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.