40 and you’re a whole different person (more on that later).
The short story is, we’re still eating and making space for connection around the table. It’s not always supper these days (and not always at the table), but more often than not it’s breakfast where we all find ourselves in the same room, eating mostly the same thing, together. We added an island to our already small kitchen and it has become the Grand Central Station of our home where any one of us (friends included) can pull up a stool and stay awhile, especially during the morning hours when all we can manage is getting ourselves to the kitchen where the coffee sits. Our dining room table has taken on a different role most of time, housing a giant puzzle, a chess board and a bowl of wooden puzzle pieces no one can figure out how to solve. Clearing, setting and dining at the table is still a thing from time to time, but we have migrated to a more casual way of eating together and it suits us and the moment we’re in. Someone throws a record on while I cook and the boys, especially Jack, our 7 (almost 8) year old, will help with the prep, if there is any. Turns out, he’s a whiz with a chef’s knife. Historically I have enjoyed an empty kitchen where I can be in the zone and disappear into the work of cooking, but recently it has been fun to share that space with the kids when they feel like jumping in or hanging out. I’m still working on letting my spouse help (or hang out), but that’s probably a topic for another therapy session.
Let’s get to pancakes, shall we? I don’t know how many pancake recipes exist in the world, but this one is my all time favorite. Marion Cunningham, in her wonderful way, wrote a small book in the 80’s called The Breakfast Book. In it you will find all manner of breakfast wizardry, including these pancakes, but you will also be given some very good advice. Below is an excerpt of her rules for dining with “civility and deportment.” Make these wholesome, snappy pancakes some morning and try them on for size.
Breakfast Table Civility and Deportment by Marion Cunningham
1. Clean up before you come to the breakfast table: wash your face and comb your hair.
2. You don't have to get dressed.
3. Clean fingernails, please.
4. Reading the newspaper at the table is permissible, but a pleasant word or salutation must be spoken to all present.
5. Sit up straight and try to be cheerful.
6. Talk to one another politely; talk and listen in turn.
7. Because everyone is defenseless at breakfast, there should be no contentiousness or crossness.
8. Don't ever mention food dislikes or criticize the food.
9. Don't lick your fingers or stuff your mouth with food.
10. Don't play with your food.
11. Don't talk with your mouth full.
12. Butter your bread one part at a time; don't put your uneaten pieces back in the bread basket.
13. And don't answer questions in a saucy manner.
14. Remember, guests always receive the choicest portions.
Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book
Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preparation:
Put the buttermilk, egg and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and blended.
Stir the flour, salt and baking soda together in a small bowl until blended. Stir into the buttermilk mixture and mix only until all of the flour is moistened. Keep the lumps as Marion instructed—she knows best!
Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-low heat (this prevents the pancakes from burning before they can cook in the middle). Grease the pan with butter and add about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter to the pan. I like to do one at a time in my 10” cast iron to make sure the shape is intact and the edges get nice and crispy. Although, this is a slow road to breakfast, so feel free to do as many at a time as you can manage, allowing at least a couple of inches between pancakes so you can flip ‘em when bubble start to form on the top. Cook for a few minutes more (Marion says briefly, which is about right) until golden and cooked through.
Serve with a warm pat of butter (not the cold slab I have pictured above) and a generous pour of maple syrup and don’t forget—no saucy talk at the table.
If you’re interested, and I hope you will be, here’s the record we put on while we ate these pancakes and sipped our coffee: John Lee Hooker, Travelin’. It’s a great blues record; just the thing we needed to get the blood flowing while the pancakes worked their magic.
