Pancake Season

Somehow we make the leap from hot summer at the beach to more than a sweater in a very short time. And then it snows; Chicago weather is extreme and fast, although winter seems to loom much longer than anyone would really like, and I love winter. But autumn, this is my favorite. I love back to school, sweaters, college football, apples, pumpkins, red, orange and yellow, I love all things autumnal. I know it's that time of year when I wake up on Sunday and stumble into the kitchen to make oatmeal pancakes. A chilly morning apartment, flannel pajamas, beaten up slippers, and a lazy Sunday equals pancakes. This same equation equals football (as does Saturday mornings or simply autumn in general) to my husband but he more than willingly takes a break from Game Day to join us at the table.

A combination of something my grandmother used to make, the amazing oatmeal pancakes at Poppycock's in Aspen, and the back of the McCann's Irish Oatmeal box, here's what I create on cold Sunday mornings:

1 1/4 cups oatmeal (I use McCann's Quick Cooking)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup milk
1 tsp honey
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped (and toasted) walnuts
one apple
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Combine oats, yogurt, milk, and honey. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Add beaten eggs. Grate in one apple and add cinnamon and nutmeg. Batter is very thick, I often add a bit more milk at this point.

I cook them on a large griddle we received as a wedding gift from our friends Kari and Trevor. Here's the beauty of wedding gifts: I think of our friends every time I make pancakes. They live in Kansas City, we rarely get to see them but I think of them on many a chilly weekend day. Which is perfect because we used to spend many a chilly weekend night together at the Peanut. Isn't that better than handing someone a gift card?

Serve with warm maple syrup (from Michigan).