Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Pancakes!

Are you aware that today is a holiday? A day for joyous celebration of ... blueberry pancakes! That's right, its National Blueberry Pancake Day, at least here in the US. I don't know if you been given the day off from work, or how you plan to mark this august occasion, but me? I'm making pancakes ... and they won't contain blueberries.

Its not simply that I'm a contrarian, although I am, more than that ... its January! I woke up to a snow and ice covered world, there's not a local blueberry in sight, and really I just don't understand why we're celebrating out of season?? Blueberry Pancake Day should be celebrated in July or August, not the dead of winter. In the dead of winter I want something hearty, something to chase the chill away. I want oat and nut pancakes!

In the spirit of the day, I will offer a pancake recipe and, if you're feeling celebratory, go ahead and throw a handful of blueberries into the mix. Personally, I never want fruit in my pancakes, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Oat and Nut Pancakes:
  • 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pancake mix
  • 1 cup of rolled oats, such as Quaker
  • 1/3 cup of chopped nuts, I used a mix of walnuts and pecans
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups of milk*
  • 1/2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing to blend and let stand for 10 minutes.

Cook the pancakes in a large, lightly greased, non-stick skillet until they begin to bubble and the bottoms have browned. Flip and continue cooking until browned on the other side and cooked throughout. Serve and enjoy!

As written, this recipe will yield 12 - 14 pancakes, depending on size. You can freeze the extras for later use.

* I used 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk and one cup of non-fat milk ... because I've got a ton of soy milk in the fridge.

You'll note that this recipe makes use of boxed pancake mix. For those more enterprising, feel free to make your own whole wheat batter and add the oats and nuts accordingly. Juliet of Yummy, Low Calorie Diet Food featured a recipe for whole wheat pancakes last month that would fit the bill nicely.

Either way you can't go wrong. These pancakes are wholesome, filling and altogether delicious - even without the blueberries. In case you're wondering, tomorrow is National Corn Chip day ... a holiday from which I will likely abstain. You can find a list of our other wacky holiday's here, scroll down to find the food related celebrations ... and ready your popcorn popper for Friday.

So, what's your favorite kind of pancake? Hungry Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The pancake recipe sounds delish, Diva. A great wintery-day meal!

I like chopped apples in my pancakes, so I may try adding some to your oat recipe.

Anonymous said...

First pie day and now blueberry pancake day?!?!? You Americans have it all!

http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/change-family-day-to-pie-day/

The Diva on a Diet said...

Jeanie, I think apples would be great in the recipe. Good idea!

Dana, yep, its just one big party this month! Thanks for the link too. :)

Anonymous said...

Good cold weather breakfast! Have you ever dumped in a bit of wheat germ? Also nice and healthy. Hopefully you can add some blueberries sooner than later.

Anonymous said...

Yum, I adore all variety of pancakes. My husband has been making some really awesome chocolate chip pancakes for me lately. I also like to make "Iowa Corn Pancakes" from time to time.

Anonymous said...

Diva Dad often makes a type of Scandanavian pancake , called plats on snowy days. They are small, about 3" across. He even has a special pan for cooking the plats. The Diva Dad was planning on doing a guest column on making plats. If the carbocops don't protest. He enjoys his plats with applesauce.
Have you readers noticed how the male guys are OK with breakfast type foods?

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed reading the wacky holidays. The next family birthday on Feb. 12 will be celebrating plum pudding day! Maybe the Diva can find a lowcal recipe for same?? And I'll definitely check out pie day thanks to Dana. Blueberries are very good for you, Diva dear. And frozen ones are palatable. But your recipe sounds great as is.

Anonymous said...

I am a plain pancake girl but I used to make chocolate chip pancakes for my daughter growing up - they were her favorite.

Of course my plain pancakes can only have the purest of real maple syrup and butter no artificial anything!

Deb

The Diva on a Diet said...

Duo - I haven't, but I love wheat germ. Great suggestion!

Tracy - corn pancakes ... drool ... one of my most favorite. Lucky you!

Diva Dad - you've not yet made the plats for your Diva daughter ... how can this be?! A wrong that must be righted ... and, yes, you may blog about it. :)

Pixelgal - does the birthday boy even like plum pudding?! LOL

Deb - I'm with you on the real maple syrup and butter. Absolutely and please pass both! ;)

Laurie said...

Pancakes!!! I actually love blueberry pancakes, but agree why now???

Did you know Tuesday is National carrot day? I read that in the newspaper today and was stumped by the necessity of such a holiday.

You can interview me anytime...

The Diva on a Diet said...

Laurie - I'd love to interview you. Give me a few days to work up the questions and I'll post them on your blog. Delightful!

Almost every day of the year is some kind of food related day - some strange ones too. I'm going to make note of some in future posts ... if nothing else its good fodder for the blog! LOL