Dear Eveready Diner

We love you, you know we do. But THIS is what silver-dollar pancakes look like. (Regular-size blue dinner plate for scale.)

The backstory: When Jenn, Sandy, Leigh and I went for breakfast at the new Eveready in Rhinebeck, right across from the fairgrounds, Jenn ordered silver-dollar pancakes. Ha. When they arrived, they were about 5 inches in diameter. I suppose compared to their regular pancakes, which are the size of a dinner plate, these were to be considered diminutive. Not.

Maybe we've all just become old and crotchety. Or is it sensible? (Because, let's face it, we have all been crotchety for as long as we can remember.) The one complaint we had about the meals we had during this last trip to Rhinebeck was that the portions were too big.

At the Terrapin, we could have died in ecstasy about the wonderful flavors; the warm, fun atmosphere; the great service. We prefer it to the CIA in just about every way. (I know! I dared to say it!)

But the portions seemed, well, out of proportion for a nice restaurant. Too huge! Cut it back, people! I shouldn't have had to take home half of my meal of amazingly tender and delicious venison tenderloin, sauteed spinach and cheesy mashed potatoes, and then, because I had driven all day and it no longer seemed appealing or even safe to eat, thrown it away. That is just tragic and wrong.

Feed me well and tastily, but don't overfeed me, please. Thank you.

Now, back to those pancakes that I got up at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday to create for myself. I was thinking about them all night, so it was good that the time change allowed for me to get up at what my body was telling me was 7:30, but was really 6:30 on the clock, to make them.

I was so excited to use the newly purchased, fairly locally produced, buckwheat flour and "artisan buttermilk" (Pretentious much? I know. Shut up.) from Maine.

I had read up on the abundant heart (and general) health benefits of buckwheat, and I wanted a change from my usual breakfast of late: steel-cut oatmeal with egg white protein powder and ground flaxseed added. I simply could not wait to bounce out of bed and make my pancakes, eat probably too many of them, and be well fueled for a planned day of decluttering and cleaning in this house that has been crazy-neglected for too long now. Yes, I have cleaning help, but honestly it's become pretty much an act of charity on my part to have them come anymore. I feel sorry for them, they're getting old. They do a shitty job and it's getting shittier every week. Let's not talk about it anymore, OK? 

Where was I?  Oh, yes. Pancakes. So I made my batch of wonderful pancake batter using this recipe (I omitted the sugar), and I made and scarfed down a considerable number of those delicious babies. 

And they were so light and delicious and SCRUMPTIOUS, and did I mention LIGHT, that I started to wonder how that could be the case. And then I read the package of the flour I had bought. I thought I had bought wholegrain flour, but I had not. The words "whole grain," or in the case of buckwheat, which is technically not a grain, "whole groat," are missing. And the fiber content per serving is listed as zero (although I will note that on their website, 2 grams fiber per serving is listed -- also, a serving size on the website, 3 Tablespoons, is not the same as the serving size on the package, 2 Tablespoons.)

Anyway. Great gluten-free flour, made AMAZING pancakes, but isn't what I was hoping for -- which was low-glycemic, high-fiber, highly nutritious. I'm sure that many of the other nutritive benefits of buckwheat that I was hoping to gain by eating these pancakes have been milled out as well, and so basically what I have here is ...... white flour. *sigh*

Comments

[gayle]

They might not be as healthy as you'd hoped, but they are adorable...

[Seanna Lea]

My favorite pancakes have oatmeal and either buttermilk or clabbered milk in them. They are surprisingly fluffy given how many heavy sounding ingredients there are (such as the oats and the whole wheat flour).

[Cynthia]

Norma love the pancakes! I personally LOVE buttermilk (although not enough to drink it straight up).

Have you ever thought of purchasing a grain mill? Nutrimill is excellent; allows you to grind your own grains so that they are fresh and if you can find heritage wheat (non gmo and what they used to use in the old days) that would probably have you singing! Here is a link:http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com for you. Got mine in Canada so I don't necessarily know the best place to get them where you are.

[(formerly) no-blog-rachel]

That truly sucketh. But going in the direction of Cynthia's recommendation - if you have any interest at all in making your own, Vitamix has a setup (blade & container?) for making your own flour, etc. I don't have it as I'm not interested right now, but a friend of mine does, and loves it.

[KellyS]

Wowie, though, and thanks :) I'm GF and we've been trying to find a substitute for pancakes. Tried a bunch of recipes that tasted blech. I tend to use Pamela's mix, and my hubs makes a yummy ricotta (cottage cheese is sub'd cuz it's cheaper) recipe that only uses like 1/2 c or something of flour (got the recipe from a knitting friend just fyi). I will totally try this recipe when on maternity leave! Be well, and let us know which buckwheat flour you end up liking bestest.

[lisa]

So I made pancakes this morning (actually for an early lunch, that whole time change thing flummoxes us)... and they were fully humongous plate-sized things. Like 10-11 inches. I seem incapable of making smaller ones... or maybe too lazy to flip so many! It's a pretty fabulous panycake recipe... corn meal, ww flour (I used millet, ww, soy, and ap white). Or are you on the gluten free thing?

[Mel]

Our supermarket carries Bouchard buckwheat flour, which is grown and milled here in Maine. Theirs is whole grain.

Kate's has been my preferred brand for butter for a long time, since they're local. My hospital administrator's daughter is engaged to their son, too, though sometimes that sounds like an episode of "Dairy Dynasty".

[Evalyn]

I love buckwheat, but it is hard to get pure buckwheat flour. Not only the nutrients milled out, but also the flavor. I do like the idea of grinding my own, may have to try that.
Buttermilk will make a fluffier batter - I like to use it when making cornbread. Also like to drink it, but I'm strange that way.