Pancakes and Inspiration

I have been feeling quite inspired lately, and everywhere I turn I find more to inspire me.  It must be the crisp fall air that is finally here.  Fall is definitely my time of year, even though I know that a winter of freezing in my studio is just around the corner.  I am dusting off my pile of warm fuzzies as we speak… 

Something else that I love when the weather turns crisp is pancakes.  (I used to own and operate a country inn where breakfast was included, so I am quite the expert on breakfast, ha ha).  It’s been a few years, but I am getting inspired about cooking again now that I work from home.  Lately I’ve been inventing new pancake recipes, and I thought I’d share one of my favorites with you today.  These were inspired by the French Breakfast muffins we used to serve at the inn (I’ll be posting that recipe one of these days).  I love the hints of vanilla and nutmeg combined with the apples and cinnamon.

 Apple Cinnamon Nutmeg Pancakes with Maple Syrup 

1 cup unbleached flour (I use half whole wheat and half white flour)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Scant 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 rounded Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Maple syrup to taste

 

Topping:

2 large cooking apples, sliced thinly (rome, macintosh or granny smith are great)

2 Tablespoons butter

1 T brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Stir together dry ingredients, beat egg in small bowl, add milk to beaten egg, and pour into dry ingredients.  Stir until combined. 

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto preheated griddle, keep warm in 200 degree oven.

Make topping:  Melt butter in saucepan, add brown sugar and cinnamon, then add apples.  Cook until just tender. 

Serve pancakes topped with apples and maple syrup and enjoy!

Oh yes, a few chopped toasted walnuts on top are wonderful, too. 

 

While I was enjoying the above pancakes, I thought I’d browse the front page of 1000 Markets.  The first thing I saw was this stunning photo by Gary Gillis.  It is a Hummingbird Moth, and the photo took him 6 years to get!  I believe it, because the clarity is simply stunning.  I spend a lot of time with my camera, and I am always striving (and have yet to achieve) the luminous clarity that jumps out from Gary’s photography – indeed an inspiration.

Another photo of Gary’s that I love is this luminous pink water lotus.  I travelled to a garden in nearby North Carolina a year ago when the lotus were blooming and was just enthralled with these gorgeous and amazingly huge flowers, truly a photographer’s dream.   Of course, my photos were nowhere near the quality of Gary’s, so I shall spare you all.   The colors in this photo are reminding me that I just have to try enamels on my flower jewelry soon.  I can just see a cuff bracelet and earring set in these colors for next spring’s new designs. 

One of my little nature inspired experiments this week at the bench was yet another fold formed leaf.  I’ve been playing with the ‘line fold’ where the back of the fold is hammered flat, and I decided it made a great center vein for a leaf.  This one is done in brass, and accented with a little black star sapphire.  I really quite like it.  Lol, wouldn’t it be great if I could do one in 18kt gold……I keep looking at the gold sheet -one of these days I’m going to buy a couple of inches.

 

That’s it for now….have a great week!