The world's most perfect breakfast food

The pancake.

A year and a half ago, not this past fall but the prior one, I was in search of a yummy holiday breakfast. Something that pushed the taste buds and made you feel warm all over. I stumbled across this recipe and fell in love. They are so moist, delectable, and my husband adores them. Notable, as he's not a true "pancake person." He'll eat them, but he doesn't LOVE them. These pancakes he LOVES. Even better? The kids devour them too. I think what really makes these is the vinegar, which does react with the baking powder, making them bubbly, light, and airy.

Well, as time wore on, I began to experiment with this perfect food, finding my own combinations.

Banana: Replace pumpkin with mashed banana, remove all spices except for Cinnamon and add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Applesauce: Replace pumpkin with chunky, thick applesauce (the less water the better). Keep the spices the same.

Blueberry (my personal favorite): Replace pumpkin with sweet potato. Remove allspice, add 1 tsp vanilla. Add 1-1.5 cups of blueberries (2 small containers of blueberries).

The tricks to making perfect pancakes:

(1) Don't over mix the wet and the dry. Blend together well, and then stop.

(2) Don't get overly zealous and make them too large. I use a 1/4 cup to keep myself in check.

(3) Use a griddle. They work SO much better than a fry pan. Perfect pancakes, every time.

(4) Use LOTS of butter. I use less when I'm making it for the family, and more when I want to impress guests. Good butter makes a very thin ring of golden goodness on the pancakes. If you like Cracker-Barrel pancakes - this will get you the same effect. I probably toss a heaping tablespoon onto the griddle each time I pour.

Final tip: I always make a double batch, and freeze everything that we don't eat for breakfast. I freeze them in 3-pancake portions (it's the perfect amount for each of us, and for the kids to share). Then I just take them out and nuke them when I need them. Better than Eggo!

When the effort pays off.

I hate store bought jam. It just doesn't TASTE like a jam should. To me, I like the berries. Store bought jam just doesn't TASTE like the berries. It tastes like jam. I'd like some berries, with some sugar, thank you very much!

I have been spoiled on Strawberry Freezer Jam since the first care package sent by my grandmother on my father's side. The sweet strawberry taste was love at first bite. When my family moved to Hawaii, it became even more of a delicacy since my grandmother was aging and fresh berries were at a premium. It wasn't until we moved to the land of berries (Willamette Valley, Oregon) that I was able to actually make this heavenly spread on my own. At this point, I was pretty much spoiled by a constant supply of Strawberry Freezer Jam.

The problem, my friends, is that making jam pretty much ranks up there with the worst jobs ever. Truthfully, the fact that I do it at all is a testament to HOW GOOD homemade jam is. I liken this to candle making, something I tried for the first time this holiday season. After making enough for all my friends, I decided that I would never do that again. The trouble just wasn't worth the cost I was saving - I'd rather wait for a good sale and buy the darn things. Jam, on the other hand, is worth EVERY ounce of trouble.

Strawberry Freezer jam.

You will need: Berries, containers (we used 9.5 ounce plastic - bad enviornmentalists), pectin, and sugar.

For each batch: 2 cups of crushed berries, 6 boxes of pectin (Surejell), 4 cups of sugar, and approximately 45 ounces of container space. This is accourding to the recipe in the Surejell box. Different Pectins may call for different amounts.

How I did it:

(1) I purchased a flat of strawberries at my local farmer's market. The berries are in season right now in the southeast, which is why I chose to make the berries this time of year. In Oregon, I would have waited until May/June.

(2) For a flat of strawberries, you will need 10 - 15 pounds of sugar, 6 boxes of pectin, and around 25-30 9.5 ounce containers.

(3) Get the berries home. Refrigerate if you don't plan on using them right away. When ready to make the jam, rinse, sort out the bad berries (you don't want to use the really overripe ones), and cut off the stems. You can also cut out bad spots from berries that are salvageable.

(4) Crush (do not puree) the berries. I actually used my KichenAid Immersion blender to help this process. I think it may have pureed the berries too much. You want full chunks of strawberries; it adds to the rustic nature of the jam. Surejell actually recommends using a potato masher. It also recommends doing it one cup at a time - but I went ahead and mashed up about half a flat at a time.

(5) Apportion out two cups of crushed berries into large bowls. I had four bowls ready to go - and one flat gave me about 12 cups. So, I put two batches in small bowls until the large ones opened up. I put two cups in each of the large bowls.

(6) Add 4 cups of sugar to each large bowl, let sit for 10 minutes.

(7) in small sauce pan, place 3/4 cup of water and one box of pectin. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, until ONE MINUTE after the mixture has started to boil. Then add to berry/sugar mixture and stir until dissolved (a good 3 minutes). Go ahead and place in containers. Make sure you do this immediately, as the jam sets up quickly.

(8) The jam needs to sit for 24 hours. You can then freeze it for up to a year or refrigerate for 3 weeks. DO NOT let this jam sit at room temperature. For pantry jam, you will need to follow alternate instructions for canning.

In my case, I made four bowls of sugar/berries, then walked away to clean out some more containers. I started boiling water and pectin, and made one batch. I did some quick math, realized that I needed more containers, and sent the husband out to the store with our daughter. I got roses too. It was a smart move on my part.

Anyhow, I turned around and got the big bowl from that first batch, rinsed it out, added more berries and sugar to sit. After that, I started the pectin again and another batch of jam. When that bowl was free, I added my last bit of crushed berries and sugar. I continued to work, one batch at a time, until all was complete. It took me slightly less than two hours. I got 28 containers of jam out of that. Easily enough to last us all year, and give some away.

The only trick here is to make sure you follow the instructions EXACTLY. If you don't add enough sugar, the pectin won't set up right and your jam will be too soft.

If you want to make sugar free or low sugar jam, there is a Surejell that will allow you to do this. My concern with this particular variety is that it is made with Splenda. We don't do sugar substitutes here for a variety of reasons. You can read about them here, here, and here. When it comes to food, I find that less is more. Therefore, I went with the original variety as it's the "all natural" sort. All natural people need all natural food.

I also want to note that this is not my recipe. I got this right out of the SureJell box - and you can too. In fact, if you use a different brand or variety of pectin, your ingredients WILL differ. The above is just a guideline for what I did this sunny afternoon.

Here comes the weekend!

So, if there's anything a working mom looks forward to, it's the weekend. A little extra time with the hubby, playtime with the kiddos, and (in my case) a little extra time in the kitchen.

Most weekends, I have a pretty grand plan for what will be going on. The problem is, we're pretty stocked. Busting even. I have ziti, beans (garbanzo and black), lasagna, and chili in the freezer for quick meals. I have probably 5 dozen muffins left, and two different kinds of pancakes. Not to mention all the vegetable purees for my Deceptively Delicious recipes (and those inspired).

So, Now what?

Well, it's Strawberry Season. That means it's time to get on my Jam making for the year. I hate store bought jam. I was spoiled on homemade in the beautiful Pacific Northwest Berry Heaven. Smuckers is just crap when you're used to an assortment of jams made of fresh fruit.

Although Strawberries are part of the uneatable "Dirty Dozen," we simply cannot afford to buy organic for jam. Not to mention I've never been able to find a batch that is mold-free. So, I instead follow the lead of The Omnivore's Dilemma, and buy local. At least there are fewer preservatives. I always end up making Freezer Jam, as I love the TASTE. It's just berries and sugar - YUM!

I also noticed that Eggplants are on sale at Publix. So, I perused a few recipes and found a 2 that perked my interest. Truthfully, I have never LOVED Eggplant Parmesan. However, I found a nice recipe for a middle eastern eggplant dip. I also got the idea for making Curry from a web board I frequent. I have some massaman paste and coconut milk. So, we'll see what I can share come Sunday or Monday!

So, what do YOU plan to do this weekend? Why don't you take a step to de-preservative your life and make something HOMEMADE? It's really not that scary! It can be as simple as making pancakes for your family, from scratch (no Bisquick or Krustez allowed!) Then make a double batch, and freeze everything you don't eat. Or, make a double batch of muffins, and do the same. Make an extra big pot of chili, and freeze half. Then use it on a day you would otherwise go out or eat some ready-made meal. Go on. Make some plans...you DO have the whole weekend!