Friday, August 20, 2010

Make your own homemade pancake mix and fill with freshly picked, sweet and juicy North Carolina blueberries & topped with blueberry syrup


A while back a blogger friend showed us the inside her pantry, but apologized for having Bisquick on her shelf. She said her children beg for pancakes, so she kept a mix handy. I sent her an email and asked why she didn’t just make her own mix. It’s so easy, much less expensive, and requires only eight ingredients, all of which are either in your pantry or in your refrigerator.

While we don’t personally have an objection to using Bisquick and occasionally use it ourselves, the partially hydrogenated oil found in the list of ingredients is reason enough to make your own mix. You’ll find a recipe for pancakes (or they're sometimes called griddle cakes) in any basic cookbook, such as The Joy of Cooking or Fannie Farmer. In How to Cook Everything author Mark Bittman says about his basic pancake mix recipe, "Americans must have been sadly alienated from the kitchen for pancake mixes to ever have gained a foothold in the market, for these are ridiculously easy to make."

Roadside farm stands here in the mountains of North Carolina are selling fresh, juicy, sweet blueberries, some for as little as fifty cents a box. As you know from my last post, we buy fresh and local whenever we can. We probably ought to have a bumper sticker (if I didn’t dislike stickers so much) on our car saying, “We break for farm stands.”  Sometimes they taste so good we eat the entire box in the car on the way home, but today we intentionally saved some for blueberry pancakes.


My husband Meakin made these delightful cakes for breakfast and topped them with luscious blueberry syrup that puts them over the top in taste. Enjoy.

Homemade pancake mix with fresh blueberries & Meakin's blueberry syrup
Adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Dry ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together with a whisk. Store in an air-tight container until you’re ready to make pancakes.

Liquid ingredients:
½ - ¾ cup milk at room temperature
2 tablespoon sweet butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten to blend
½ to ¾ cup fresh blueberries

To add the liquid ingredients, whisk together the milk, butter and egg lightly in a separate bowl. Start out using ½ cup milk. You can always add more if necessary. Add the premixed dry ingredients all at once to the wet mixture, stirring just enough to dampen the flour. Add the blueberries, but don’t over mix.

Lightly grease a griddle or frying pan and set over moderate heat until a few drops of cold water tossed in the pan begin to sizzle and dance about. Drop about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the batter onto the pan. Cook until the tops of the cakes are full of bubbles, slightly dry on the edges, and the undersides are lightly browned.


Flip cakes over and cook the other side until done. Place finished cakes on an ovenproof plate in a warm, 200 degree F oven until you have enough to begin to serve. Top with a pat of butter and Meakin's blueberry syrup (recipe below). Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Meakin's Blueberry Syrup

1/3 cup fresh blueberries
¼ cup water
2 – 3 tablespoons sugar (depending on the sweetness of the berries)
1 slice (not chopped) of fresh gingerroot, about 1/8” thick
1 tablespoon honey

In a saucepan add all of the ingredients except the honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the blueberries have burst and you have a syrupy consistency. Remove and discard the slice of gingerroot. Add the honey and serve warm over buttered pancakes.

39 comments:

  1. In the days when I used to go camping I would always have a homemade mix for pancakes and one for skillet scones so I could whip them up quickly.It only makes sense that I would have a mix at home too:D

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  2. Oh, wow! Boy does that look good. I think I want breakfast for dinner now. :) I am really interested in making that pancake mix - and the syrup. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Perfect breakfast. I had to laugh at the bumper sticker comment. I dislike them myself. Enjoy those beautiful berries.

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  4. Mmm... blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup sound just perfect for a weekend breakfast!

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  5. Sam - I realized a long time ago (although it took longer than it should have) that homemade pancake mix was the idea "make-ahead" mix. You can sift all the dry ingredients together in advance, and then just add the wet ingredients when the guests are arriving for brunch. It really improved my entertaining schedule!

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  6. these looks amazing and your right its so easy to make from scratch takes almost the same time thanks for your comment i will try my best on the Southwestern recipes he he

    enjoy your weekend Rebecca

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  7. Breakfast is MY favorite meal.....any time of the day! My motto...if you have flour, eggs, milk you can make just about anything good! Enjoyed the blueberry syrup recipe....wheels turning for a Splenda equivalent!

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  8. This reminds me of a breakfast I would indulge in while at a restaurant. Everything looks fantastic but the blueberry sauce is calling to me!

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  9. What a perfect breakfast! And those blueberries look to die for. Say, I've been thinking of doing savory pancakes filled with summer veggies. Do think your pancake mix recipe would work for them, or would you cut down the sugar? Thanks!

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  10. There is nothing better than pancakes with blueberry sauce/syrup! That has been my favorite since I was a little girl.

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  11. Those look great, Sam (or Meakin.) My husband made blueberry pancakes from scratch a few weeks ago -- I'll have to show him this mix -- or make some up for him!

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  12. I used to make my own pancack mix. Then I just got too lazy. I don't use Bisquick, I just don't make pancakes!

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  13. Hubs & son thank-you for the inspiration! I am going to try this for Sunday breafast!

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  14. everybody already said it all - now scoot over and give me a plate - LOL - the butter melting in the blueberries is so enticing...

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  15. Very clever husband.....and great for spoiling you! The pancakes look delish!!

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  16. You know what - I believe I could eat this meal :-). Meakin sure puts on a fine breakfast, it all looks delicious and like you said the blueberry syrup puts it over the top.

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  17. Sam, these pancakes look delightful. This is an example of showing people how you care, by telling them about potentially harmful ingredients such as transfat, and sharing how it can be remedied very simply.

    By the way, I also break for farm stands, it's one of my favorite things about summer.

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  18. What a wonderful looking breakfast. Meakin's syrup sounds delicious. I hope you are having a great day, Sam. Blessings...Mary

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  19. Sam,
    Yummy breakfast treat!Blue berry syrup looks too delicious!
    A very Happy Birthday(belated)to you!
    God bless!

    A gift is waiting for you in my blog do take some time to visit!
    Love always!

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  20. Those pancakes look delicious! I make my own too. I used to keep Bisquik in the house to make dumplings for my chicken and dumplings, but I now make my own dumplings too...
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  21. Love this! Yep, Bisquick is about the only way I know how to make pancakes. :-)

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  22. Great idea Sam. With 14 people coming for Labor Day weekend I think I need to make up a huge batch of pancake mix. Love Meakin's blueberry syrup too.

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  23. Good idea, I'll have to pass this tip on to Alexis as pancakes are her gig. Love the blueberry syrup.

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  24. I enjoyed your twist on this very hearthy breakfast feast...my Hubby is pulling up a chair as I write ;o)

    Have a lovely week ;o)
    Claudia

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  25. My kind of breakfast. Love the recipe for the blueberry syrup.

    A+++.

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  26. What a great looking breakfast and the syrup is a must try! Thanks for the recipe!

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  27. Wow, what time is breakfast served? Your plate in the top photograph is kind of a dream meal, so good! I agree about making pancakes with a homemade mix, I think the packaged stuff is just a habit for most people, it really doesn't take that much time to make it from scratch:-)

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  28. Homemade pancake mix is such a great idea! I had no idea it was this easy and I bet the packaged stuff can't compare to the taste of homemade! I'm definitely going to give this a try.

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  29. Love the stand stories. I just visited my local farmer's market...

    sure was different than the phone booth produce section on the island. I am loving this time of year!

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  30. I don't do bumper stickers either but I'd be sorely tempted to display your suggestion! I haven't had breakfast yet and would love to just reach in for a bite. Oh, who am I kidding, I'd like it all and maybe a few more pancakes. We do keep the dry ing. mixed together for pancakes.


    Best,
    Bonnie

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  31. Your bumper sticker idea is a good one, Sam. It certainly would be appropriate on my car.

    I would enjoy this wonderful meal any time of day.

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  32. Lovely breakfast! Or dinner, whatever! lol

    I always keep a homemade "bisquick" mix on hand because I'm a bit lazy when it comes to baking, so every little shortcut I get is welcome.

    jessyburke88@gmail.com

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  33. Sam, your breakfast dish looks simply delicious. I love everything on it especially that blueberry cake with syrup. yummmm...... Hope you're enjoying your day.
    Blessings, kristy

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  34. I love homemade pancakes...specially with fresh blueberries and with homemade blueberry sauce...SO yummie! I could have at anytime of the day :-)

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  35. Looks and sounds like the perfect breakfast. I have not made pancakes inn a very long time. Thank you for sharing the mix recipe; will surprise my husband and try it soon; your blueberry syrup is also tempting me.

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  36. Just as simple as Bisquick and twice as good! Thanks, Sam!

    PS:You won my giveaway! Come by and email me your address.

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  37. Yes, pancakes are ridiculously easy - so funny about the mixes. We should start a campaign educating people about how easy it is. I love that you often eat the berries in the car. Raspberries seldom make it home from the Farmers market. We eat them on the way to the car!

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  38. Sam,
    Happy belated birthday to you.
    Wow! These pancakes and blueberries look so good. I love pancakes and these look delicious.

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