The kids were home sick today. But not that sick. You know the routine: You are called from school to pick up your kids one day, and they are marginally sick. But because the school rule is that you are to keep the home 24 hours past fever break/last throw up/return of appetite/whatever ... it doesn't matter how good they are feeling the next day, home it is.
That's where we are today.
Hannah's school called yesterday at about noon and said that she had been crying on and off for an hour and complaining that her ear hurt. So, I woke Miriam from her nap, trucked off to school to retrieve the girl, slogged back home, and was just looking for the ibuprofen, garlic-mullein ear oil, and echinacea ... when the phone rang.
"Mrs. Wolff, it's nurse Anglum from Gregory School."
"Oh no. Not you. How's Joe?"
Joe had come in complaining that his stomach hurt and had a fever of 101. Crappity.
So, I dosed up Hannah, put the girls in the car, and drove the block-and-a-half to school to get the boy. I figured a kid with a fever probably didn't want to walk home.
They were mostly fine yesterday. They're even finer today. But here we are, all together on a damp, gray, cold March day.
"Mom, can we have pancakes for lunch?"
Why the hell not?
Seems like a perfect time to share my Dad's own homegrown recipe he calls "Nature Boy Pancakes."
"Oh, give 'em a try," he said to me a few years ago when Hannah and I were out for a rare visit. "You won't want those ol' namby-pamby fluffy white pancakes again."
He was right.
Granpappy's Nature Boy Pancake Mix
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbls. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
12 Tbls. dry buttermilk powder (= 1/2 cup + 2 Tbls.)
Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store in refrigerator.
To make pancake batter, mix 1 cup of mix with an equal amount of water to which has been added 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 beaten egg. Cook on hot griddle or skillet.
Plain is good, but we also like chocolate chip (cooking on the griddle above), raisin, currant, or any of the more standard blueberry or banana options.
Enjoy.
I gain so much from you. I will be adopting BOTH the fantastic pancake recipe as well as the word "crappity"!
Posted by: Deborah | March 26, 2009 at 04:02 PM
You can claim all you want that the current nature boy pancake recipe is edible; I'm afraid I was so traumatized by the original recipe that I'll probably never be able to bring myself to try the new improved version.
Posted by: Amy | March 26, 2009 at 11:49 PM
Yes, Texture Girl, namby-pamby, fluffy, white pancakes it is for you! XO
Posted by: Angela Wolff | March 27, 2009 at 07:19 AM
Those look so good! And, who doesn't love breakfast for lunch or dinner?
I'm impressed that you had flax seed meal, cornmeal AND dry buttermilk powder. Know what I have in my pantry? Pancake mix.
Posted by: Jung | March 30, 2009 at 08:36 PM
Well, I bought the flax seed meal special for the recipe. It keeps pretty much forever in the fridge.
Did read somewhere that you can substitute FSM for oil in many recipes (forget the actual conversion), but haven't played around with that for some reason. Would be good for those trying to lower their cholesterol or otherwise up their Omega 3s.
Buttermilk powder and cornmeal are staples!
Posted by: Angela | March 30, 2009 at 11:12 PM