Breakfast for Dinner

Growing up, pancakes were considered a delicacy in the Johnson house. This was due almost entirely to the fact that mother not only doesn't care for them, but can't, and all but refuses to, make them. As a result, sister and I got pancakes only when we could successfully con mother into making them (which was no easy feat). Summers with the grandparents were a different story. Not only was I greeted with a hot breakfast every morning, but I got pancakes at least once a week (with little to no begging required on my part...even better). It was a joyous time. About 10 years into my childhood, my grandmother discovered a delightful invention: the pancake puff maker. This little gadget revolutionized the way pancakes were made. No more flipping and breaking and burning. Instead, the batter just goes inside and a few minutes later out pops delightful, triangular puffs of pancake. What could be better?! 


I feel deeply in love with this gadget during one of our summers in Maryland and was deeply saddened when I had to part ways from it and return to pancake puffless Oklahoma. My grief turned to joy, however, when Christmas rolled around and one of the presents from my grandparents contained a magic puff machine of my very own! To be honest, it was for the family, but I loved it the most. Unfortunately, my time with it was not as long as I would've liked. It wasn't cleaned properly after use and when we moved it didn't manage to follow us. Mother tried to convince me that it was for the best, but I knew she'd always hated him and was not nearly as upset to see him go.


The years passed and I all but thought my dream of finding another pancake puff machine was gone. Then TF and I took one of our much loved outlet mall shopping trips to Rehoboth Beach in the fall of 2010. It was there at a kitchen store that I saw pancake puff machine again for the first time. It was a shopping miracle! For reasons that remain unclear to me, I didn't purchase him on the spot. I dreaded this for some time (that's how I always know I really want something) and then remembered the wonder that is Amazon.com. Before I knew it, we were reunited! I was so excited when he finally came in the mail, I used it everyday for a week! 


The new one was slightly different from the one I grew up with (it's pocket holes are bigger so they can do sandwiches too) but the basic premise remains the same. Sweet, glorious pancakes. Since I was blessed with my mother's pancake making skills, this little gadget allows me to have pancakes whenever I want with little to no headache. The other night, I arrived home after another emotionally draining day and was in no mood to cook. It was about that time that I remembered that I'm an adult and can eat whatever I want for dinner. I then further remembered that pancakes are my happy food and when cheering up is in order, they are just the food to do it. With minimal effort, I discovered the below recipe and all was soon right with the world (or at least my stomach).

As I've gotten older, I'm always excited to find healthier versions of the traditional white flour pancake

And there's nothing I love more in my pancakes than blueberries [and yes, I'm weird and don't eat syrup]

Whole Wheat Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

Original recipe found here

Makes 8-10 pancakes...or 6-8 puffs :)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 flax seed meal
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp. melted butter 
• 1 c. fresh blueberries
• powdered sugar for topping (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 250, and place a large pan with a cooling rack on it in the oven [I omitted this and all other cooking steps since I was using my beloved pancake puff maker]
2. Whisk the flour, flax meal, baking powder and soda, salt and lemon zest together in a large bowl
3. Mix the buttermilk, egg and melted butter together in a separate bowl
4. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Stir gently with a fork until just combined; the batter will have lots of lumps
5. Melt the extra butter in a large skillet or griddle. Dollop the batter into the pan with a 1/3 cup measuring scoop and sprinkle with the blueberries. Cook until the pancake bubbles (look closely; it’s a little hard to tell with this thick batter); then flip and cook until browned on the second side
6. Keep finished pancakes warm on the cooling rack in the oven while you cook up the rest of the batter. Makes 8-10 pancakes. Serve with your choice of pancake topping