Jim Stayed Home from Work Today So I Made Him Breakfast

He stayed home today for no reason other than not wanting to go to work and to keep me semi-company as I work at home today. We see a lot less of each other lately, now that I work nights and somehow ended up with three jobs (more on that in a later post, perhaps). He mentioned late last week that he was contemplating a three day weekend; I taunted him all weekend that he would end up staying home because “the seed” had been planted in his head (speaking for myself, if I even consider calling in “sick”, that’s usually the end of it). I wanted to celebrate this three-day weekend by making him a nice breakfast before I began my work for the day (and to make up for basically challenging him to stay home—and winning). Also, I had buttermilk and turkey sausage that I wanted to use up…and a very ripe banana that I could toss in as well. So, when he came downstairs this morning I offered to make him buttermilk pancakes and maple turkey sausage. I got no arguments.

As I raided the cabinets for ingredients, the original “buttermilk pancakes” became whole-wheat banana pecan buttermilk pancakes. The use of whole wheat is pretty predictable for me; I’ll only use AP flour when it’s completely vital to the texture of the final product, when I’m desperate because I ran out of whole-wheat flour, or when I’m baking for a crowd who may not delight in the more healthful sweets that I enjoy the most. In my whole-wheat baking experience, I’ve found that whole-wheat pastry flour has a fine enough texture that it can be totally substituted for AP flour without worry in almost any application. Not so for regular stone ground whole wheat flour, however, which is usually made from hard red winter wheat rather than the white winter wheat that the WW pastry flour is made from (to my understanding, from my as-yet limited internet research and general reading). So, in creating the flour mixture for these pancakes I opted for two-thirds WW pastry flour and one-third stone ground whole wheat flour; I wanted the pancakes to have the hearty flavor of whole wheat but not the leaden texture that would likely result from the use of all stone ground WW flour.

Breakfast came together very quickly—mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients separately, combine and then begin pancake prep while the sausages cook in a skillet. Unfortunately, I do not own a griddle (one thing on the not-so-short list of kitchen items I’d love to obtain). So, the pancakes were cooked in pairs in my 10-inch omelet pan; the early finishers sat on a stoneware plate in a 200-degree oven until pancake cooking was complete.

I nibbled on a pancake with my usual custard cup of mango on the side, while Jim enjoyed a heaping plate of pancakes, coated generously in maple syrup (see previous posts for mentions of his maple-syrup-lust) and maple turkey sausage on the side. After receiving the verdict on my pancake experiment (good reviews, that’s a relief), I trudged downstairs to begin my work for the day and left him to enjoy the morning paper while he finished his breakfast. As I worked, I eventually heard the pleasant sound of the pans being washed in the sink. Thanks for cleaning up, babe:)

Whole Wheat Banana Pecan Pancakes
1 cup of whole-wheat pastry flour
½ cup of stone ground whole wheat flour
1 ½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
2 ½ T granulated sugar
½ t ground cinnamon
grated fresh nutmeg to taste
1 egg
1 egg white
1 ½ c non-fat buttermilk
1 T vanilla extract
1 very ripe banana, cut into small pieces
¼ chopped pecans

Mix the dry ingredients, up to the nutmeg in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the banana and pecans. If you’re fortunate enough to have a griddle, use it; otherwise, use a poor-man’s griddle like I did—the largest, flattest pan you own. Ladle about ½ to ¾ of a cup of batter at a time, cooking until they appear set around the edges and bubbles begin to emerge at the top. Flip and finish cooking. Keep the first batches warm in a low oven (200 degrees) until ready to eat. Dress them (or not, as I did) as you wish for serving.