Lifetime Pancakes

Once upon a time, a young newlywed relied on a Cooking for Two cookbook, a gift from her sister. Straight off, she loved the cookbook’s pancake recipe, a tiny batch of light and fluffy pancakes just enough for two on lazy Sunday mornings.

As her family grew, first one baby boy and then another, her recipe grew too, expanding to feed more mouths and in short order, growing appetites. When her boys were little, a medium batch was enough. When little boys grew into hungry teenagers, it took a large batch.

But life circles round, doesn’t it?

Those boys are nearly grown now, not often home on weekends. But she still makes pancakes, returning to the original tiny batch, just enough for two. Then last week, she got lots of ‘likes’ on Facebook when family gathered for Memorial Day and a high school graduation. “My pancake recipe has evolved over the years to fit the different sizes of family groups,” she wrote. “This morning I had to DOUBLE the biggest recipe to feed three hungry teenagers, two kids, and two adults.”

Truth be told, the lifetime pancake-maker behind this family-flexible recipe is my sister Adanna. She’s talked about it for years. Many weekends, one of her boys will sign off, “Gotta go, Auntie Al. Mom’s making pancakes.” But until recently, I’d never tasted one. Whoa – my sister makes great pancakes, right up there with My Mom's Pancake Recipe, but thicker and lighter.

HAVE GRIDDLE, WILL TRAVEL My sister packs her pancake griddle for visits! Two days in a row, she made pancakes for my dad, his companion Olga and me. All dreamy-eyed with her light and fluffy pancakes, I fantasized a moment to ask, “Would you ever open a pancake restaurant?”

She grinned and answered with certainty. “I’d call it Adanna’s Pancake Emporium.” In the pancake restaurant of her dreams, she would dish up the pancakes, everyone would choose their own pancake toppings, a few bits at a time.

For now, there’s no Adanna’s Pancake Emporium in the real world, except the one each of us can open up right in our own kitchens. Make pancakes at home, for breakfast, for supper, for one or two, for a tableful or for a crowd. Add toppings. Sue’s Pancake Emporium. Laurie’s Pancake Emporium. LeAnne’s Pancake Emporium. Barb’s. Lynda’s. Sharon’s. Peggy’s. Laura’s and Diane’s and Michele’s. All of us, we can each open our own place. That’s the beauty of my sister’s Lifetime Pancakes.

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription.