Kimchi Pancakes

As a born and bred American, I generally associate pancakes with Saturday and Sunday mornings, topped with syrup, fruit and whipped cream.

But traveling and aging have introduced me to the joy which is savory pancakes, while I still prefer the sweet syrupy kind for breakfast, these Kimchi Pancakes as well as Spring Onion Pancakes are a delicious and light way to enjoy an evening meal.

As always, for Korean recipes, I use what I know from eating out in Korea and refer to Maangchi to fill in the holes. You can check out her original recipe and YouTube Video here.

Or, you can keep reading and follow my lead ^^

Ingredients/Directions:

In a bowl, mix together, 1 cup chopped Kimchi, 3 Tbsp. Kimchi Juice, 2 Tbsp, chopped Onion, shake of Salt, Sprinkle of Sugar, 1/2 cup Flour and 1/4 cup Water. Heat a non-stick skillet and 2 tbsp. oil to med-high heat. Pour kimchi batter into to hot skillet, spread evenly and thin, cook for 1-2 minutes until bottom is golden brown and crispy, flip and repeat. Serve by cutting into bite size pieces or simply give the eaters their own chopsticks and a bowl of Makgeoli (Korean rice wine) and let them go at both at their own pace.

Perfect on a rainy day ^^

Spent Grain Pancakes

Spent grains are becoming increasingly conquerable and perfect for any and every bread-like, breakfast dish. Pancakes were no exception.

As is common in 519 kitchen, measurements were not to acurately kept but rather, I based everything on consistency of the pancake batter which I like to be thin enough to spread but thick enough to hold enough shape that my pancakes cook up to be thick and hearty.

For this batch specifically, I used Bisquick - following the directions on the back of the box, adding a cup of damp spent grains and adjusting consistency with milk, eggs, or additional Bisquick/flour depending on how things look.  From here, consider a tsp. of Vanilla, a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg or allspice, some chopped walnuts or almonds or a mashed banana or two.

Griddle the dough up til golden brown and serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

Fresh Pumpkin Pancakes

These can easily be made with canned pumpkin as well and, as is the case with pancakes, they are super simple!

Ingredients/Directions:

To your favorite pancake mix (hand-made or from a box) add cinnamon, nutmeg and pureed pumpkin. (Roast a pumkin until tender, puree). Make sure you pancake dough is a little runny but not to runny, definitely able to stand on it's own before scooping some into a hot griddle and cooking all the way through. For a real treat, enjoy these pancakes with the syrup from the Baklava Crepes recipe.

Banana Walnut Pancakes topped with Brown Sugar-Vanilla Yogurt

These were magic.

And they were easy. and delicious. and a keeper.

Ingredients/Directions:

Using your favorite pancake mix or recipe for from scratch pancakes (check out the side bar and tag cloud for a Magic Mix recipe if you're wanting a starting place for 'from scratch' meets 'pre-made mix') simply add to the mix: 2-3 Mashed Bananas, 1-2 handfuls Chopped Walnuts and a dash of Cinnamon. Prepare pancakes as per package or recipe directions. Whip up a batch of this Easy Yogurt Dip/Sauce to spread on each pancake. Layer pancakes with yogurt between each cake, top with slices of banana, chopped walnuts and a drizzle of Maple Syrup. You will not regret any aspect of this morning meal.

Did I mention magic? It's a magical breakfast.