For the Love of Pancakes

I love making pancakes and perfected my version of them a long time ago. I make a number of variations based on the same basic recipe and am always experimenting. I am currently thinking of grinding my own oat flour in the food processor and creating an oatmeal-raisin pancake.

Homemade pancakes are so easy that I never used boxed mix. I've even made my own mix and stored it in a zip-lock for making while camping. Here's my basic recipe, based on an old Better Homes cookbook recipe. I always use half whole wheat flour, but you could use all unbleached all-purpose.

Whisk together the following dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbls granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Whisk together in a 2 cup measuring cup:
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbls canola oil

Stir the wet into the dry just until incorporated. It will be lumpy - do not overmix.
Let batter stand for 10-20 minutes while the griddle heats up. Spray the griddle or pan lightly with non-stick spray.
I turn the oven on to 200 degrees and put the pancakes in there as they are done to keep warm while I'm making them.
Always serve with real maple syrup!!! Fake maple syrup, which is just maple-flavored corn syrup is a crime.

Here are a few of my favorite variations. Really the options are endless and Henry loves them all!

Banana Pancakes:
Add one mashed overripe banana and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract. Great topped with toasted walnuts and slices of fresh banana.

Sweet Potato Pancakes:
Add 1/2 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato (I use leftovers, usually) and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Top with toasted pecans and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Blueberry Pancakes:
As the batter cooks on the first side, sprinkle with a small handful of fresh or frozen blueberries, then flip as usual. I like these with vanilla or lemon yogurt on them.

That's it. I love pancakes.

Let's Celebrate!

It's a big week here at Chez Nature, lots of reasons to celebrate... Tomorrow is Nathan and my third anniversary. Wow! That went fast! Henry is 18 months old on Thursday. Big Guy! And H's little sister is 33 weeks in utero and growing very big and very strong. In fact, last week's ultrasound estimated her to be 6 lbs 1 oz already. That's give or take 14 ounces, but that's still damn big considering there is 7 weeks until her due date. Will she be a ten pounder like her brother? Place you bets now!
Meanwhile, Henry's vocabulary continues to grow every day. He now will wander around the house saying "baseball" over and over. Other new words that I can discern include apple, socks and shoes. He knows all of his body parts and can point to them when prompted and is able to tell me what the cat, duck, cow and dog say. He's brilliant!
Nathan and I are loving the new Target Field/Twin's stadium and are trying to get to as many games a possible before Little Girl arrives. Here we are on opening day...

Here Comes Your Man

28 Weeks - Midwife Check-in

I met with my midwife today and everything seems to be going just dandy fine with the pregnancy. My blood pressure is good. My weight is right on target. And iron and glucose levels came back in the normal range. The baby was head down this morning and her heartbeat was good, although fast from the glucose test. My belly is measuring a bit big and we'll have another ultrasound in four weeks to try to determine just how big the baby will be. There is concern, obviously, since Henry was so big. I will see the midwife every two weeks now as we're officially in the third trimester!

Outside Time!

It rained for a week and then hit the 60's. All of our snow was gone in a jiffy. That meant our little adventurer quickly learned of puddle jumping, yard exploring and mud. Mmmm.... mud.

Henry likes his trike but needs to grow another inch or two before he'll be able to reach the pedals. At this point, he likes to be pushed and likes to walk behind it and push it himself even better!

All is well. Bring on Spring!

The whole family is finally healthy. Henry had another round with very high fever and rash last week that turned out to be Roseola. This resulted in me being out of the house for only 5 hours in 7 days. I had a mild melt down on Friday as a result, but am happy to report that everyone survived. In fact, Henry has slept 12-13 hours the past three nights allowing Nathan and I to also catch up. So far today has been a very normal day for us and, as lame as it sounds, normal is heavenly. We've been able to go outside the last two days to enjoy the nearly 40 degree temperatures and to learn all about splashing in mud puddles. Here to compare and contrast, two very different photos:

Last Week

This Week

23 Weeks Pregnant and the Stomach Flu

I feel like I might die. I was up all night last night and threw up three or four times (I lost count). Nathan had it the night before and Henry has had a snotty nose, cough and diarrhea for four days. We were in St. Cloud over the weekend for the annual trivia contest at KVSC radio. Nathan and I are both alumni and continue to volunteer every year. Problem is, college radio stations are virus incubators. The pregnant lady probably should have stayed home rather than risk getting sick at six months, but that sort of attitude would prevent me from ever leaving the house which I do rarely anyway. I cannot not sleep as every time I close my eyes they fly open again two minutes later because of the very real feeling that I might have to run to the bathroom again. In the last two hours I've managed to keep down about 10 ounces of water, so I may be turning the corner. Dehydration during pregnancy can be very, very bad for the baby if it lowers the amount of amniotic fluid she has to float around in, so I have to force myself to keep sipping. I seriously do not remember being sick like this since high school. Nathan is not out of the woods himself yet, but he is bravely taking care of Henry today so that I can stay in bed. My midwife says that since my immune system is compromised, illness like this can last twice as long as it does for the average non-pregnant person. And dehydration can land me on IV fluids. So, I will be trying to avoid that. Meanwhile, the baby is very active which is good. My stomach muscles all the way around her just plain hurt from the force of it all. I have only gained ten pounds this pregnancy, so I don't have much I can afford to lose either. All around this time around has been much harder than Henry's pregnancy. Thankfully, only 17 weeks to go!