An atypical morning

The first unusual thing about this morning was the way I woke up: at 7 am, to the sound of dripping water. I smiled in my groggy state. The unexpected rain that had delayed last night's Atlanta Braves game had visited our parched little corner of the world. Excellent.

It wasn't much--between 1/4 and 1/2 inch, I think. But at least it was something.

The second unusual thing was that the dogs didn't get their usual kibble for breakfast. We had run out. So I doled out portions of last night's mashed rutabagas into three dog bowls, and then I set out to make them some pancakes. Our dogs almost never get people food (other than the dregs of yogurt containers and the occasional pistachio), but for some reason it gave me great pleasure to cook for a four- (or in one case, three-) legged audience this morning.

Funnily enough, in my attempt to make more-than-usually-nutritious pancakes for the canines, I ended up creating pancakes that I found more-than-usually-tasty. They are fluffy and cakey and don't taste "health-foody" at all--just, y'know, good. I had mine with a light drizzle of a local product called "Biscuit Lasses," which is an extremely tasty mix of dark corn syrup and molasses. The dogs had theirs plain and didn't complain a bit, although if I had really been trying to spoil them I suppose bacon crumbles would have been in order.

And so I present to you:

DOG PANCAKES

1/2 c. soft all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1 Tbs. sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined. For each pancake, drop 1/4 c. batter on a hot buttered or oiled cast-iron skillet. Cook until bubbles appear all over the top, then flip and cook one more minute.