Cornmeal Pancakes

Hello again blog; hello falling leaves.  The last time I spent time writing seemed ages ago; I had my moment of not taking notes.  Frankly, I felt liberated to not have to write posts for the sake of audience.  I can come and go as I please, nobody seems to notice.  Lots of things have happened while I wasn't taking notes, life continues to be a series of some trepidation, decision-making, rushing forward to meet deadlines, appointments to make, never-ending work and chores, but only for a brief moment, a rejoicing week when my son turned a decade old.  I didn't mean to sound so tired but I'm merely waiting until everything passes away.

Breaking familiarity with something new is what I like in life; whereas my husband told me once he is comforted with anything that's familiar.  In food terms, his choice is boring, my choice is more exciting.  The same principle applies to pancakes, regular pancakes are plain and fluffy; cornmeal pancakes on the other hand are texture-wise interesting in each bite and the aroma is like the end of fall season rushes in.  My son who loves cornbread, adores these lacy-surfaced pancakes, stacked tall with butter and maple syrup.  I picked up the recipe from a book by Bill Neal, the godfather of Southern cooking.  His book is called Biscuits, Spoonbread & Sweet Potato Pie; an interesting book to read because of the wealth of information he put it in.  It was a chilly morning when I had these so I paired mine with spiced ginger-pear butter that I made earlier; there' no mistaken that I was craving foods that are in season right now.  There's much more to try in the book, none of it is too familiar to me, and that what makes life interesting--and keeps me going.

Cornmeal Pancakes

Makes about 18 pancakes

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Sift the dry ingredients together.  Beat the eggs, add the buttermilk and melted butter.  Add to the meal and beat to make a smooth batter.  Let stand 10 minutes, then drop by the large tablespoon onto a lightly greased, medium-hot griddle.  Cook until brown on each side, turning once, and serve with butter, jam, fruit sauce, honey, or maple syrup.

Adapted from Biscuits, Spoonbread & Sweet Potato Pie by Bill Neal