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Pancakes are Good

As I come back to reality after my beautifully long weekend, I realize that summer is just starting and every weekend for the next couple of months is going to be full of activities. Concerts to look forward to and festivals to anticipate, lifts to ride (baldy lifts are open), and art fairs to attend. And where there is fun and entertainment, there are picnics, dinners, barbecues and potlucks. In the summer, plans pop-up and then disappear as quickly. This is hard for me.

I like things to be in order. My pantry and fridge are alphabetical and categorized, my clothes are color-coordinated, my days are listed, recorded, planned—I am a scheduler and some have even gone far enough to call me OCD (I personally don’t see where they get that). My approach to meals is no different then my approach to my time. I like three meals a day and to know what and when I am eating. So everything going on right now, I have piece of mind with breakfast. My mom always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and since it facilitates my appreciation of pancakes, I agree. I find they can be time-consuming in the morning so I loved this recipe that I tried last weekend—easy, fast and delicious.

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Pfannekuchen
German-style pancake

Makes 4 servings. This is thicker than the classic American pancake, but so yummy. I doubled the fruit and used my 9-inch cast iron pan. My mom found the recipe and we made it with fresh blueberries she brought me from her garden in Louisiana, though any fruit could be substituted. In Southern Germany the word for pancake is Pfannkuchen. Oddly enough, in Berlin the same word refers to a doughnut. German dialects can be very tricky. Be extremely careful when ordering pancakes in Berlin. If this looks too decadent, try my healthy pancakes. Recipe from The Times-Picayune, Thursday, June 18, 2009

2 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup milk
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
juice of half a lemon (or less, to taste)
¼ cup fresh blueberries
blueberry jam
marmalade, honey, or syrup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add flour, milk, nutmeg and salt. Blend by hand but leave slightly lumpy. Heat a cast iron skillet or a 12-inch skillet with a heat-proof handle over medium heat. Add butter, melt and heat without browning, then pour in the batter. Sprinkle berries in batter, spacing the fruit widely (I didn’t bother with that as I double the fruit). Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until pancake is golden brown and billowing on the edges. Working quickly, remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar evenly over the cake with a fine sieve. Return to oven for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve with jam, syrup or whatever. Yum!