Thursday, December 30, 2010

Buttermilk Pancakes and a Special Hello!


Winter break from school is all about lazy mornings, no alarms and leisurely home-cooked breakfasts of scones, waffles or plain ole buttermilk pancakes.   Liv always loves white flour pancakes, but, preferring to fill her with more nutritious whole grains,  I don't make them for her all that often.  

Golden Flax Meal is my secret weapon here, nearly invisible in the pancakes and having no effect on the texture yet adding a touch of whole grain nutrition.  Light and fluffy with that nice buttermilk tang, these pancakes were a perfect start to our special day!

Yesterday was Mom's birthday, and to celebrate we had planned to take advantage of my husband's layover in San Diego to head to Buster's Beach House in Seaport Village.  Weather though, waved it's magic wand, blowing apart the flight schedules for those planes in the East.  Hence, my husband spent and extra day in Honolulu (can I tell you how jealous I was??) bringing us to San Diego's Lindbergh field a day later along with our own blustery, rainy day.


For years we have sat at the end of the runway watching endless flights arrive and depart as we wait for Daddy's plane.  Once we even got a full tour of the cockpit with my then 5 year old son popping himself into the Captain's seat, grabbing the control and exclaiming, "To Infinity and Beyond!" at the top of his little lungs.

Today brought another special treat for Mom's birthday.  With the weather blustery and rainy, many of the planes "waggled" back and forth as they popped below the cloud cover.  I kept telling Mom that they were "waving" at her for her as a birthday treat!  She had fun watching the little wiggles and we giggled as we teased that they were all for her.  Finally we saw the "Brown Tail"  pop through the clouds and tracking his progress we saw more of the blustery wiggles and then... the immense 767 dipped to the right and back to the left with a full Happy Birthday wave!  

Both Mom and Liv shrieked with glee as my Dad and I smiled.  My husband had planned this a few days ago and I knew that he wouldn't do it unless it was completely safe (he's been flying for 25 years from little fighter-type jets to military cargo planes, then on to Boeing 767's), but I can't even begin to explain the excitement bursting in my heart as I saw that jet dip!  As luck would have it the other pilot's wife was there watching our special treat as well.


Maybe not quite as exciting as our special 767 hello, our golden Buttermilk Pancakes (with the secret golden flax meal!) were a perfect start to our morning and the left-overs warmed beautifully after a few seconds in the microwave to provide a late evening snack.





Buttermilk Pancakes with Flax
Kim Kelly - Liv Life 

3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 Tbs oil
3/4 cup All-Purpose flour
3 Tbs ground golden flax meal (or wheat germ)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In a medium bowl mix together the buttermilk, milk, egg and oil.  Whisk to beat the egg and combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, flax, salt and baking soda.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until incorporated.

Heat a non stick griddle or skillet over medium high heat.  Lightly butter the surface and ladle 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle.

Cook pancake until bubbles begin to pop on the top.  Flip and cook for a minute or so more until bottoms are browned.

Serve warm with syrup or any of your favorite pancake toppings.  Our favorites are bananas, raisins and walnuts!

Edited 1/3/11 - I had a comment on another site that a reader's pancakes turned out "runny".  I have used this recipe for years without issue, however, temperature and weather conditions may make more flour needed.  If you feel that your batter is too runny, add flour a few tablespoons at a time until you achieve a good pancake batter consistency. 
Enjoy!


Captain Liv!  (2001)

28 comments:

  1. What a special day! Liv is beautiful. I love the looks of that stack of pancakes. Great pictures.

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  2. What a cutie she was (and still is). My kids love pancakes, too. I like the idea of the flax meal. I will have to see if I can sneak it in.

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  3. Your pancakes look so perfect with the syrup dripping down the plate. It was so cool that your Mom got a "special birthday wave."

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  4. A very fun day for your mom. That first pancake photo is just perfect--it belongs in a magazine. I want a big plate right now. ;-)

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  5. There's nothing better for breakfast than pancakes (in my opinion, anyway)... and so cool that your husband did that special trick for you guys!

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  6. What a treat this was! Smiles all around.

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  7. Oooh those pancakes look AMAZING. I love the idea of adding flax to the pancakes cause I love it! The photo of the pancakes looks SO perfect, just gorgeous :)

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  8. My previous comment got lost...I don't know what happened...but i just wanted to say happy birthday to your mom! Loving the pancakes with a little secret!

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  9. That's so sweet of your hubs! A little dip just for y'all. Very flyboy cool.
    Those pancakes look awesome. Can't even tell there's healthy hidden in there.
    And your kids are just precious.

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  10. Happy Birthday to your Mom :o) It sounds like it was a memorable day for sure! Love the pancake recipe, I will try it out real soon for my own crew :o)

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  11. What your husband did was great . This stack of pancakes is simply irresistible!

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  12. WHat a cutie and the pancakes arn't bad either.

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  13. Such sweetness - the day, the pancakes, the cute. Vacation days were made for this.

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  14. The pancakes look really good - I am going to copy you and put some wheat germ in the batter the next time that I make my pancakes!

    Those photos are adorable! I ran into the cockpit, too when I was little ...I still remember it...I thought I was flying through the "heavens" :)

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  15. How fun! Your Mom must of been thrilled! I love the idea of sneaking in the flax meal - it's been too long since I had a stack of pancakes like this! They look divine.

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  16. Those pancakes look very decadent. Now that's a way to wave hello.

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  17. Love the birthday wave! We keep finding so many things in common. Did I ever tell you that Larry used to fly? Not commercial, just private. Gave it up a few years ago due to the expense for renting planes here.

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  18. I love pancakes! And with a huge stack like this, I think this would be the best way to celebrate the first morning of the New Year!

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  19. Gorgeous stack of pancakes! Liv is just precious in that photo! What a special day. I wish you a wonderful new year! Happy New Year:)

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  20. So sweet! Those pancakes look and sound amazing!

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  21. Buttermilk pancakes are a classic that I never tire of. Your twist makes good sense and if it can fool a pancake lover I will definitely try it!

    Happy New Year!

    Jason

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  22. pancakes looks wonderful
    lovely pictures
    happy new year to you and family

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  23. Awwww sweet photos!!!! Happy birthday to yur mom!!! OMG those panakes looks perfect. Nice and fluffy- amazing shot of the syrup mmmmm. want some please.

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  24. Those pancakes look tasty! It was nice to see your SD pics. I used to live in Hillcrest and remember watching many a place take off.

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  25. This pancake photo is picture perfect! The flax adds a nice healthy touch.

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  26. Oh my goodness those pancakes look to die for!! Yummy!! Happy birthday to your mom! I mIght have to make those tomorrow morning for my birthday! :)

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  27. Those pancakes look DELICIOUS!
    Really lovely food photography. . .in your previous posts as well!

    I'm hungry now :P

    [B]x

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  28. Hi Kim! I just wanted to let you know that we made these pancakes for breakfast this morning and they were delicious! I love the healthy addition of the flax (or in my case the wheat germ becauce that is what I had on hand). My little girls devoured them! Thanks for a great recipe! Hope you have a wonderful weekend, this weather is fantastic!

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