$#%t! There's No More Pancake Mix!?!

Here's a perfect example of how my meals come into being.  Yesterday was Valentine's Day. My husband is a hopeless romantic and I am not. He came home after a hard day at work with a card and chocolates and I got him...nothin'.  I guess I'm just not into the commercialism of the holiday.

This morning I said I would make it up to him by heart shaped pancakes. I never make breakfast by the way. I prefer my breakfast in liquid form with cream and sugar. I go to my cabinet and pull out the box of pancake mix. Yes, there are a few things I will buy premade, or accept if they are given to me by my shopoholic coupon wielding Noni.   There was about 1/2 cup of mix left, definitely not enough to feed my 220lb husband and I.  Most people's first reaction would be to immediately get into the car and drive to the nearest market to buy more pancake mix so you don't further dissappoint your significant other.  Me on the other hand, go to my ol' reliable Betty Crocker cookbook, which I "borrowed" from my mother-in-law years ago, and find a recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes.  Any home cook will have all the necessary ingredient for pancakes.  And fortunately for me, I made a crap load of cupcakes the day before and have lots of buttermilk left over.  But if you don't have buttermilk, no worries! Milk + Vinegar = Sour Milk aka Buttermilk. 

Here is the recipe adapted from Ms. Betty Crocker:

Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes about 12-15 pancakes

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2  tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk
3 TBS oil
* if you don't have buttermilk, substitute 1 2/3 cup milk plus 1/3 cup vinegar

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet to dry and mix until incorporated.  Batter should be smooth.



Heat pan on stove over medium heat.  I use my cupcake scooper and poured the batter into heart shapes. Once the sides bubble up, it's time to flip. I made the whole bowl of batter and kept them in the warmer of my oven till I was finished.

So I now have my heart shaped pancakes as promised one day short of Valentine's Day. I set the table, cook some sausages and all we need is the syrup. Syrup?! Where the hell is the syrup? I just made these awesome homemade pancakes and cannot find any syrup beside about 1/4 of inch left at the bottom of Mrs. Butterworth's apron. I do not believe Betty has a recipe for instant homemade syrup. We do have some trees in our yard we've always wanted to tap....so I immediately threw on my boots and jacket, drove to the nearest store and overpaid for a brand new bottle of Aunt Jemima. She's no young and spunky Butterworth but after the dust was wiped off she got the job done. Totally better than what would have come out of a box.