My dad was away last week and I thought it would be nice for my mom and I to spend some time together, so we went to a well-known breakfast joint.  Why not have someone else do the cooking, clear the table and wash the dishes? A good idea, in theory. The actual breakfast and service left a lot to be desired. I ordered my favourite: blueberry pancakes, while my mom ordered an omelet. It took the kitchen nearly 25 minutes to complete the order and when the food arrived, it wasn’t good. You know how some people make jokes about burning toast. Well, the toast wasn’t burnt but it was rock hard, and my pancakes were cold and somehow hard on the edges and soft in the middle. I couldn’t figure that one out. If a breakfast place can’t make pancakes or toast properly, they’re in big trouble. The lady the restaurant is named after would not be happy to know one of her franchises wasn’t even able to make toast or pancakes properly. Oh c’est la vie, I guess. Oops, I might have said too much. In any case, I decided to make breakfast at my house this weekend. Except… I was out of white flour.

Yep. I went to the grocery and forgot to get white flour. D’oh! Well, I still had some whole wheat flour and my buttermilk. I was skeptical though, because I’ve had buckwheat pancakes before and I didn’t care for them at all.  To my surprise, the whole wheat flour worked just as well as the white stuff – they came out fluffy, moist and were served hot. I also had some leftover blueberries after making the muffins last week so I threw some in as well. I loved biting into the pancakes and getting little bursts of blueberry. Yummy! Let me tell you, the pancakes were quickly gobbled up. Are you surprised? Hey, I can make toast, so pancakes – no sweat!

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
(Yield: 12 – 14 pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries

Directions:

• Add the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine.
• In a separate bowl, add the buttermilk, milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Use a whisk to beat the mixture together.
• Lightly oil a griddle or a frying pan over medium heat.
• Pour the milk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until just combined. Fold in the blueberries. Do not over mix.
• Using a 1/3 cup, scoop the batter onto the heated surface. Flip the pancakes after a minute or two. The pancakes should be a golden brown.
• Serve while hot.

(Adapted from: Allrecipes)

Recipe notes: I used a few frying pans to quickly finish making the pancakes. But if you’re making a large quantity, you can pre-heat your oven to 200F, and put the pancakes on baking tray into the oven to keep them warm. You might need to cover the baking tray with some tin foil to keep the pancakes from drying out. Don’t mix the wet and the dry ingredients until you’re ready to make the pancakes.