Celebrating National Pancake Day

March 1st, 2011 is National Pancake Day. Yum! How will you celebrate? Unfortunately, I already had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Had I known about National Pancake Day I might have made other plans. I do love pancakes of the light fluffy cake style variety. None of those fast food sponges. I like the real deal. Homemade if possible. Although I did buy an box of pancake mix at the grocery store on Sunday. I didn't know it was National Pancake day today. I must be holiday psychic.

Free pancakes at IHOP today. Yup, IHOP is giving away free pancakes today from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. Where? Everywhere at every IHOP. I have a daughter who loves IHOP pancakes. She even looked up the recipe online so she could make them herself. Me? I prefer to use my own recipe. That way I can make them exactly how I like them.

Need a good recipe for pancakes? Speaking of daughters, try this buttermilk pancake recipe my other daughter uses. It's easy and delicious. You have to buy buttermilk and there will be leftovers. That's OK. You can make more pancakes tomorrow. Or you can try some delicious buttermilk french toast. Just mix your egg with buttermilk and a hint of cinnamon.

Make fruit pancakes for your good health. I do like regular syrup, but I know it's not all that great for me. When I make pancakes I serve them with frozen berries that have been heated to room temperature on the stove-top. Why not fresh berries? Well, I do use them in season. However, the frozen are just as nutritious since they are flash frozen at peak ripeness.

Try these add-ins for pancakes on National Pancake Day. Today is a special day. Why not make your pancakes fit the occasion? Substituting sour cream for ¼ of the milk in pancakes makes them smooth and uniquely flavored. Thin down the dough and make some crepes. Some other tasty items to add to pancake dough include nuts, oatmeal, corn meal, dry grits and of course, fruit like blueberries.

Where did pancakes originate? Pancakes have been eaten since time began. No one is sure who produced the very first pancakes. Some credit the German cremog. Others say, "What about hebrew latkes?". The Russian blini is another historical candidate. It seems every nationality has some type of crepe or pancake to their credit. Me? I'm not so concerned where pancakes come from. I just know I want them to end up in my stomach. Happy National Pancake Day!

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Sources:

Lyn Lomasi (pancake recipe)

The Food Timeline