Forget diamonds and yachts, the real luxury is time.

Waking up hungry is a wonderful thing. I am an egg or an oatmeal or yogurt fan in the morning.
I do not like pancakes, I can tolerate waffles, hold the maple syrup. No matter what, I drink several cups of coffee, before, during and after eating, preferably out of a cup and saucer.

Will someone please explain to me why on this grey drizzily March morning only a pancake would do? Being fairly new to the ilk of eating what you want when you want it ( mostly only the most responsible way~dull but true), I decided to give my belly what it was asking for. Sure, I could sit and think and delve into my mind and ponder why I was craving a pancake but I decided for once to keep it simple and go for it. It does leave me wondering which speaks first, the belly or the mind, I should know this by now.

I did it, I made the pancake, and in the process made a huge picture worthy mess. First, I found a recipe from an old friend and knew this was a trustworthy one having made it for my children when they were much younger. It was so long ago the world was still in the process of embracing healthy versions of things such as pancakes. My family would eat them, but it was while consuming these very pancakes we adopted one of those signals every family adopts that becomes a silent part of them. One of my children, (and you can both thank me here for not naming names) had to pick out a sheaf? splinter? grain? of wheat from between their front teeth halfway through the meal. The fingernail went to the tooth at the table! I rejoiced at opportunities like these to point out, "not here Dear". I mean, it is part of the job. Ever since we laugh and get the message, just a tad too wheaty for my liking if one of us discreetly poses a nail near a tooth. Whole wheat scones, oat bran bread, sprouted grain English muffins have all gotten the finger, as it were.

The mess! Measuring and mixing 2 cups of buckwheat flour*, 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 cups of white flour, 1 cup of cornmeal, 2/3 cup of vanilla sugar*, 4 T. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda and 5 t. salt is a dusty job. It takes 2 bowls and 2 whisks because you realize while hand whisking this is a job for the mixer. So you have grain dust everywhere. Separately, you whisk 2 eggs and 1 and 1/4 cups of milk and 2 T. oil. Quickly blend that in only 1 and 3/4 cups of the dry ingredients. Two more bowls and a measuring cup. I cut the whole proportion thing in half when it came to preparing the batter as I am only one person and I do not like pancakes.

My only non stick pan is a griddle that covers two burners, so add that to the pile of dirty dishes.
The tiny bit of maple syrup I felt was a necessary component of the experience overflowed all over the microwave, apparently maple syrup boils rapidly and 30 seconds was about 25 too long.
Dealing with the nearly 10 cups of remaining "pancake dry mix" created it's own mess. I really need a funnel. The pastry bag I thought was such a bright idea in place of a funnel clogged...and then had to be washed.

I woke up 6 hours ago. Sure, I have puttered around with laundry and trolled a bit on eBay, baked the 59 baby carriage shaped shortbread cookies E. kindly rolled out for me yesterday but I'm still in my robe! I got waylaid with the pancake and the massive clean up. Was it worth it?
Absolutely, hands down, no question, YES! I feel quite satisfied and a little smug, this was a great way to spend a drizzily morning.
*Original recipe calls for rye flour and regular, not vanilla sugar. I thank my friend Julie for this recipe and many happy memories.