Texture

I'm a texture girl.  When I find a bit of sand, I like to rub my finger against it.  I crave nuts in my brownies.  Hard crusts on my baguette.  I like the skin that forms on homemade pudding. 

So imagine my delight when my husband's mother sent us a box of Samoas Girl Scout cookies when we were in the Peace Corps.  Samoas, with their chocolaty, caramelly, coconutty goodness. Their texture!

Against my better judgment, we shared a cookie with Mehari, our Tigrinya teacher, so he could experience the pleasure of an iconic American treat.  He chewed it.  Seemed to enjoy it, too, at least for a minute.  But suddenly he started spitting on the floor. Ptheh! Ptheh!  What the hell was he doing?

Turns out he didn't embrace the texture of coconut.  "I think there's packing material in this," he complained, obviously dismayed.

I was not pleased.

Anyway, on to pancakes.  I love a standard, uniformly fluffy pancake, but a pancake with a little textural interest adds an unexpected and (dare I suggest?) welcome twist.

...

Recipe for Lightly Seeded Pancakes

Here's a little variation on your standard, fluffy pancakes.  This version is still pouffy and impossibly light, but seeds add textural interest as well as a delicate undernote of flavor.  I used toasted sesame seeds, but feel free to experiment with whole flax seeds, poppy seeds, or even hemp seeds (available at natural foods stores) if you like.

Makes 14 pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (often in the Asian foods aisle rather than the spice isle), or seeds of your choice

2 tablespoons medium-grind cornmeal

1-1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used European-style fat-free)

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon milk (fat-free works well)

1-1/2 tablespoons canola oil

butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries, for serving

In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients (flour through salt).  In a second medium bowl, whisk egg, yogurt, milk, and oil.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and whisk lightly until combined.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl and make sure the batter is uniformly moistened.

Heat a cast-iron griddle or skillet over medium-high heat until drops of water sizzle then evaporate.  Coat with non-stick spray. 

Use an ice cream scoop to dollop the batter onto the hot griddle.  Cook 2 minutes on one side, flip, and cook about a minute on the second side, or until nicely browned and cooked through.

Serve hot with butter, syrup, and fresh berries.

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Comments

[Heather]

I'll admit, I hit the bit about Samoas (Samoas!!!) and stopped reading. Quick run to the basement, popped into the deep freeze and whipped out a box of Caramel Delights (Samoas are not allowed to be called that anymore it seems but they will always be Samoas in my heart.)... My God Cheryl, you are the devil.

Anyway, now that my 19 hour day has been fortified with the coconutty goodness of Girl Scout heaven, I read on.

Hmm, I never, ever considered seeds in my pancakes. I'll admit, I'm not a seseame seed gal at all but I do have some poppy seeds and I'm scouting around for other experimental options for Sunday morning pancakes (nuts, candied ginger?). I'll maybe even slip them into some for the kids and see what happens.

That's after I make the blueberry smiley faced pancake as seen in the Curious George book. There are demands to meet after all.

[Charmian Christie]

I'm a texture hound, too. I think that's why I love to knit. With food, I love bread you can sink your teeth into and crisp vegetables. I am equally repulsed by mushy textures. Cooked oatmeal and rice pudding make me gag. There! I said it!

While I love cornmeal pancakes, I've never thought to add to the texture with seeds. Heather suggested poppyseeds, which I adore, so perhaps I'll give these a try on Canada Day (pancakes on the patio are a family tradition). Or maybe toasted flax seeds? Ooooh, the possibilities are endless...

[Little Kahuna]

Samoas are my favorites. I would have been so upset to see one wasted.

The pancakes look beautiful.

[ihatetoast]

when i taught, i had a student who sat next to me and would stroke my legs if i had stubble. oy! we were sitting in the wells in the classroom. she loved thursdays. fridays i shaved. ah 4th graders without a clue.

don't put stubble in your pancakes.

i love whole flax seeds. i put them everywhere but never thought about pancakes. perfect! where do you get white raspberries?

[Liz]

Feh (an alternate spelling, I believe, of your Ptheh") is our dog's command word when we wabt him to drop a chicken bone he's picked up in the park. Not a texture we want him to experience.

Pancakes look yummy. I'm a little freaked out by ihatetoasts' story about the groping 4th grader, though. But impressed she had a designated shaving day.

[Cheryl]

Heather, you're making blueberry smiley-face Curious George pancakes after a 19 hour day? I hope your children genuflect at the alter that is you.

Charmian, knowing rice pudding makes you gag makes it difficult for me to continue typing, as it is one of my ALL-TIME favorite foods. (Kozy Shack, anyone?) But because of Canada Day, I will overlook this obvious personal quirk of yours and thank you for your continued patronage.

Little Kahuna, thank you for your visit. Anyone who loves Samoas is a-ok in my book.

ihatetoast, i make no promises, but I can assure you that the likelihood of my putting stubble in my pancakes is somewhat slim. I find white raspberries at my local farmer's market. Lucky, I know. Only 1 vendor has them, but I keep going back for more.

Liz, yes, i think Feh is the Tennessee pronunciation. And a designated shaving day would provide much needed structure to these long summer weeks. Good point.

[Jen Simons]

Texture is how we in college admissions describe an applicant who is interesting, layered "s/he has texture." It's a great compliment.

[Heather]

I'll just say that I envy "ihatetoast" and her ability to only shave once a week.

Cheryl, do the white raspberries have a different taste or is it more of a color variation than a taste?

And no - pancakes were made on Sunday, 19 hour day was Saturday. I'm not that good of a mom. I have absolutely no idea what I made them for dinner on Saturday.

[Cheryl]

Jen, I think YOU have texture.

And Heather, the white raspberries taste sweet and lovely. More uniform, less complex, than red raspberries. Less, um, textured, if you will.

[Deb Schiff]

I'm a big texture geek too. My husband is on the other side of the street when it comes to things with "hummus-like" texture.

I love the pudding skin too! Although I like putting stuff in pudding so that it's not too smooth.

Really enjoying your blog.

[Cheryl]

Deb, ah, if you like stuff in your pudding, you'll love the banana pudding recipe from 7/2/08. It has bananas (obviously) AND pulverized ladyfingers. Plus, no need to share with your husband (even though it feeds a small army).