Daddy's Pancakes

Daddy Pancakes

My perfect memory is my breakfast pancakes before I start the day, which ends with a sore thigh, sore ankles, and he had many loving layers. My days are those of a 6th grade student with endless trips up and down the stairs with my friends and absolutely strange conversation in the locker room. We eat dad’s pancakes before going to farmer's’ markets, having fun with family friends. While we eat, to socialize with others. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. These pancakes unites us all. It is always our food after a night stay awake long enough laughs with friends. I know that every mouth will water when they feel warm, gooey maple syrup on pancakes yummy my father.

I wake up listening return, Clack, Clack, Clack side dish on most Saturday mornings. I hear drawers opening and closing, and feel the heat from the grill heat up. It is satisfying sound icon dough (homemade) on the grid. Metal spatula hits the skillet and my dad flips pancakes and land with distinctive Plop! Whether it's at home in our spacious, modern blue and grey kitchen, or on Block Island in the lotte wood, white kitchen, it is always sound home run .That PLOP sound is family, friends and childhood; the sound of pancakes to die for my dad.

Waking up before the rooster go down the hall with my dad says, "Giovanna, you want to help me make pancakes?" The spacious kitchen we Sashay around grabbing ingredients. Light fills the modern gray and blue kitchen. I grasp and crack an egg into a small bowl, not a large bowl.

My dad says: "Geez Giovanna, why are you organized? Could you just threw it into a large bowl."

We melt the butter and whirl microwave sends me back to all the other cases. Although counts, mix the milk with a secret ingredient; forks hitting plastic measuring cup with a click, click. Looking at yellow solution immersed in the milk. Then we pour the wet and dry ingredients and prepare for pancakes.

"Be careful not to dissolve all the bumps in the batter," Dad whispers to me. We are careful not to wake everyone else up, so we keep our voices down. It requires quite a hard force to mix all ingredients with our tiny whisk. Although once it's done, it looks lumpy, but good tastes great. I stick my finger and my dad says, "You're like your mother." I chuckle and lick the batter off my finger. Before the cooked dough tastes mostly like baking powder, because my dad wanted to use extra, but it's really good.

My dad rummaged around and ask: "What are you looking for?"

He said: "¼ measurement cup- one we use to scoop the batter."

I looked in the right place and said: "Really? It’s where it should be." My dad laughs and starts plopping pancakes on a griddle.

My dad expertly flips pancakes and land perfectly. "I give it a 10!" I scream too loudly.

"Shhhh."

When I try to flip pancakes, glide like oil on the bottom. "Geez," I complain.                                                      

I try but my pancakes end up on the edge of the grid. I move back to where they should be and I end up with lattice (thin halo around pancake batter, which is brown, crispy and crunchy). I ask my dad, "How do you do it?" The trick is all the practice he tells me.

After we have done about 36 pancakes, put the last batch, which was still warm on the plates. We have to give Aly is in the oven, to wait for her. We both know that will sleep forever if she could.  

When I sit down, pancakes are warm and covered with delicious maple syrup. Dad always bought us real maple syrup, he calls other syrups plastic. Nothing beats a fluffy pancakes and warm, sweet, maple syrup.

"Good?" He asks.

"Uh-huh."

My dad and I always carry this tradition. Every Saturday morning until one or the other is here, we make pancakes. Dad and I laugh that pancakes have a way to change the form. The recipe we use every time, but they could be fluffy or flat. Every time we ask the same question: "What makes them so fluffy or flat?" We do not know, but in a way we did not really matter because they taste just as good. We freeze a supply  for the week ahead.

This is a tradition that keeps our bellies is full during the week. We always have a great time. We keep our family together ... and feed them too.

Pancake Recipe

1 tbsp of lemon juice

2 cups of milk

10 oz of flour

2 tbsps of sugar

2 tsp of baking powder

½ tsp of baking soda

½ tsp of salt

1 large egg

3 tbsp of butter

1.5 tsp of vegetable oil