Busy Mom Tip #8: Don't Let Delays Throw You

On weekends, one of our family's favourite things is a leisurely hot breakfast, and pancakes often play a key role. On Saturday, my husband and I agreed that Sunday morning should be a pancake morning. But then Saturday night happened. With Baby G waking up screaming every hour on the hour from 2AM to 8AM (teething? cold? earache? who knows) and D also waking in the middle of the night, I was in no shape to leap out of bed and start breakfast.

Hubbie quietly accepted his lot, entertaining the boys and serving them a basic breakfast (because every parent knows you can't delay feeding the kids) while I tried to catch up on sleep. He sadly let his visions of pancakes, bacon and eggs slip away into disappointment (hard to pull off while juggling two sleep-deprived kids). When I did finally surface, my first thought was, I still want my hot breakfast! So I made it for lunch.

As we sipped our noon coffees and tucked into buttermilk pancakes, bacon and basted eggs, we basked in the well-being that can be derived from a much-anticipated comfort meal. Hubbie said, "Suddenly, the crazy morning doesn't feel all that bad." Ahhhh.

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes (adapted from The Rustic Table)

This recipe is our absolute favourite pancake recipe—we often add bananas and nuts to them, but yesterday, we simply made them 'plain'.

1 large egg
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
2 T. butter, melted
1/4 t. vanilla
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt

Preheat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet (we use a cast-iron griddle made for our gas range). Grease with oil. Beat egg in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Make a well in the centre and pour wet ingredients into dry. Stir lightly and quickly to incorporate. Lumps are okay.

Spoon batter onto the griddle, spacing pancakes well apart. I use a smallish serving spoon and make three-inch pancakes, fitting eight at a time on the griddle. Turn pancakes when the surface bubbles and the bubbles around the edges don't close over with batter. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

For banana pancakes, add one small mashed banana and a handful of chopped nuts to the batter.