Joy the Baker

Can I let you in on a little something?

I don’t live in the cool Los Angeles neighborhood that all my friends live in…

I have more matching spatulas than I do matching bath towels.  

I still can’t seem to commit to buying myself a couch.  

My bedroom bookcase seems to be made up of one part books and three parts dust.  

I tell you all of this to let you in on the fact that I’ve been feeling domestically restless these days.  The kind of restless that has had me daydreaming about moving into a downtown loft that I can’t afford.  The kind of restless that has had me daydreaming about decorating a downtown loft that I can’t afford with expensive furniture that I also can’t afford.  

Not being able to afford your daydreams?  Torture and motivation.  Together.   

This weekend I decided… get this… that it’s all ok! 

I took to my kitchen with my rubber gloves, bleach spray and a few rags and I scrubbed and organized like I’ve never done before.  Yes, it’s just the kitchen.  No, I couldn’t get to my whole apartment.  But the scrubbing and organizing helped me remember that my humble little apartment, in the uncool part of town, is pretty darn sweet.  I don’t need the fancy loft and the expensive furniture.  I just need to make my little spot in the world a little brighter… with bleach.  

And the pancakes this weekend helped too.  Tremendous.

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Pumpkin. 

It’s October and it is time.  Pumpkin.  

Hold on to your hats.  I’ll be all up in your grill with peppermint and chocolate for Christmas before you know it.  

For now….

Pumpkin.   Don’t fight it.

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Is it just me, or are there butterflies everywhere?  

Maybe it’s butterfly hatching season…. that’s a technical term: butterfly hatching.  Obviously.  

Exhibit A:  On a particularly rough day at work, a butterfly just about the size of my hand fluttered around me showing off its black, yellow and red wings.  Absolutely gorgeous.  

Exhibit B:  Just this morning a butterfly whizzed past my nose as I rode a bike through the Oakland hills.  High speed butterflying.  

I don’t even need an Exhibit C, I’m tellin’ you… there’s something in the air:  butterflies.  

So, all of this beautiful fluttering action has lead me to, well… look for a little meaning in all of it. 

I know… totally cheese ball, right?  It’s just that I feel something in the air.  Maybe it’s the change of season, or maybe it’s my sun sign doing God knows what to my moon sign.  Who knows?  I just feel a flood of change coming my way.  I think that’s what all these butterflies are trying to tell me.  Change is a’comin’, in more ways than I might already think.  That… or it’s just butterfly hatching season.  I don’t know.

In other news:  I have a fridge full of zucchini and I made zucchini pancakes.  

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Some things just shouldn’t be a luxury.  Some things are an absolute necessity.

Spending too much money at Target, for example.  Sometimes… (you know it’s true) that’s a total necessity.

Hot bath plus cold beer.  You need it.  I need it. Necessity.

A super comfortable dress that shows a little shoulder.  Everyone loves a little shoulder.

A girlfriend you can talk about your lady parts with.  Yes, I said lady parts.  Please don’t under estimate this necessity.

Aaaaand, last but not least… a little pancake love on a weekday morning.  Do it.

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You know this guy, right!?

He’s my Dad.  He makes some amazing pancakes… the best pancakes, the best tacos, the best sweet potato pie, the best tofu potato bake.  He’s a champion in the kitchen.

He’s also a champion Dad.  Top notch.  The kind of man that will talk to you for hours about the intricacies of Alfred Hitchcock movies… when you’re eight years old, make your stuffed animals talk and have fake bowel movements, and microwave your ice cream so it’s not too cold.  He’s the best I know.  Happy Father’s Day.

Want pancakes?  Take the jump!

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I like you.

No..,  I’m being completely serious here.  I totally like you.  I think you’re great.  You know when you sometimes steal the covers and fart in your sleep?   That’s cool with me.  Maybe that happens to all of us.

Yes.  You.  I like exactly who you are.

I’d like to make each and every one of you breakfast.  This weekend.  You and me.  Let’s do it!  The only little snafu is that, I can’t be everywhere, making everyone breakfast.  I’m going to need your help.

Will you make yourself breakfast on my behalf?  Sure, it might sound a little silly, but I’ve got my serious face on right now.  If you’ve been around these blogparts for more than a minute that you probably know that I love… I seriously looooove breakfast.

See, I love breakfast and I totally like you.  I thought that maybe… in this really cool way… you could find a recipe here on Joy the Baker, make it for yourself for breakfast this weekend… and maybe that way just feel a hint of exactly how rad I think you are.

Can we do this together?

Jump on over and drool through some of my favorite breakfast recipes.  Pick one.  Make it for yourself this weekend.  Share it with friends.  Share it with husbands and families.  Make the wife breakfast!  Make yourself feel good with a little weekend breakfast, and you’ll experience a just a bit of how good you all make me feel every day.

Carrot Cake Pancakes.  Say you will.

Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread.  Say you might.

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Everyday requires a little adventure, wouldn’t you agree?

Some days (say… yesterday for me) that adventure can be as simple as taking a new route home from work (and getting lost driving through the canyons).

Other days, that adventure might mean moving to France for three months  (not my adventure, but bon voyage dear Carsen!).

Maybe sometime during this bright and brisk week, your adventure will involve these Chai Spiced Pancakes.  I dunno about you, but there’s something about a steaming plate of pancakes makes me feel like I’m living the good life.  And chai spice?  Well, let’s just agree to calling that a mild pancake adventure.

Whatever adventure means to do, I say go and do!  Big or small.  France or pancakes.  Treat yourself to a little adventure this week…. and forever.  Foreva, eva, eva?  Yes.

In other exciting, non pancake related news, the 2009 Bloggies are announced this afternoon.  You might want to hop on over there and check out the big winners.  Remember waaaaay back a month ago when I was nominated for Best New Blog?  Yea… well.  Win or no win, being nominated has been the most awesome kick in the pants.  Thanks for making that happen for me.  Really.  Thanks!

Wait!!  There’s more!  Here’s a super secret tip!  You might want to find yourself back here this time tomorrow for a super awesome giveaway.  I’m just sayin’…

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These are the four pictures that are going to make you seriously consider why you aren’t in your kitchen right this second making these pancakes.

These are the four pictures that might just have you prioritizing the next few hours, the next few days, heck(!) your entire weekend around these pancakes.

Yea… that just happened. I just dropped that madness on you. I know… totally unfair.

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Forgive me.  I realize I’m a complete maniac about pancakes.  Not only did I post about pancakes just a few days back, but those pancakes were nearly two weeks in the making.

How about a pancake heavy on the cake?  These carrot cake pancakes are like living in the best of both worlds.  You’ve got all your warm pancake goodness embellished with carrot cake spices, loads of carrots and.  AND!  cinnamon cream cheese spread.  In some ways, and let’s try to keep this a secret,  these carrot cake pancakes are just an excuse to spread sweet cinnamon cream cheese spread all over my breakfast.

Joy, of Joy the Baker is learning all about Italian wines and cheeses.  I got home from a morning wine tasting and decided that I needed something that would sit in my tummy and stick to my ribs.  See,  at this particular morning wine tasting I discovered why there are spit buckets.  If you don’t spit out the glorious wines you’re tasting, you might find yourself tipsy, trying to pronounce Italian wine names to your Italian boss before 10 in the morning.  Not so hot.

Not a winner,  but these pancakes are.

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Praise the heavens! These pancakes were two weeks in the making. And it all started with.. well.. forgive me.. a starter.

It turns out that a sourdough starter, a mixture of flour, water, bacteria and yeast, makes some pretty stellar pancakes. The cakes came out slightly thin, nicely browned and light as air. The starter and baking soda combination created insanely porous and light pancakes. The flavor? Combine sourdough bread and pancakes. Delicious. Super delicious. The slightly sour pancakes are perfectly complimented with maple syrup and sweet strawberries.

If you’ve followed along with me on my starter adventure, I hope you’ll try these pancakes. Jump on over. There are a few things you should know about this wacky pancake mix.

If you have no idea what’s going on, here’s a link to a link to all the sourdough starter madness.

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This Sourdough Starter project is turning out to be an ordeal.  I don’t think it’s the starters fault.  It’s only a simple mixture of flour and water.  I think the ordeal came in when I became mostly obsessed with my starter.  See,  I took my starter out of the fridge yesterday to feed it, and hopefully make delicious sourdough pancakes in spite of my ridiculously busy schedule.

The starter sat on my counter untouched, and just as it came out of the fridge, the hooch had separated from the rest of the starter.  No big deal, right?  Well, it was no big deal until, at room temperature, my starter started to bubble!

AAAHHHHH!  Seriously!  I was totally not prepared for this!  I was not expecting little bubbles to come up from the bottom of my starter, reach the top and burst.  I am simultaneously horrified and fascinated.  I couldn’t tear myself away from my starter all night.  It was so creepy.  I think I would scream in excitement and disgust every time I took another peek.

Granted, I don’t have photo documentation of this.  You just have to be there to be totally freaked out by it.

Now, I have no idea if this is normal.  My starter smells sour but not totally icky and well…. I think it’s alive.

Are your starters marinating in the fridge?

Here is a sneak peak of the sourdough pancake recipe I’m using.  It’s another overnight deal.  I suppose that this whole process isn’t for the faint of heart.  It requires a serious love for pancakes.  And after all this, would you believe that I’m too lazy to make cinnamon rolls!?  That just doesn’t make any sense at all.

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My Dad has the hands that feed. My Mom can make a bundt cake that might make you want to slap your Grandma, but Dad has the love for cooking. You can tell whether or not someone loves cooking by observing a few simple movements: the way they look at ingredients and the way they stir a pot. My Dad will look at an unrolled pie crust like he’s looking at a newborn baby. He stirs a pot of his famous spaghetti sauce like he’s melting down gold. Not one ounce of that affection for food was lost on me growing up in his kitchen.

But there’s a problem. As much as I adore sitting down to a plate full of food, I rarely if ever finish everything on my plate. I always leave at least a bite or two untouched. Why? I have a theory. It’s solid.

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Here are five important (read: random) things you should know about me.

1.  I have a very strong, well documented affection for pancakes.

2.  I’ve lived in all four corners of the United States, as proven by the following list:

Burlington, Vermont

Miami, Florida

Seattle, Washington

Los Angeles, California

3.  I’m sometimes (read: often) really awful about returning phone calls.  It’s nothing personal. I’m just not very good on the phone.  I’ll admit it- I’m kinda awkward on the phone.  I’m especially bad at goodbyes.  I always either say bye too soon or too late.  It’s laughable really, and awkward.

4.  I like to eat everything with a spoon, except spaghetti.  That’s just a losing battle. Spoons help me get larger amounts of food in my mouth faster.  Brilliant.

5.  I love old stoves.  Luckily I made friends with the owner of a bad-ass O’Keefe and Merritt stove.  In the middle of this beauty is the hottest griddle known to man!  I had the distinct honor of breaking in this fine griddle with these Triple Berry Pancakes.  Now that’s livin’!

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Am I starting to bore you?  Here I am with another pancake post.  I would almost feel bad about posting so many delicious pancake treats, but I can’t help myself.  I’m serious.  I’ll look you straight in the eye and tell you that I really just can’t help myself.  I must make pancakes about once a week.  I have them for dinner.  I wake up early and make them for breakfast.  And, because we’re all friends I’ll admit this, I freeze old pancakes and take them to work and reheat them in the toaster for lunch.  So you see, I have a serious pancake obsession!

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