Pancakes!!!

It would be a crime to not address today correctly, so here goes.

We decided (last night at my daughters swimming lesson) that we would 'aim' to do pancakes for breakfast. So a quick stop on the way home to buy eggs and milk, and we were set. The pancake batter was made as soon as we got home. There are so many recipes for pancake batter but please believe me, it is seriously hard to make bad pancake batter. The recipe I use is,

150g plain flour

325ml milk

1 egg

(This makes about 6 pancakes)

Whizz in food processor. Done.

You can of course by packets or containers of ready made batter, but seriously, why?

I made triple this quantity, just in case we needed it. I have an impulsive desire to always make too much food. I'm weirdly happy doing that, but cannot stand not having enough. Perhaps because I love messing with leftovers, or I'm greedy...anyway I've sidetracked.

So, batter made, the kids went excitedly up to bed and were told as long as we were up early enough we would do pancakes for breakfast. I needn't have worried. They rose to the challenge, and were promptly up at 6 a.m.

Pancake cooking commenced at about 7 a.m. I like to brush my frying pan, or crepe pan with a little butter. I have one of each on the go to speed up proceedings. The fillings on offer this morning were

• lemon and sugar
• Nutella and banana
• maple syrup

The children managed a fair number each and after various combinations, my daughter's favourite was Nutella and sugar and my son's maple syrup and sugar. I'm guessing sugar was the favourite. I love the traditional lemon and sugar but have to admit to loving the Nutella/banana combo. After asking a few friends their top pancake fills included the ones we had but also honey and golden syrup.

On a savoury note, a ragu filling, rolled and baked in an oven with tomatoes and cheese on top, is lovely. Cheese and ham is always a favourite, and based on this, for my lunch I had cheese, ham a little spring onion for crunch and a chopped 'Peppadew' pepper. These are my new favourite ingredient. I love the slight heat from them and they have a fantastic flavour. Great on quesadillas too.

This is by no means an exclusive list. We tend to use pancakes once a year in this country, whereas in other countries particularly Italy and France, they are used much more widely. The Italians use them really beautifully in some savoury recipes. There are some fantastic seafood ones I've come across too.

Have fun today and it would be great if you could let me know of any 'inventions' you or yours discover.