bonus shot: saturday morning pancakes

I have a confession: until very recently, I never liked pancakes. I found the taste cloying, and far too sweet for my liking. But a few years ago, I learned of the tradition of making pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, and never wanting to be left out, I decided to try to make some in the hope that homemade pancakes might taste a bit different from the restaurant-made ones I'd tried over the years. So I blasted an e-mail to several coworkers, asking them for their best pancake recipe, and one of them happily obliged.

I love this recipe, because it's so easy to make, and I find that the result isn't too sweet. When I first made these pancakes, we were still living in Trinidad, where maple syrup is impossible to come by -- so instead, we used honey as our "syrup." The meal was a total hit, and since then, every Saturday morning, almost without exception, we've had pancakes with honey for breakfast.

Since we do have our pancakes a bit differently than most people have theirs, I thought I'd share my recipe. Besides, it turns out Shrove Tuesday this year is in just a little over a week -- so I figure you might as well be prepared, if you're so inclined.

PANCAKES WITH HONEY

(I use all organic versions of the following):

3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar (granulated sugar works just as well)
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
honey

1. Hand-mix all the ingredients (except for the honey) together, to make a creamy batter. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2. In a large, hefty nonstick frying pan, melt a small pat of butter eveningly around the surface on a medium heat.

3. Slowly pour a spoonful of batter into the heated frying pan -- I use a small gravy ladle as a measure. Then let the batter brown on one side, before using a large spatula to flip the pancake to brown the other side. In my experience, getting this just right is a matter of trial and error -- some people say that you should see bubbles on the batter, but I find that only happens at a VERY particular heat. Just keep an eye on it, and test by sliding the spatula under the batter to see if it comes up easily. The whole process shouldn't take much more than a minute or two.

4. Once cooked, put on a plate, and add honey to taste.  Keep repeating step 3 and 4 until all the batter is gone.  In our house, the batter makes about 12 pancakes.

5.  Devour!