Buckwheat Pancakes- You just gotta try these!

I don't usually contribute much in these food blogs that Max writes, except of course in pictures, usually with my mouth open and a fork in my hand. But this one deserves to be commented on since this is a really great recipe and better yet, it is very simple. Max made this somewhat by accident, but I'll let her tell you about that. Try them, you will like them.

Not sure now where the original thought "I think maybe we'll try Buckwheat pancakes" came from- but I'm always looking for new ideas for our Saturday "breakfast at home". So I went on line and found a recipe and went shopping- for Buckwheat Flour- And I had trouble finding it- But finally stumbled on what I thought must be it- only thing with buckwheat in the title- and it was near flours and grains- So brought it home- and we loved them! Absolutely LOVED THEM! They were marvelous! So we had them often enough that I almost ran out of the buckwheat- so went back to the store for more- But as I'm a slow learner I stumbled around again to find the buckwheat flour. Brought it home and we made up a batch- And HATED THEM! How could this be? Well we looked at the package- and sure enough it was buckwheat "FLOUR". And then I compared to the label on the tiny dab left in the package from prior- and I hadn't been using flour at all- but rather "CEREAL" -so rather than "buckwheat flour"- I had been using "creamy buckwheat hot cereal". Well I don't care a bit what all the folks out there making buckwheat pancakes are using- but I can tell them- they're making a big, big, big mistake. Because if they'd just make one tiny little switch to cereal instead of flour theirs would be as good as ours!

So when you try this absolutely wonderful recipe- make sure you get the cereal- not the flour- and you're going to love it. Or maybe instead you'll just come to visit us- And we'll make them for you the RIGHT WAY- OUR WAY OF COURSE! (I'll put the recipe at the end)

Ingredients: Other than the buckwheat cereal it is the usual pancake "stuff", buttermilk, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, egg, sugar...

My job in this process is cooking these pancakes. As with any other pancakes, get the griddle hot enough that drops of water "dance" on the surface when sprinkled on. Let them cook until you see bubbles coming up through the top and then turn them once and cook until brown on both sides.

As most of you who know Max know that she is a kitchen gadget collector. We have all kinds of kitchen gadgets, and I must admit that most do get used. But the one pictured below is my absolute favorite. What could be better in the fall than an apple peeler, corer, and spiral slicer? It is one item that I would readily replace if this one ever broke.

Well summer is over- and gone are strawberries and blueberries and raspberries and blackberries and plums and peaches and nectarines. The days of abundance are over. We are squarely looking winter in the horizon. And Don is in heaven- IT IS APPLE SEASON. And Don can do without all those summer fruits as long as he has his apples. So we're doing all things apple. (By the way- I have discovered that all I need to make Don REALLY, REALLY, REALLY happy with a recipe- is mix apples with a little cinnamon and a little butter and a little maple syrup)



Apple Topping:

2 peeled, cored, sliced apples

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp maple syrup (use the REAL stuff and grade b is best)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardomon

Soften apples in non stick skillet on low heat while you make the pancakes



One final comment from me. One of the things that I have always considered odd about Max's eating habits is her insistence on eating pancakes with fried eggs on top. Call it an aberration of pigs in a blanket - more like chickens on top of the sheets. Anyway, she definitely inherited this from her dad and insists that whenever I make pancakes, she gets fried eggs to put on top. I'm more of a purist when it comes to pancakes. They can be topped with a little butter and some maple syrup and now with Max's new recipe, topped with these wonderful apples sauteed in maple syrup and cinnamon. I love eggs- and just quite ever work up to "loving" a pancake if there isn't a fried egg close by. I rather like a "little of everything" on my plate!

BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES FOR TWO:
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) creamy buckwheat hot cereal
2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Directions:
1.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
2.
In another bowl, mix together white flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Pour the dry ingredients into the egg-mixture. Stir until the two mixtures are just incorporated.
3.
Heat a griddle or large frying pan to medium-hot, and place 1 tablespoon of butter, margarine or oil into it. Let the butter melt before spooning the batter into the frying pan, form 4 inch pancakes out of the batter. Once bubbles form on the top of the pancakes, flip them over, and cook them on the other side for about 3 minutes. Continue with this process until all of the batter has been made into pancakes.