Apple Cider Pecan Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Crisp  blue autumn mornings inspire me to  make somethng special for breakfast,  forgetting about carbs  for a few  minutes  now and then.  Whether I  make the pancakes from scratch  or am in a hurry and/or  lazy and use whatever pancake mix I have on hand; the cider and other add-ins make them  delicious.   If you must,  top with  maple  syrup,   but  since you have the cider there  take a moment to make this tasty alternative.

Make almost   any pancake batter  as directed, with the amount  of oil and egg  directed on the box or following your usual recipe.  For the liquid, instead of milk or water use either regular cider or sparkling cider.   Look for sparkling cider  packaged like  a bottle of wine.   It  produces lighter,  pouf-ier  pancakes.    Stir   in chopped  apples, skin on, and chopped walnuts or pecans, and 1/4 tsp apple pie spice per cup of  dry  pancake mix. or flour.    Cook  as directed.

 Cider Syrup:
In  a small saucepan, combine  1/4 c.  sugar, 2 tsp  cornstarch and  2/3 c. regular apple cider until smooth; then add one cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir  a dash of nutmeg into syrup along with a TB of butter.  Serve pancakes with warm syrup and additional butter if desired.   Makes 2/3 cup syrup that's also delicious on French toast.

Spinach Pancakes

A perfect breakfast, dinner   side dish or simple supper entrée  for low carb dieters, South Beach diets, and healthy eating...not one bit of flour!  We love them for  breakast.   Quick to make, both  soft and crispy, and delicious. It's a nifty  way to get spinach into your kids. This morning I found we had no feta, and used shredded (NOT powdery) Parmesan cheese, which was  a super substitute,  and might  go over even better with kids. If you do use Parm  add a little salt to the batter, since ordinarily the feta would provide a bit  more  saltiness.  We like to  let extras cool completely on paper towels, then freeze with plastic or wax paper between the patties...they  are terrific reheated slowly  just for a  minute in the microwave.


Mix 8 beaten eggs with 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and WELL drained, and 1/4 c. finely chopped onion, . Heat 2 TB oil in a skillet on medium-high. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 c. of the mixture into the hot oil , wait a couple seconds to let the very bottom start to firm up, then  sprinkle about 1 TB of feta cheese over each.  (You'll need a total of 4 oz crumbled feta or about 1/2 c Parmesan).   Flatten  the pancake a bit with the back of a spoon before adding the cheese.   Cook 2 minutes or until golden; turn, cook til golden brown and a litle crispy. Serve topped with sour cream - use lite or low fat if you like.