breakfast.

so breakfast is an important meal. according some, the most important meal of the day. and really, it does set the tone and the mood. good days for me include a hot breakfast. i love hot breakfast. cereal is on my 'ok, i guess' list of food. rarely do i love cereal, unless i'm in canada and have endless access to vector. something that doesn't exist here. i'm trying to find ways of making hot breakfast easier. many mornings we have eggs, which we love, but i'm picky about eggs. scrambled eggs cannot be hard or chewy in any way. they should be soft pillows of melt in your mouth deliciousness. this is not easy on the time front.

i'm going to experiment next week with both make ahead oatmeal from the kitchn. and freezer breakfast burritos, from a mash up of recipes that i've found online. and i'm going to make a batch of granola from the recipe i've used for a few years, but have neglected to make since we've been married - i think i'm just afraid that le boy will eat all of my efforts - c'est la vie.

but what's been really revolutionary for me? homemade pancake mix. just as easy as the stuff that came out of the box when i was a kid (also not sold here, after all the british definition of a 'pancake' is slightly disappointing - think a cross between an american pancake and a french crepe). from where else but nigella? oh how we love her.

from nigella.com

instant homemade pancake mix
from nigella express

i make this once every four times we have pancakes. i store the rest in an airtight container with the directions on the side, when it's time to make pancakes it's simple and easy. le boy prefers these to be served with bacon and maple syrup, but the additions to the batter and the topping options are endless.

for the mix: 

600g (4 scant cups) flour 

3 x 15ml tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon salt

40g (1/4 cup) caster (granulated) sugar

to make:

for each 150g (1 cup) pancake mix, add and whisk together:

1 egg

250ml (1 cup) semi-skimmed or full-fat milk

1 x 15ml tablespoon melted butter

directions: 
heat a pan over medium heat - i add my butter and melt it in the pan before pouring it into the mixing bowl (saving on washing up here!). drop batter onto hot pan, when bubbles appear on top of pancake it is ready to flip over. 1-2 minutes per side for golden brown pancakes.

while cooking the rest of the pancakes i tent the cooked pancakes on a plate with some foil (i don't have a fancy pancake dish, and i don't really want one, but it sure is pretty in the photo!)