Pancakes!

I woke up on Saturday to the sound of birds chirping outside my bedroom window, the scent of fresh flowers by my bedside (heh, thanks awesome Bath & Bodyworks scent diffuser), and the sound of a Disney princess trill when I realised that I'm on holiday! It's the end of the year and I get to totally just chill!

So what does one do when one is faced with endless hours of doing absolutely nothing? Why, make pancakes, of course! Nothing fancy needed, just your basic pancakes that takes 5 minutes to whip up. This is one of those breakfast recipes that will have you sitting at the table in no more than half an hour from when you drag yourself out of bed.

Just Pancakes
Makes enough for 3 - 4 people (depending on how high you stack'em)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk 

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk in the egg and vanilla, then gradually whisk in the milk. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes while you heat up a large skillet or griddle.
Brush some butter over the surface of the heated pan and pour the batter out in 1/4 cup batches for each pancake. When the bubbles on the top have popped and left behind little holes in the pancake, flip it over and leave it for about 1 minute to just brown the other side.
Serve with butter, maple syrup and fresh fruits if you have any.
Enjoy!

Banana Pancakes

Well can't you see that it's just raining? 
There ain't no need to go outside... 

But there is a need to make some hot pancakes, cover them in maple syrup and proceed to eat them in your over-sized t-shirt while catching up to Comedy news on a Sunday morning! Whether it's with a loved one, on your own, or in my case, with a brood of siblings and both parents, homemade banana pancakes fresh off the pan is definitely one of my favourite ways to have quality time with myself over the weekends.

I've been searching for the Perfect Banana Pancake recipe all my life, have tried many - almost two recipes per week! - and now... I believe I may have found it. This is definitely the one I want to spend the rest of my life doing nothing with, folks, just... me, these pancakes, and morning TV...

We don't need to we got everything
We need right here
And everything we need is enough...

So happy Sunday, friends, hope you make a batch of these delicious pancakes, and don't do anything too taxing, you know? Just take the day for yourselves, sit around in your PJs until four, then shower and get into a fresh set of PJs.

These Banana Pancakes will take you all of 5 minutes to prepare, and then flip at your own pace.

Wake up slow...

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp butter, browned
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, then set aside
2. Pop the bananas, buttermilk, eggs, honey, browned butter and vanilla in the food processor and whizz until incorporated
3. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and you can be lazy like me and just beat with the paddle attachment for 3 to 5 minutes, or stir until combined. Let the batter sit for 5 to 10 minutes to ensure fluffiness! 
4. Heat your pan, and I like to use a smidge of Crisco shortening in between pancakes cos they produce slightly crunchy edges (I find). Then just scoop up with an ice-cream scoop and flip

Just so easy
When the whole world fits inside of your arms
Don't really need to pay attention to the alarm
Wake up slow, yeah, wake up slow
Much love,
Nabs

Pancakes!

I was surfing the interwebz last weekend and found this incredible picture of a recipe by Aleta. It may have been approaching midnight, but as soon as I saw it I wanted breakfast, and I wanted it then!

So it's damn good luck on my part that I have a 16-year-old brother and cousin in the house, cos they're always up for food no matter how odd the craving or combination. Thanks Mark and Isaac, love you smelly boys!

With a quick mental check of my pantry, I was assured that I had all the ingredients on hand. Yes, even blueberries (albeit from a tin, as opposed to Aleta's suggested frozen berries), which proves my point on grocery shopping: buy things you may not even know you need because they will come in handy sooner or later.

In this case, it was later rather than sooner. Considering I've had tin sitting in my pantry for a few months now!

I love how they turned out! I have absolutely NOOOO issue with having ultra blue pancakes. They're CRAZY awesome to look at while I ate them. My brother found them a bit shocking, though, and he gently nudged them away with his fork as he dug into the conservatively coloured pancakes. Coward.

The recipe is incredibly easy, and you should be able to whip it up in less than 10 minutes. Now, the hard part is flipping the pancakes... and watching them disappear out the corner of your eyes as the aforementioned 16-year-olds vanish them from the plate with surprising speed. Damn their metabolism!

Ze Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1 3/4 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (as always, triple this amount for extra nomness)
• Extra ingredients: 3/4 cup blueberries (pressed, with juice), 1 cup shredded cheddar, 3/4 sliced smashed bananas, etc

1. Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) in a bowl
2. Whisk the milk, butter, eggs and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the dry mix
3. Combine ingredients until integrated, then stir in your extra ingredients
4. Let the mix sit for 10-15 minutes or so while you heat your pan
5. Once the pan is hot (go on medium heat, please! Don't burn these beauties), drop 1/4 cup of batter for each cake. Flip when the bubbles stop and it's toasty on the bottom. Then take them off when they're equally toasty on the other side.

Aleta's tip is to use a "smidge" of shortening instead of butter to produce a slightly crispy pancake and she's right!

xx Nabs