pancakesHere on the west coast this weekend we lost a lot of the sunshine that had been blazing for the last couple of weeks. It’s known to rain a lot in Vancouver, sometimes even in June, so turning on my air conditioning for the first time this year was exciting. After the winter we’ve had, it’s been a long time coming.

But sun or no sun, it was a lovely weekend, spent with family and friends, and partaking in a few of my favorite pastimes–mainly reading, writing, and of course, cooking. I started Saturday morning off with these blueberry buttermilk pancakes. Rarely does a day go by when I don’t have cereal for breakfast. On the weekend I may treat myself to bacon and eggs, eaten with toasted homemade bread and a couple of vine-ripened tomatoes. I’m all for self-indulgence, but pancakes for one seems silly when I only eat one or two.

If I’m going to eat pancakes, it’s going to be with my niece. Nikka is three and loves blueberry pancakes. When I visit her house, I like to make us some for breakfast. We get some alone time while her parents catch up on much-needed sleep.

This weekend was a really special one for Nikka. She participated in the Children’s Miracle weekend to raise money for BC’s Children Hospital. She also won the t-shirt design contest; her design was printed on 5,000 t-shirts that were worn by children at the event!  All in all, over 15 million dollars were raised to help children with cancer.

Here is that fabulous t-shirt!

childrun 

Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t she brilliant? A Picasso in the making! She’s three!

Here we are on my birthday when she was a wee bit younger. Isn’t she unbelievably cute?

NikkaAuntie

I was thinking about Nikka when I made these pancakes on Saturday. I did only eat a couple and froze the rest. Maybe she’ll come to her aunt’s house one day soon and we can have blueberry pancakes for breakfast together again.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything”. Makes 4-6 servings.

pancakestack

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

1 cup frozen blueberries

 Directions:

1) Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat while making the batter.

2) Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Coat the blueberries with some of the flour mixture so they don’t turn the batter blue when you add them. Beat the eggs into the milk and then stir in the melted butter.

3) Gently stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. The flour should be moistened but not over mixed and you may have some lumps. If the batter is too thick, add a bit of milk. Fold in the blueberries.

4) For cooking, use a bit more butter or a neutral oil to prevent the pancakes from sticking. Ladle batter onto the griddle or skillet to form the size of pancakes desired. Adjust the heat if necessary.

5) Brown the bottom of the pancakes for 2-4 minutes. Flip when bubbles appear in the center of the pancake and the bottoms are golden. Cook the second side until also well-browned, a couple of more minutes. Pancakes should be served immediately but can be kept warming in a 200F oven until you finish making the whole batch.