From a little man with pan

Blog has been updated with new images!!!

My little brat has been through a fussy, non-eating patch lately. No matter what I offered him or how I offered him, it didnt seem to awaken his appetite. After going through all the tested routes -  from ignoring to forcing, not giving anything for eating to bribing, I finally consulted the all-knowing Nano, his grandmother, who after raising five children from pampers till partner-selecting, and then helping all five of us in our respective roles of parenthood, is certainly the best advisor the entire family loves to rely on in situations like these. And there she has it again!

She has just made me realise that its basically me who needs to start accepting the fact that my baby is actually no longer a baby. The naughty little man is going through a phase where he wants to show his mom that he too has got some powers now -  power to refuse things, power to do things on his own, and that he needs a bit more freedom!

So, I am trying to revise my feeding methods now by giving him more liberty to do few things on his own. Yesterday, I let him peel the egg shells and the look on his face after discovering what was inside made me literally smile to ears. He has been helping me with setting the table for quite some time now but helping mom in loading the dishwasher is a recent addition to the "allowed" items, thus, a great motivation to finish the food on the plate without having the parents to struggle over.

The new therapeutic approach is working pretty fine for us and while my little prince is joyfully taking a well-deserved nap after helping his mom in mixing the batter for these beautiful pancakes today (by the way, we both enjoyed them in lunch), you may like to have a look at the recipe that Ive found lately on Coleen´s Recipes. She has named them the "Best Pancakes", and to be very honest, after having them made a couple of times during the last two weeks, I must confess, she had been veryyyyyyy accurate in her claim. These are indeed the fluffiest pancakes Ive made to date. Just ignore the images Im inserting in here - these are not as tall as Coleens for the reason that my darling helper had just overmixed the batter this time but if you follow the recipe PRECISELY and your leavening agents (baking powder, baking soda) are fresh, they DO puff up as much as hers ;) Update: check the new images!

Tip: Do check out this useful video on "how to cook pancakes" in case you no experience of making pancakes before!

AND HERE ARE THE ONES IVE MADE THIS MORNING:)

 


The Best Pancakes 
The recipe makes only 8 small pancakes but you can easily double or even triple it to feed a bigger crowd.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk
2 tbs white vinegar (5 % acidity)
1 cup plain flour
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I took 1/4 tsp)
1 egg (M)
2 tbs melted butter
1 tsp vanilla / few drops of vanilla essence

First make the soured milk by combining the milk with vinegar, and set aside for 10 minutes.

Sieve together flour and the baking agents. Add in sugar, salt and mix with a spoon.

 

 
Whisk together the melted butter, egg, vanilla and the soured milk in a seperate bowl.
Tip: I have noticed that the thicker your batter is, the taller and fluffier your pancakes will turn out in the end.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add in the liquid mixture.

Stir until MOST of the lumps have dissolved but DO NOT OVERMIX. Few lumps are GOOD. ( In case youre also making it with the young-ones around, just forget about this - their expertise in overmixing batters wont allow them to stop!).

This is the over-mixed version produced by my little helper

Update: this is how it should actually look like...

The batter will have a thick consistency and that is exactly how you want it to be! Put aside for 10 minutes. You will see bubbles appearing on the top. The leavening agents are actually working together with the soured milk and producing carbon dioxide gas which will then be trapped in the pancakes while cooking, making them rise to heights of fluffiness. Yes, my dears, that exactly is the science behind the tall, airy, fluffy pancakes that make you drool like a hungry puppy! Tip: DO NOT STIR AT THIS STAGE!

Heat and butter a frying pan (as flat and even as possible) and place about 1/4 cups batter on it. Tip: Use the back side of the spoon to spread the mixture towards the edges or just leave as it is!

Cook until you see bubbles appearing on the top. Tip:You may also like to add fruits to the pancakes while still cooking, Ive added frozen berries. Carefully flip with a large spatula and cook further until golden brown.

Serve warm with butter, honey, maple syrup, powdered sugar-cinnamon blend or any fruit compote of your choice.

Results of an overmixed batter

The real tower

Weekend is around the corner, if you havent already planned making the ultimate Eggs on Rösti, this one is another great breakfast idea you might like to try. Look at the cakey texture people, arent they making you feel like digging in right away?????

Love