Jack Johnson, in my mind, is the epitome of summer. His music makes you feel like you’re on vacation in the Caribbean, sitting on the beach with an umbrella-donned, icy drink in your hand as the sun caresses your face. You can almost hear the waves splashing against the shore and feel the grains of sand sticking between your toes.
The melodies are as synonymous with summer as pancakes are with weekend brunch. Especially considering that one of Jack’s most popular songs touts the benefits of banana pancakes and pretending like it’s the weekend. The lyrics, which simply make you feel downright good inside, say it all, “This song is meant to keep ya from doing what you’re supposed to, like waking up too early”. It’s a mantra I’m sure we’d all be happy to abide by on any given weekday.
The lyrics continue with one of my favorite quotes, the first two lines of which a friend of mine painstakingly sewed letter by letter into vintage linen as a housewarming gift for my husband and me (check out her Etsy shop here. It’s really cool stuff).
We got everything
We need right here
And everything we need is enough
Just so easy
When the whole world fits inside of your arms
Don’t really need to pay attention to the alarm
Wake up slow
In the case of these pancakes, the whole world fits on top of my plate in the form of soft pillows of pan-sizzled dough doused in maple syrup, a perfect way to start off a Saturday morning in the middle of July.
Before I share the recipe, let me set the record straight. There are a few things in my house that I don’t cook and pancakes are one of them. My husband is in charge of pasta, rice, anything grilled, and everything breakfast. He has been the reigning pancake king in his family ever since he was about 12 years old. And I am not by any means going to attempt to dethrone him. Instead, I just sit back and reap the benefits of each gooey forkful. So you’ll have to thank the hubby for this one.
Melt-in your-mouth Blueberry (or Banana) Buttermilk Pancakes
(note, we made these half whole wheat and they are still amazing)
Adapted from sarahmeyerwalsh.wordpress.com
Makes about 10 medium-sized pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon butter (optional for topping)
1 cup blueberries (optional)
1 banana, sliced (also optional)
Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add the beaten eggs along with the buttermilk and grapeseed oil to the dry ingredients. Whisk gently to combine, but do not over-mix. It is perfectly fine for the batter to be a little lumpy. Under-mixing the batter is one of the secrets to fluffy pancakes.
To cook, heat a non-stick pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter into the pan (or use Pam instead). Ladle about 1/2 cup of the batter onto the pan to form each pancake. Add a small pat of butter to the center of each as it begins to cook (this way the heat will melt the butter and disperse it before you flip it over). Add sliced bananas or blueberries while dough is still raw. Cook for about 2 ½ minutes or until the pancakes have bubbles on top and the edges are starting to crisp. Flip over and continue cooking until golden brown, about another minute. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve immediately, topped with maple syrup.