Photo by Judith Hausman
Pancakes are easy to make and fun to eat.
My “new” CSA has a u-pick berry patch, and last week was the members’ first trip into the fields. These fragile, fragrant berries are a completely different beast than the shiny, hard, out-of-season California ones we typically see here in New York.
With my first quart, I indulged in a batch of rhubarb-strawberry jam, but with my second quart, I waited for inspiration more circumspectly. When I rose early, I had a vision of basic pancakes, studded with strawberries, blueberries and slices of the overripe bananas languishing on the counter – yum!
Especially with very soft, local berries, my trick is to ladle the batter onto the griddle and then drop the berries and bananas on top of each pancake as the edges firm. When I finally flip them over, I squish the berries down a bit to make sure the uncooked batter reaches the grill. With this method, I don’t get soft,uncooked spots around the wet fruit or pink-streaked batter.
I spooned some rhubarb and strawberry sauce on top instead of syrup, but 100 percent maple syrup or some powdered sugar would be pretty good on them, too.
Servings: about a dozen pancakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1 very ripe banana, sliced
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