28.4.13

she ain't what she used to be...





I am completely humbled, totally in awe of the mothers of young children, and seriously surprised that I raised five children. Five!!! I had forgotten how much energy - mental, emotional, and physical - it takes to more or less successfully navigate the average day with a houseful of young children but four short days reminded me. David and I spent those four days with Eden and Daylan's young'uns. Four busy days with three terrific kids. It was super fun but as David said (and I heartily agree) "the old grey mare, she ain't what she used to be". I had planned to do all manner of things with my days but I did none of them. Instead I played hide-and-seek, walked the long (and very slow) way home from dropping the two oldest off at school each morning, cuddled and read toddler board-books, picked up lego, ran the odd load of laundry, managed to get child-approved meals on the table and kids to activities, teeth brushed, stories read, hugs distributed, and then fall into an exhausted heap at the end of the day. It doesn't sound all that hard but I am out of training.

I loved every precious minute. Even the tottering on toddler-melt-down moments.

A quantifiable, bona fide success was Thursday morning's breakfast. Eden does not feed her children boxed cereal for breakfast, a choice I heartily applaud. But that choice dictates another choice - a more involved meal with more prep than putting out the boxes, bowls, and milk. A sure winner at their table is to serve pancakes. I could have made any one of their regular favourites but made a choice of my own. Happily they loved my choice.

The phrase "going like hotcakes"?  was on a (mental) loop during breakfast Thursday morning. Deacon ate 10 - two at a time on his plate and reaching for the next couple before he had swallowed the bite in his mouth. Aubrie was not far behind and I think Ysa was no slouch. I say think because she was at the other end of the table and I was too busy flipping pancakes to do more than notice that she was eating and happy. 

Super simple, quick to prepare, healthy. Fragrant and delicious, light and fluffy. I was happy to agree to the request for these banana pancakes for breakfast again on Friday morning. I think Deacon confirmed at least 5 times that "you won't forget to blog these, right Grandy?"

This is for Deacon.

banana chia oat blender-pancakes
(gluten-free)

1 cup milk (I used coconut)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ripe banana
2 cups large flake rolled oats
1 Tbsp chia seed
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Put the milk, yogurt, lemon juice, eggs, vanilla, oats, chia seed, and honey in the container of of your blender. Blend on high for a minute and a half or two. Add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda and give the batter another quick whirl.

Bake on a hot griddle. 

We ate ours topped with fresh strawberries and maple syrup. .... As fast as we could :)

Important note: it helps to have an able egg-cracking assistant at your side. I probably couldn't have done it without Aub's help.

13 comments:

Jonathon said...

Ohhhhh! Cute! LOL. I love this post. They are such great kids. Just the other day I was talking to a friend wondering how you managed 5 kids - you did it (for the most part) with incredible style and grace. Matriarchs like you are the stuff of legends.

can't wait to try the pancakes.

Elizabeth Cranmer said...

Thank you for this!! I've been looking for a new pancake recipe and this fits just right!

We left two of our four with each of our parents just a couple weeks ago and the reviews were very similar to yours! They loved every minute, but boy it took a lot! It's great that your able to be right in the action!

Elizabeth

Cheri said...

To Jonathon - I am sure glad that those are your memories of the way I mothered. Incredible style and grace (even with the qualifier of "mostly") is incredibly flattering :) Love you tons!

To Elizabeth - I do feel very fortunate to be able and available to be 'right in the action'. Love those chillun's. lol
Hope the pancakes are as big a hit at your house.

ec said...

I'm reading this from my hotel room in lake louise while baby drew sleeps and my girls are home being watched by loving grandparents. we who are "in it" so appreciate grandmas and grandpas who are willing and able to watch our babies so we can get away now and then!

also, I'm super excited to feed these pancakes to my babies when I get home. I miss them!!!

Cheri said...

ec - I sometimes figured the best part of being away wasn't the getting away but the realizing how much I loved the being home. Enjoy your break and even more enjoy the reunion!

ec said...

made these this morning and they were enjoyed by all. i even LOVED them, and i don't love pancakes. thank you, thank you!

question, do you use an electric griddle? i used my cast iron pan, and mine weren't as pretty as yours (though just as delicious, i think).

Cheri said...

I did use an electric griddle for these. Eden has one and it is big enough that it's possible to make pancakes just fast enough to keep up with the pancake eaters.

So happy to hear that you enjoyed these. Thanks for taking the time to let me know :)

Katie said...

Yum! I made these for our Wednesday night tradition of pancakes-for-dinner tonight and they were so yummy! Most definitely will be a remake. Thanks for sharing!

bekatelyn.com

Ashley Jane Reina said...

Love!! We are pancake people and seem to always be searching for the next best recipe. Well these were a huge hit in our house today. They will become the new favorite!! Thanks for sharing yummy food and fun with your grandkids.

Judi Lee said...

I made these today after church for my own little Mother's Day brunch! I used almond milk and plain Greek yogurt and they turned out great! And so easy. This has become my new favourite pancake recipe.

Melissa said...

Delicious! Definitely a keeper!

Unknown said...

Hi there!
I have been trying different recipes for gluten free pancakes and they all sound delicious, but I can't seem to quite make them work when I use non-dairy milk. They never cook all they way through and we are left with a soggy mess. If I use dairy milk, they work great, but I rarely have that on hand. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Anonymous said...

CHERI! I have made many many gluten free dairy free pancakes, and since Martin and I can't have eggs I always struggle, happy to report they worked with flax "eggs" too! I am so happy, so so soo happy! Finally I have a pancake recipe! Thank you my dear.
-Cassie