I always knew these pancakes were good, but I was totally convinced after a snowshoe adventure with Josh’s sis and a friend. We clomped through the Sierra Madres which were covered in feet of snow, our poor hound dog having to force herself to either swim in front, or succumb to following our deep tracks behind. Needless to say, we were worn out and hungry, satisfied with the work and ready to soak in some hot springs. That’s when I realized that I had grabbed all kinds of random goods from the fridge before we left the ranch, fully aware of what the cold outdoor air can do to a woman. Josh had made multigrain pancakes that morning, and I had packed up the leftovers. Sadie and Diane couldn’t have been more impressed.

It’s hard to say if they thought these were the best things in the world, well, because they are, or if they were speaking from their famished bellies. Regardless, here’s the recipe, great for a cold Sunday morning before heading out to feed the cows. Or watching cartoons. Or going to church. Or, preferably, going back to bed.

Josh’s Multigrain Pancakes

Dry ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

• 1/4 cup ground buckwheat

• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

• 2 tablespoons red quinoa

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1/2 cup yogurt

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Last ingredients

• 1/4 cup melted butter

• 2 generous tablespoons honey

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs; add milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Stir well. Meanwhile, melt honey and butter. Drizzle the honey and butter into batter. Stir with a fork.

Heat a flat skillet or stone; melt a bit of butter on the skillet. Once the skillet is hot and butter is melted, ladle the pancake batter to form 3 or 4 inch pancakes. The batter will start to bubble. At this point, check the other side and flip when browned.

You’ll have a beautiful and fluffy bunch of pancakes, approximately 10 or so.

Variations:

• Replace milk and yogurt with 3/4 cup buttermilk.

• Make batter the night before, excluding the butter and the honey, replacing the baking soda with 1/4 cup or so live sourdough culture.

• Highly recommend sprouting your quinoa the evening before. Eventually I’ll post simple directions on sprouting grains.

Oh geez. You should make this for Valentine’s Day.

But since it’s past and beyond, you should make this for the week of Valentine’s Day, in the morning, before going to work. It’s that easy and it will surprise your loved one with oven baked warmth and scent, even if that loved one is only you. Don’t even mention that you are making breakfast. Just beat your housemate to the kitchen before they have time to reach for their habitual box of cereal or oats. Give yourself 25 minutes- 5 minutes to prep and 20 to bake it. It’s that easy. And it’s so good. Of course, if you want to take some pretty pictures of the whole thing, give yourself a few minutes there. I was about to miss the bus so have little to show for this impressive bit of goodness.

It’s best day of, so if you have leftovers don’t be afraid to share with a neighbor or co-worker. You will lift her spirit and she will wonder how you knew her spirit needed lifting.

The recipe comes from everybody likes sandwiches. The recipe below has a few changes from her recipe, so follow whichever you like.

Cast Iron Apple Pancake
2 T butter
3 small apples, sliced (keep that skin on)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 T cinnamon
1 1/2 T brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup milk
Grated nutmeg
Lemon peel or orange peel (if you happen to have)

For the topping:
juice of ½ lemon
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400. In a large cast iron pan, heat butter and add in sliced apples, raisins, cinnamon and sugar. Saute until the apples are golden brown and the sugar has melted into a delicious caramel sauce.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together and add in flours, milk, nutmeg, citrus zest. Whisk until combined and pour over the apple mixture. Place skillet in oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, until the pancake is fluffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and squeeze lemon juice over top and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve immediately with some yogurt on the side.

Waffles are an almost weekly shindig in our house these days. We’ve made so many varieties that I can’t keep them straight; whole wheat with dried coconut, standard wheat with blueberry, and our favorite cheddar and bacon blend. I can’t believe how many house guests we have served our cheddar and bacon waffles to with bacon on the side, validating their breakfast with an explanation of the wheat and flax added to the mix. They always say something like, why not? We are on vacation, right? And I always find some kind of sick glee in feeding so many delicious calories to those I love so early in the day. I feel like I’m introducing them to long lost guilty pleasures, doing them some kind of favor.

But today we made perfectly guilt-free buckwheat waffles (topped with honey butter and sunflower seeds). They were hearty, filling, and wholesome. No battered house guests questioning their dietary worth today. Michelle came by for breakfast and we leisurely enjoyed trapping the cold outside, sipping strong french press coffee, snacking on pomegranate seeds, biting into our honey butter slathered waffles. I always seem to burn the last waffle in the iron, forgetting that it’s in there while I relax with my plate of syrupy or buttery waffle and some good morning conversation.

Just a little warning, you do need to start the batter the night before, but that makes breakfast itself just that much easier in the morning.

Buckwheat Waffles

1 pkt yeast
1/4 cup hot water (100 to 110 degrees)
2 tbl honey plus
1/3 cup honey
2 cup buttermilk
1 tbl oil
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/8 tsp salt divided
1/2 cup butter softened
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. Let it stand until bubbles begin to form. Stir in 2 tablespoons honey, the buttermilk and oil.

Combine the cake flour, buckwheat flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in the yeast mixture just until blended. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the honey butter, combine the softened butter, one-third cup honey and one-eighth teaspoon salt. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.

One-half hour before cooking the waffles, remove the batter from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature. Then stir in the beaten eggs and baking soda. Combine thoroughly.

Make your waffles in the iron, then spoon the honey butter over hot waffles and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

This recipe, found at the site “Food Down Under“, yields 6 to 8 servings.