"I'll make you banana pancakes..."

Posted by Bonita

Can’t you see that it’s just raining

Ain’t no need to go outside...

But baby, you hardly even notice

When I try to show you this

Song is meant to keep ya

From doing what your supposed to

Like waking up too early

Maybe we can sleep in

I’ll make you banana pancakes

Pretend like its the weekend now

And we could pretend it all the time

Can’t you see that it’s just raining

Ain’t no need to go outside

-- “Banana Pancakes”, In Between Dreams, Jack Johnson

Indeed, I did wake up yesterday morning to the gentle pitter-patter music of rain. It was one of those lazy Sundays, where you just wanted to spend the whole morning in bed. But stomachs also must be fed, and Sundays at my house usually mean brunch. And what better thing to serve on a lazy Sunday morning than the ultimate comfort food: pancakes.

My family has been using the same pancake recipe ever since I can remember. Not once have we ever purchased a box of pancake mix, our pancakes were always made from scratch. I remember how I used to watch my dad whip a batch of these pancakes on the weekend, our hand mixer first whipping up the egg whites and then mixing the yolk mixture into a batter. I would then get the job of folding the egg whites into the batter.

I’ve now taken over the duties of making pancakes when I’m at home, and after years of making these pancakes, I’ve make adjustments of my own to the recipe. What’s so great is that this recipe is a great starting point: you can go anywhere with this and add anything to it. I love to add whatever fresh fruits I have around the house or that’s in season. Personal favourites are bananas, blueberries and apples. My friend Nicole is a huge fan of my apple cinnamon pancakes, whereas I love bananas in mine. Served with a drizzle of real maple syrup, these pancakes definitely won’t last very long.



I also picked up some prosciutto Saturday, and since I had some beautiful ripe pears, I decided to wrap pear slices with the prosciutto, a variaton on the classic prosciutto con melone. The sweet, juicy pear slices definitely went very nicely with the saltiness of the prosciutto.



Dinner was a simple and easy home-cooked meal. I’ve been having a craving for curry lately, and since my favourite kind of curry is Japanese, we decided to serve the curry with Japanese fried pork chops, tonkatsu. The difference with Japanese curry from other curries like Thai or Indian is that it is milder and on the sweeter note. It comes in blocks rather than a paste. You simply throw as many blocks of curry as you want into your pot and add water and your vegetables (and/or meat) and cook until the vegetables are done. Tastes delicious served with rice or crusty bread to soak up all the curry sauce. Coconut milk in curry is a Thai thing, but I do like to add a bit of coconut milk to my Japanese curry to give it a bit more flavour and creaminess to it. I have to say, dinner was simply delicious last night. Craving definitely satisfied!!!

Basic Pancake Recipe
Makes about 8 to 10

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 3 eggs, separated
• A few drops vanilla extract
• A drizzle of vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

1. In one bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, foamy peaks form. Put aside.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with the vanilla and oil. Add in milk. Blend in flour and baking powder until well-incorporated.
3. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
4. Heat some oil in a heavy-bottom pan over medium heat. Pour some batter into the center of the pan, spreading it around a little if the batter if too thick. Cook until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.
5. Serve warm, with a dollop of butter, maple syrup and fresh fruit.

N.B. Add fresh, seasonal fruits, chopped nuts or chocolate chips to the basic pancake batter mix. I usually add my fruit at the end, mixing in the diced apples before I fold in my egg whites (and adding the cinnamon along with the flour and baking powder). For blueberries, I just place them on top the pancakes right after I've poured them into the hot pan, whereas I mash my bananas and add them into the batter mix before I add my milk.