Weekday Breakfast Win

Last night, my cloud lifted. After an alarmingly terrible dinner (seriously, awful!) I set myself to taking out my anger on the kitchen. I almost never have the gumption to clean at night, as hanging out with the kid all day tends to be somewhat draining. That's a whole chunk of uninterrupted time that I could use to be productive. I know this, but most of the time I'm just too lazy to care.

But last night, feeling the sting of a failed dinner and trying to distract myself from the temptation to go buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's to satisfy my neglected food addiction, I cleaned the kitchen. Not exactly a praiseworthy feat, I know. But it felt so satisfying this morning to wake up to a fresh start that I cheerfully made a heap of meyer lemon pancakes.

Working at a bed and breakfast has given me a slew of easy breakfast recipes. I am a pancake master. If you know anything at all about making pancakes from scratch, this will not impress you. Pancakes are literally the easiest thing in the world to whip up. Fool-proof, I dare say. It actually infuriates me that boxed pancake mix exists, because a blindfolded monkey could easily make delicious flapjacks.

I digress. Last week I had some leftover heavy cream from chocolate ganache I had made. Little E and I were quite bored and I didn't want the cream to go to waste, so we made butter. Shake shake shake shake...the baby was transfixed, and I got a workout! This morning I used the fresh buttermilk and a bunch of meyer lemons given to me at a birthday party a few days ago. The result was just what we all needed this morning after such a disappointing (seriously, awful!) dinner. They were light and fluffy, subtle and tangy, and oh so spring. Little E gobbled one down happily, and nothing says success to this mama like a finicky baby who approves of a food I've made.

I am not a photographer. But I do win at fried dough.

I didn't use a recipe but if you want to make these, I'll take a stab at writing it down for you:

1 1/2 cup AP flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1-2 tsp. ginger (use grated fresh ginger, if you've got it. I didn't, but I bet it would add a happy zing.)

About a cup of buttermilk, yogurt, or whatever liquidy dairy you've got lying around...see? Can't mess it up.

1 egg

zest and juice of 2 small meyer lemons, about 1/4 cup total

1/4 tsp. lemon extract (don't stress about this if you don't have any.)

1 tbsp. melted butter

1 tbsp. sugar

Mix the dry ingredients first in a large bowl, then add the wet ingredients and combine. I like to beat the egg into the measuring cup I use for the milk and whatever other wet ingredients I've got so I don't have to dirty another bowl. Add more liquid until it's the consistency you like. Thicker batter will make for a fluffier pancake, but make sure you use a lower heat to cook them otherwise they'll burn before the inside sets up. If the batter is runny, your pancakes will be thin but still delicious. Using a higher heat will keep them from spreading until they're huge, or if they do...you've basically got a crepe. 

Let the batter rest a few minutes and slowly heat up the skillet or griddle. You want to use medium-low heat or else the butter will quickly burn, so this isn't a step to be rushed. Take that time to clean up whatever mess you made while mixing the batter. Once the pan is quite hot, add a blob of butter or a bit of oil and set to fryin'! The cakes are ready to flip when you see lots of bubbles and the edges look solid. Be sure to add more butter after a few rounds. Or after every pancake, if you love dairy fat as much as I do.

Stack, slather with whatever toppings you like (these are actually delicious naked, but I poured berry sauce on top because it sounded extra yummy) and devour. 

Tonight? I'm not going to bed until my kitchen is clean. I hate to admit my mom was right on that one, but a fresh start to each day might be exactly what I need to keep the clouds at bay.