banana pancakes on a saturday morning

Before I get into all that delicious food I ate on vacation, here's what I've been enjoying about being home: my kitchen, which may not always be perfectly organized, but has the ingredients and equipment I need in the perfect place. I missed making breakfast in my pyjamas to CBC radio. I missed late night popcorn recipe inventions. I missed cooking in my favourite pots, on my perfect gas stove that almost never burns anything. I missed preparing food with my favourite cat buddies, Pipi and Luna.

Vacations are great, but it's always nice to come home. Here's yet another pancake recipe (and if it's not what you're looking for, try these: banana walnut pancakes, raspberry lemon pancakes or raspberry flax pancakes).

simple banana pancakes - makes around 10 3-inch pancakes

These are adapted from Jamie Oliver's 2012 Recipe Yearbook, a magazine special I picked up in England. I changed the all purpose flour to whole wheat pastry flour, and substituted half of the milk for yogurt, to add some tang (or maybe I had just run out of milk - but it tasted great).

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt (or just another 1/2 cup milk)
oil for cooking

2 bananas
2 tbsp butter
splash of maple syrup, plus more to serve

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add egg, milk and yogurt, and stir until just combined (some lumps are ok). Heat oil in pan, and cook pancakes in batches. Meanwhile, melt butter in another pan. Add sliced bananas and a splash of maple syrup, and saute until golden. Serve pancakes  with butter and more maple syrup.

vegan version: substitute 1/2 mashed banana for the egg, and use 1 cup soy milk. Cook the bananas in grapeseed or canola oil.

PS. I'm in the middle of redesigning the blog, so expect some changes. I loved the last layout, but it wan't the easiest to navigate or read.

PPS. You know it's a good day when you still haven't left bed, but you've gotten through brunch, four episodes of Seinfeld, AND posted a recipe!