Birthday Pancakes

I seem to be hurtling through a strange time warp, it doesn't seem like a whole year ago that we celebrated Coby's first birthday. Yet here we are, with our 2-year-old monkey. I am putting an argument forward that Coby actually hit the twos about a month ago, she now likes to add a bit of spice to our lives (code: she's a screamer). Favourite expressions include: 'Mine', 'Coby's____', 'I do it', and of course 'No!' Finn summed it up quite nicely a few weeks ago "Coby thinks that the whole world is hers."

She really is a sweetheart who likes to play with little people, likes to cart around her little people, gives near-suffocating hugs to her baby brother, and can't hear a tune without breaking into enthusiastic dance. In true Reems fashion, birthday celebrations revolve around good eats. We started the day off with banana chocolate chip pancakes, moved onto cupcakes, and rounded the whole day off the festivities with good friends at a wiener roast at the Chilliwack corn maze.

It's time I share a Reems classic, the Peter Pancake. This recipe comes from the Crazy Plates authors, Janet and Greta Podleski. I use the recipe as more of a guide. You can play with the ratio of white and whole wheat flours. I also like to add some oatmeal to the recipe (and with the oatmeal an extra shot of milk). I sometimes sub yogurt for part of the milk, I sometimes use maple syrup or brown sugar instead of the honey. For birthdays and special days, say a grumpy toddler morning, a handful of chocolate chips really brings them to a celebratory level.

Banana Pancakes (based on Crazy Plates' Peter Pancakes)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each baking soda and salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk (I use regular milk and a shot of lemon juice)
2 T melted butter
1 egg
1 T honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed banana

1) Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl
2) In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients

Cook pancakes in a skillet or griddle over medium high-heat in a pan coated with butter or non-stick spray. Best served with maple syrup.