Virtual Running Date No. 56: Pancakes for now and later

Hello Crushers!

This past weekend was an easy one for running. I just did two miles, but it felt great! Steve did 7 and rocked it. It's nice that the weather is warming up, but it is not nice that those little swarms of midges are back. So. Gross.

Don't worry, I didn't take a picture. Eeeeeew.

If this were a running date, I'd tell you how I may have gone a little overboard with planting this year...

This shot did not include my rosemary, basil, tomato, rhubarb, raspberry and pepper plants.
Or the plants that Steve is growing from seed. 

So, yeah. There's that. Fortunately, Ellie had a great time sitting outside in her little sun shade playing while Mama and Dada got a little dirty.

If this were a running date, I'd tell you that I'm sorry for the frost warning we had on Tuesday. I just have trouble waiting to plant after Memorial Day. Ugh!

If this were a running date, I'd tell you that I've had a craving for pancakes for several weeks now, but Pancake King Steve hasn't made them yet. Oh, until Sunday night...

If this were a running date, I'd confess that I gave up waiting and made myself (and Ellie and my sister) some tropical pancakes on Friday morning. Steve, honey, if you're reading this, I'm really sorry!

If this were a running date, I'd also tell you that you can freeze pancakes for later. That means Ellie and I have pancakes for any day we want without having to make a mess as often! Yippee!

Hungry?

Tropical Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp coconut extract
1 Tbsp vegetable oil for coating the pan

Toppings: we used bananas, strawberries and pineapple chunks

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together except the oil for the pan and the toppings. Yes, yes, you can do the dry and wet ingredients separately, but why make another dish dirty? Make sure all the large lumps are gone, but a few small ones are OK. I suggest using a bowl with a spout to make pouring easier.

Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium and dampen a folded paper towel with some oil. Using a pair of tongs or VERY CAREFULLY using your fingers, carefully rub the skillet with oil. I did not use grapeseed oil from Wildtree for this because it's green and I didn't want to risk green pancakes.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter out for each pancake. No need to measure unless you really want to, but it's pretty easy to eye-ball. Cook until the wet surface of the pancakes have some bubbles that have burst. Flip carefully (trust me) and cook until the underside is lightly browned. This takes about a minute or a bit more. Repeat until you have a stack of pancakes.

Serve with toppings and enjoy!