The dancer and I had a sleepover with Gigi this Summer…a memory trigger for sure.  My Grommie (my mom’s mom, my kiddos’ Gigi), would pick me up for the weekend at her Irvine Condo.  We’d head to “the hello kitty store” for a little treat, pick up some exotic take-out, watch a movie on her red velvet couch, and eat “green surprise” (lime sherbet and sprite I think…) in her martini glasses.  In the morning I’d get to o.d. on cartoons…even if it was Sunday (something we never did at home)…some Fraggle Rock, which I never saw at home cause only Grommie has HBO.  🙂  I’d read all her children’s books on her personally designed bookshelf: (it’s amazing…very difficult to install…still works great) Winnie the Pooh, and poetry compilations by Shel Silverstein…wonderful childhood memories.

G, as we also call her now (pretty sure my brother Jonny named her that when she lived with them a couple years ago), called to confirm our weekend fun.  She asked about the dancer’s favorite breakfast, which I have learned is “rolly pancakes” or crepes.  Gigi doesn’t make those so she asked if the dancer would be ok with scrambled eggs and lil’ smokies (another childhood memory for me).  That wasn’t difficult, as I think breakfast must be the dancer’s favorite meal of the day…really can’t go wrong.

For breakfast at Gigi’s we would usually eat magic pancakes.  And they were magic.  We’d watch through the oven window at just the right time and see the german pancakes grow and stretch into wild abstract wonderfulness.  How we love magic pancakes growing up…I love to recreate the magic with our kiddos on the weekend.  And now the dancer has tasted a bit of the magic staying the night at Gigi’s.

We enjoyed a delightful dinner/evening with Reesa, Berry, Gigi and Cate.  The next morning, we met Aunt Buffie (my mom’s only sibling) at visited the Springville Art Museum.  How I love that place.  We finished our tour in the garden.  I’ve taken the kiddos there many times, once even met our cousin Becky and her cute kiddos…but we’ve never got to see everything.  It was truly a treat.  Thanks G for a memorable weekend!

With magic pancakes on the brain, here is a seasonal treat we’ve been enjoying:

coconut buttermilk syrup
3/4 cup buttermilk (we’ve also used homemade vili yogurt)
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tbs coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda

1. bring ingredients to a boil in saucepan.
2. lower heat to medium/low and cook for 7 minutes

We like to store ours in a glass mason jar

quinoa german pancakes
8 eggs
2 tbs raw sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/3 cups quinoa flour (we’ve also used 3/4 cup kamut berries, ground, 1/3 cup quinoa & 1/4 cup wheat germ)
1 1/3 cups almond milk (cream or raw milk would also be nice, vili yogurt is wonderful here)
4 tbs butter

1. melt butter in a 9×11 glass pan over low heat.  rotate pan so butter greases the pan.
2. preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. whip eggs in blender till smooth.  Add remaining ingredients.
4. pour batter into pan and bake 20 minutes.
5. lower heat to 350 degrees and bake another 10 minutes.

Slice pancake and serve with coconut  buttermilk syrup and your favorite in-season fruit.

serves 8-10

What special something are you enjoying this weekend? xo ~ katrina