Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes!

So my first post will be on the Lemon Poppy seed Pancakes recipe I found one day while surfing through Pinterest. The recipe can be found here for reference. The original poster has a few photos that were really great to get an idea of what my final product would look like. The recipe was fairly easy to follow which was really nice. In fact, it was pretty much 3 step process: 1) Gather all the correct ingredients into their proper separate bowls (dry and wet), 2) Mix ingredients to the correct consistency, 3) Cook them on my pan with a little butter (or Pam if you prefer) and serve!


Amount/difficulty of ingredients needed: 4/10
Overall difficulty of recipe: 3/10
Prep time: 20-30 minutes (depending on fast you cut strawberries and measure out things)
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes (depending on how your stove cooks)


The ingredients needed were the following:
2 cups unbleached ap (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup poppy seeds
zest of 4 lemons
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Out of all of these ingredients, the two I haven't ever really worked with [separately] were the buttermilk and poppy seeds themselves. The buttermilk had a semi-sour smell I was not used to, which is totally normal so don't worry like I did. The poppy seeds I bought I ended up using entirely; one small jar is basically 1/3 of a cup in size (slightly less) which is perfect for this recipe.


The hardest part of this recipe for me to follow was this step: "Stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don't want to over mix." This was particularly hard for me because I generally tend to "over mix" being that I'm afraid the ingredients are never integrated enough and the end result will taste weird. I may have ended up over-mixing a little bit, but my batter ended up looking almost exactly like the one in the picture.

The second difficulty I had was when I was cooking. This was because I have an electric stove I'm still getting used to (as oppose to my old gas stove in the previous house). Gauging the temperature on my stove is difficult because I try to turn on it on low, but it doesn't heat up enough. So I turn it up a few notches, and then it gets so hot that the pancake burns before it cooks all the way through. So finding a happy medium may be tricky, however if you already know the tendencies of your stove then this is irrelevant to you.

Once I figured that out for myself [and the pancakes], the process became much faster.

My pancakes didn't end up as fluffy as those on the website, and I'm pretty sure that was my fault. I'm used to trying to spread the pancake batter to make thinner pancakes so that they cook faster and don't burn.

The pancakes were very delicious, however because they ended up being thin they were a little too dry for my taste in pancakes. Some extra butter (and whipped cream) definitely helped with this, although not completely.

I used a spatula to get every last bit of the batter from this bowl to make the pancakes. I think I ended up with about 12 or so pancakes, which is what the recipe said it would make. I believe it would make just as many large pancakes if I hadn't "spread" them out so much on the pan. Hopefully next time I can have much fluffier pancakes.

The end result? Wonderfully delicious with the perfect amount of lemon and poppy seed flavor! And soooo much more delicious with a strawberry and bit of whipped cream in every bite.

 Below is everything I ended up using for my breakfast meal.

Sooooooooo yummy!

And so it begins..

Sometime during the 2011 year I discovered the idea of homemade drink/pot coasters. I played around with the idea throughout the year and finally decided to actually go for it around December. I conducted some research on other peoples blogs and youtube videos, and made a list of supplies I could possibly need. After setting some time and money aside, I finally dove in and began my project (plus I had run out of excuses to delay it). I had my fair share of mishaps and learned from my mistakes. My first successful set of coasters were used as auction prizes for my Fraternity's bingo game, while the second set I gave out as gifts at Christmas (which were enjoyed!).

During this time I was also in the process of moving into my new home. With a new home, come many new beginnings, including projects and ideas for decorating! I slowly discovered, and became addicted, to Pinterest. I only pinned a few things at first, but then more and more ideas were swarming my mind weekly. Moving forced me to get creative (as the space I moved into was smaller), and winter break gave me plenty of time to actually invest in projects. I made a list of crafts and recipes I wanted to try and began.

Over the past few months I have discovered MANY new recipes and projects that I have fallen in love with. I have found what works with each set of instructions, and what makes absolutely no sense (or is simply missing). Sometimes, I even found a "cheat" or other method I simply liked better. After coming across these numerous times, the idea of sharing these thoughts came to me. And so comes this blog.

I don't plan on sharing any ideas, projects, or recipes that are groundbreaking or spanking new. Instead, I plan on sharing those that I have tried myself, what worked, what didn't, and how I made it happen (or not happen). Hopefully someone else can benefit from my experimentation's and not have to make the same mistakes, waste supplies, or time! And if all else fails, at least I can share with all of you what I loved.

And do expect pictures, because I'm a visual learner and have found that they help me the most.

To new and exciting adventures,

Katherine