Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Pancakes and Fraggle Rock

What more can a gal ask for than to wake up to a steaming stack o' hot-cakes on her birthday?

Not much. Unless, of course, they happen to be Lemon-Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes. That makes for an extremely joyous birthday girl.

It's true, friends. I turned 27 yesterday. I'm inching my way closer to 30 every day, and yet I'm still commonly mistaken for a high school student (Try as I might, even my "grown-up" clothes don't seem to cue people that I was born in the era of Fraggle Rock and Cabbage Patch kids....not the Jonas Brothers and iCarly.).

I wear my age badge with pride, and delight in the fact I typically go to bed before 11:00pm, prefer NPR to pop radio, and enjoy a good Sunday morning crossword puzzle with my husband.

My student intern recently told me that I was born "old." I laughed heartily. And then smugly smiled to myself...I love being an adult, and I have no doubt that I was genetically designed to wake up at 6:00am.

But let's get to the good stuff. You didn't tune in to hear me rave about my aging pride. You're here for those hotcakes. Adam made a steaming good stack of Lemon-Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes for my birthday breakfast, and they certainly got my day off on the right foot. As you know, my pancake preference is loaded up with lots of mix-ins, so these babies were weighty with blueberries, chopped walnuts, and a healthy dose of flaxseed. Adam noted that the batter was a bit too liquidy for him, so he plans on reducing the amount next time around.

So let's raise our glasses to the beauty of aging. And cheers to all those other 1980s babies out there-- Smurfs, splatter paint, and teased bangs define who we are today.

Lemon-Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes
(adapted from a recipe in Veganomicon Cookbook)

I love lemon-blueberry combos. These two fruits were designed to go together, and when you throw in some course-grain cornmeal, you're truly in breakfast paradise.

Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. flaxseed
  • 2 TBSP nonfat vanilla yogurt
  • 1 - 1/4 cups milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 TBSP maple syrup
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1 cup of blueberries
  • Blueberry Sauce for topping
Directions:
1) Preheat a griddle to 350 degrees and prepare with cooking spray.

2) Mix dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients) together in a large bowl. Gently stir in the remaining ingredients, through the lemon zest. Fold in walnuts and blueberries.

3) Use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook until browned on the bottom and bubbles form on the top, about 4 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until the bottom is browned. Serve with blueberry sauce.




13 comments:

  1. I've never had cornmeal in pancakes -- it sounds so good!

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  2. Happy birthday! I'm also mistaken as a high school student, a blessing in disguise, now that I'm inching towards 30 myself!

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  3. Happy birthday Kylie! These look wonderful. I completely understand looking young (I still get carded at R-rated movies) but feeling old at heart (I'm an NPR junkie as well). Thanks for all the great recipes!

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  4. Happy Bday!!
    I made pancakes this morning too, but mine were from Bisquick. I added chocolate chips for the hubby. He gobbled them up quick!

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  5. yum -- these pancakes looks perfect for a birthday breakfast. I hope you enjoy your day!
    I'm 27, too (and a half!) and feel torn between being "almost" 30 and people mistaking me for being a teenager. Someone not even a month ago said to me at the market "wow, your parents must love that you eat so healthfully" and then went on to ask how I ate at school. High School? I was confused as to what they were talking about. They looked 50ish to me, so not 95 and out of the loop or anything. But, I'll take it while I can -- if when I'm 50, someone thinks I'm 40, I'm sure I'll smile a bit more about it. :)

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  6. Guess what? We're birthday twins!! (though I'm 29..eek) I had a hunch we might be. :) Pancakes and Fraggle Rock seems like the perfect start to a birthday! I had a blueberry muffin, so that's not too far off. :) Hope you're having a great day!

    p.s. I'm so behind with blogs and will catch up with yours soon!

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  7. I <3 Fraggle Rock!

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  8. Those cornmeal cakes just look to die for! Thanks for sharing that wonderful recipe (and idea!) with us!

    P.S. Happy Birthday, obviously :) I hope it was The Best.

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  9. mmmm delish! happy birthday, kylie!

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  10. OH My gosh.. I feel so... wow, I have almost 8 years ahead of you... Happy Birthday to you my friend!!!

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  11. Happy Birthday Kylie! I was born old too---and I'm totally happy that way :)
    I teach college courses...and I always get mistaken for a student---people/staff are always rude to me when they see me doing things like going in the faculty parking lot or doing faculty/staff things...I'm super nice when I fill them in though. It's not their fault, and if I'm nice maybe they'll think twice in the future!

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  12. happy birthday! looks like the perfect bday breakfast!

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  13. One of the best pancakes I've ever eaten had cornmeal in it. So good! Happy birthday :)

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