Last week I posted my pie entry for the group “You Want Pies With That?”. I was fashionably late getting my entry in, which in the end worked well with the “fashion” theme. On Monday (Mondays are not my best day.), I was having one of those crazy afternoons and proved that multi-tasking is not a good strategy. In the midst of helping with homework, cleaning up the kitchen, wrapping a present, and working on the pie, I made a mistake which would later prove disatrous for my fashion pie. During the homework hour, I tried to make do with the vanilla ice cream on hand by thawing it in the microwave, anything to avoid one more trip to the grocery store. There just wasn’t enough, so a few of hours later I made yet another trip to the store determined to get this pie done on time!
When I got back to the kitchen I went to the freezer, and to my horror discovered my pie was missing. My first reaction was to laugh. You’ve got to find the humor in every situation, right? I then proceeded to search every shelf in both my freezer and refrigerator. With no success, the pie was officially put on the missing pies list. Where was John Walsh when I needed him? Well, I breathed, counted to ten (did all those things they tell moms to do to calm down) and was sure there had to be a logical explanation. I hypthesized that my mom came over while I was at the store and took the pie back to her house. Why would she take the pie? Well, I have no idea, but I when I couldn’t get a hold of her, I assumed she must still be driving back home with my pie in hand.
My girlfriend called during the search as I started to get a little more panicky. She had me to retrace all of my steps – so I proceeded to check in my closet, the garage, outside in backyard and all of the other places I had been during the homework window. I even checked under the coffee table wondering if the naughty dachshund somehow got a hold of the glass pie pan and hid the evidence under the table, crazy – I know. At the point of digging through the entire trash bag, I no longer saw the humor and wanted to cry. Damn it, (I only curse when I really upset) where was my pie? Luckily, Mom to the rescue, when she called me back to report she didn’t have my pie, something inside me clicked and I immediately solved this embarrassing mystery - Voila, I looked in the microwave and discovered my ice cream pie which had turned to soup.
Why do I share this with you? Well, some of you already know I’m crazy and still love me anyway. As for those that don’t, I’m guessing I’m not the only mom who has had one of these “I’ve lost my mind” moments. So next time you get yourself to this point, try to remember my missing pie and know that we’re all crazy at some point. It’s one of the requirements of motherhood.
My brain needed a serious boost so I grabbed my food bible, Dr. Steven Pratt’s book on super foods, and read up on blueberries. Dr. Pratt’s research shows that blueberries contain more powerful disease-fighting antioxidants than any other fruit. Later, I searched www.epicurious.com and found an enticing recipe for blueberry pancakes. It’s right up my alley, sweet enough for my tastebuds and powerful enough to boost my brainpower! Now I can’t guarantee that when you make this meal you won’t find yourself later searching for missing keys, praying the children aren’t really missing , or find yourself in a parking lot pretending you know where your car is, when really you can’t for the life of you remember where you parked, but I promise you these definitely won’t hurt!
Blueberry Pancakes(Bon Appetit 2007)
yield: Makes about 12 pancakes
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
Preparation
Preheat oven to 250°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons butter in medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients. Fold in berries.
Heat large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat; brush with butter. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook pancakes until brown, brushing griddle with more butter as needed, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve pancakes with maple syrup.
Post your pie entry! Now we’ve got to see it!