Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes with homemade syrup

This morning I awoke to a feeling of dehydration. We had sushi last night and the soy sauce must have done a number on my system. Anyhow, I wasn’t feeling the urge to be in the kitchen. My head hurt a little and the motivation just wasn’t there. It came across in my cooking- sorry to my Dad, Caroline and Jack for having that happen. My head just wasn’t in the game and it was reflected in my food.

That being said, I forgot to put the salt into my batter for the pancakes. Salt makes a huge difference between great tasting food and blah blah crapola food. I forgot the damn salt. Additionally, this morning it was pretty humid and we had the windows open. My egg whites were hit pretty hard and wouldn’t fold into the batter properly. They were way too wet feeling and there wasn’t much I could do about it. So, without salt and with wet egg whites, the cakes tasted a little flat and were too dense. I am confident, however, that if they had the appropriate ingredients and those ingredients decided to work properly that this would be a great recipe.

The blueberry and raspberry syrup was really good, however. That recipe will be made again in this house, that’s for sure. I made it with agave to keep it lower on the glycemic index, but because it is already a wet ingredient (as opposed to granulated sugar) it needs some time to reduce. It is a concentrated taste of deliciousness.

Although mine didn’t turn out quite right, this is a recipe to try at least once. Put the Bisquick back on the shelf and try something new- right?

Makes enough pancakes for 4 people

Ingredients for pancakes

1 cup ground organic yellow cornmeal
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
1 cup organic milk
1 cup organic Greek yogurt (next time I am going to try vanilla rather than plain)
1 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp good vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
3 tbsp agave syrup
1/2 lime, juiced
3 egg whites
1.5 cups fresh, rinsed blueberries

Ingredients for Homemade Syrup

1.5 cups fresh, rinsed blueberries
1/4 pint organic raspberries (remember that raspberry flavor will overpower the blueberry easily)
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup agave syrup

Let’s get the syrup going first. In a VitaMix or other high powered blender, toss in the blueberries, raspberries and water. Liquify. Pour into a sauce pan with the syrup. Place over medium heat until bubbling, then reduce to a simmer. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Reduce for 30 minutes. It’s just that easy.

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Don’t forget the salt. Add the vanilla, agave, milk and yogurt. Mix. The mixture will be thick- don’t worry about it. The egg whites will thin it out. In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites until stiff peaks form. If you put in a pinch of salt it will help. Once you have the whites ready, add them and the blueberries to the cornmeal batter. Fold the whites and blueberries into the batter.

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. Butter the surface and drop 1/4 cup of batter. Spread around lightly. Cook for about a minute plus or minus on each side until the cakes feel firm. Place them in a warmed oven or toaster oven until the batter is cooked.

Serve with some fresh berries and the homemade blueberry syrup.

The syrup really makes these pancakes. Photo by Scott Groth