OATMEAL APPLE PANCAKES

Although I'm not working these days I still manage to get myself out of bed and ready to face the day plenty before noon — not yesterday, I stayed out a bit too late on Friday night. A wonderful dinner with friends turned into having a few too many drinks at the bar and crawling into bed way past my bedtime. When I woke up all I could think about was pancakes. There's nothing better than sleeping in and having a plate of warm pancakes for a late saturday brunch in bed.

Of course they were topped off with the Canadian maple syrup I stash away in my luggage whenever I come to visit, and a healthy amount of bacon and sausages.

Oatmeal Apple Pancakes
Makes 6-8 medium pancakes

• 1/2 cup rolled oats, run through a food processor to coarse meal
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp brown sugar, honey or white sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk soured with a squeeze of lemon,
• 1 egg
• 1/2 apple grated

First things first, the rolled oats! Make sure you're oatmeal has been ground down to a course meal consistency. It shouldn't be like flour, it should look more like the instant oats from a packet. You have to break the oats down to make the pancakes less chewy and cook all the way through.

Now that the oats are settled place all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and stir them around a bit. Next pour in your lemon soured milk, (the acidity from the lemon gives the baking powder poof) and break in your egg. Mix this all well and finally stir in your half apple. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so the oatmeal absorbs some liquid and it all becomes a tad thicker.

After they're cooked up on a buttered pan serve with maple syrup or jam.

I was actually thinking you could add some extras to these to make them even tastier, next time I may try some walnuts and raisins or maybe a tablespoon of peanut butter.