At our house, we eat pancakes for breakfast and sometimes for supper. We always fixed pancakes when my kids had friends visit for a sleepover. Buttermilk pancakes are my favorite and sometimes I add blueberries or nuts. It’s quick and easy when you don’t feel like eating large meal. This week I’m fixing whole wheat buttermilk pancakes in the rain!

Rain, Rain and more Rain

It has rained non-stop here in Baton Rouge for the past several days; I can’t remember when I’ve heard the rain pound down so long without a break. Add that to already record levels of rain during the summer. Now most of southeast Louisiana has massive flooding with hundreds of people flooded out of their homes–it’s flooded in places we didn’t know could flood.

The rivers and bayous have backed up and can’t empty out fast enough. Even the east-west I-10 interstate closed. The water is 25 feet over flood stage at some places ad 90% Denham Springs is flooded.  Most of my co-workers couldn’t make it to work–which really brought home how widespread the flooding is. And your heart breaks over a co-worker who just purchased a new home–her first in many years–only to see it flooded. Our family is fortunate–our house is on high ground–we get lightening strikes, not floods!

Low-Fat Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Pancakes are a simple and easy meal in this inclement weather when you don’t feel like cooking or getting out in the rain. I’ve made Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes several times over the past few months–this recipe is very tasty.The buttermilk makes the pancakes light and fluffy and whole wheat flour adds to the nutrition and flavorful. Commercial buttermilk is fat-free and so this recipe is very low in fat and healthy.

The recipe from the “More-with-Less” Cookbook. This cookbook has many healthy variations of traditional foods using whole wheat flour, wheat germ, lots of recipes for vegetables etc. it is interesting to explore all the things in this cookbook.

Making Pancakes Successfully

My husband is the official family “pancake-maker.” His pancakes always turn out light and fluffy. The key is to use a hot griddle and a rather thin batter. This recipe for pancake mix contains both baking powder and soda; the batter rises quickly in a hot skillet or griddle. The result is a soft and flavorful pancake.

Here are the ingredients for this recipe (on a sunny day). I added blueberries to this batch.Mix the liquid ingredients together and the dry ingredients in another bowl.Add the two together. Avoid over-mixing. Drop by spoonfuls into a hot skillet in a small amount of oil. I use a heavy iron skillet with a Teflon coating. This skillet holds the heat evenly.

When the pancakes bubble and are “set”, flip over. They only need to fry on the second side a few seconds.Serve with pancake syrup or powdered confectioner’s sugar. Add fresh fruit or juice to the breakfast and ham or bacon (not as healthy).  If any are left, keep for snacks — just reheat in a microwave oven.

recipe title=”Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes” serves=”3″ time=” 30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached, white flour (part soy flour and wheat germ can be used)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method and Steps

1. Combine buttermilk, oil and egg in a bowl and mix with a fork.
2. Add and mix in dry ingredients only until moistened.
3. Fry in hot, lightly greased skillet.

“From More-with-Less Cookbook, ©1976 Herald Press. Used with permission.”

[/recipe]

Look, the rain has stopped. Time to see how we can help our friends and neighbors who weren’t as fortunate as us.