Last week Missouri held a special severe weather test day and sirens blared in sync across the state. There is a notification tower next to my son’s school and he has commented that the sirens are super loud during normal weekly tests, but this was a surprise drill, so I thought it might catch the kids off guard. When I picked up my tornado-skittish son from school that afternoon, I offhandedly asked him if that day’s siren was loud. I thought the extra warning may have startled him a bit because the entire school did the full-press severe weather run-through. I didn’t expect the response he gave, but we both laughed so hard that I had to share.
Prepping the Winter Hens
We were enjoying a mild winter here in the Midwest. . . until this week, as we fell into an extended deep freeze that made me really thankful for roaring fires, cozy sweaters and super fuzzy socks. Unfortunately, our chicken friends have none of these same luxuries, but we did bundle them up a bit to face the bitter cold.
Milk-Free, Fizzy Water Pancakes
It has a busy season (as usual) at the Three-Acre Wood and I’m quickly becoming thankful for the slower pace of this year’s Thanksgiving festivities. Since we didn’t travel, it gave us a few extra days to get Christmas in order and roll into the holiday season without being completely behind. Oh, I’m still behind; just not completely. On top of everything else, my husband found himself on a temporary restricted diet, so I got a little creative with meal prep and discovered a few new delicious recipes. Although hubby is back to eating normal, our family decided to keep one of our new dishes in the regular breakfast lineup — Fizzy Water Pancakes.
I wanted to pass along this recipe because I think it might be helpful for people with several different types of dietary restrictions, especially folks with a milk allergy or intolerance. Instead of dairy products, these fluffy pancakes get a lift from carbonated water, but one would never know. Our son has gone as far as claiming them as the “best pancakes ever.” He’s ten. Take his culinary review with caution, but I do have to agree that they are quite tasty.
Fizzy Water Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 1/4 c sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt I use non-iodized
- 2 egg whites
- 3 tbsp oil I use canola oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 c carbonated water (unflavored) I use Sanpellegrino
Instructions
- Warm a skillet to medium heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients in the order listed.
- Mix together well, but don't over do it. The batter should be a wee bit lumpy.
- Wipe warm skillet with oil or a nonstick spray.
- Pour batter into warm skillet, brown, flip and brown the other side.
- Serve warm with butter, syrup, peanut butter, fruit or toppings of choice.