Groundhog Day: Harvest Pancakes

 

Did Punxsutawney Phil really see his shadow this morning? With the year we've had, it probably shouldn't surprise anyone that there's even controversy around a weather forecast from a furry rodent surrounded by cheesy guys in top hats and tails. 

The snow was coming down in Pennsylvania as the TV camera recorded the moment, but the prognosticators still said Phil saw his shadow this morning. According to legend, if Phil sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter. If the day is overcast and he doesn't see his shadow, there is supposed to be an early spring.

The second-guessing commentators theorized that Phil saw his shadow all right - the shadow from all the TV news lights recording the event for posterity. (And when you think about that, you kind of have to shake your head and wonder why it's been a thing for 134 years, right?)

However, Phil may be as accurate with his forecast as the pros have been so far ... just sayin'!

At any rate, today is Groundhog Day. The first Groundhog Day was celebrated at Gobbler's Knob on Feb. 2, 1887. According to History.com, the idea came from Clymer Freas, a newspaper editor in Punxsutawney, who belonged to a group of groundhog hunters. His newspaper, The Punxsutawney Spirit, is credited with printing the news of the first observance in 1886.

This morning in Punxsutawney, the groundhog came out of his burrow. The world - or at least the TV morning shows - watched. Supposedly, he saw his shadow. I'm thinking the organizers saw the snow and the forecast for the week and figured they'd better not say that spring was on its way.

Well, we'll see. No matter the verdict, it seems like a good day to celebrate with a little "ground hog," pancakes and other fixings.

 

The celebration of Groundhog Day stemmed from a combination of religious beliefs and facts associated with hibernating animals. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day.

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

What other rodents predict the weather on Feb. 2? There is General Beauregard Lee in Jackson, Georgia; Birmingham Bill, who prognosticates from the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama; and Staten Island Chuck in the New York metropolitan area. Not to be outdone, Canada has its own rodent, Shubenacadie Sam, who emerges from his burrow in Nova Scotia. 

It doesn't have to be Groundhog Day around here for us to celebrate ground meat. As beef producers, it's usually ground beef, but, on occasion, it's "ground hog." Phil had nothing to fear. It was really sausage.

We didn't eat out a lot before the pandemic. Once in awhile, we'd stop at IHOP in Junction City on the way home from a K-State football game. I've always loved eating breakfast out.

But the pandemic stopped our in-person football watching and curtailed our infrequent restaurant stops even more. 

So I decided to make Copycat IHOP Harvest Grain & Nut Pancakes to go along with our "ground hog" and other goodies. 

As much as I like restaurant breakfasts, I'm not a fan of maple syrup. Back when Jill lived in Nashville, Tenn., as a dietetics student at Vanderbilt, we usually included a stop at The Pancake Pantry. The Cinnamon Syrup was our attempt at recreating their signature syrup. I'm not sure we succeeded, but it's still a tasty syrup on Harvest Pancakes ... and any other pancakes, waffles or French toast.  

When I was cleaning out my dining room buffet during one of my pandemic-urged decluttering jags, I found a little pink creamer that was my Grandma Neelly's. 

Now that I uncovered it, I used it for syrup instead of cream. It brought back memories to see her handwriting on a note in the box. 

I am a big proponent of breakfast for any meal of the day - whether Groundhog Day or not. So, whether you eat it for breakfast, lunch or supper, it's sure to warm you up on a cold day. 

Enjoy!

Copycat IHOP Harvest Grain & Nut Pancakes

From Food.com

 

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

3 tbsp. finely-chopped blanched almonds

3 tbsp. finely-chopped walnuts

 

Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until fine, like flour. Combine ground oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. 

 

In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil and egg until smooth.

 

Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Add nuts and mix well. 

 

Lightly oil a skillet or griddle. Preheat to medium heat. Ladle 1/3 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet and cook pancakes for 2 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. 

 

Note: I didn't have buttermilk, so I put 1 tablespoon of vinegar in the bottom of a measuring cup and added enough regular milk to make 1 1/2 cups. 

Cinnamon Cream Syrup

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

5 oz. evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, water and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in milk. 

Serve over pancakes, waffles or French toast. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

***

 

OR TRY this syrup, which we've also enjoyed before:

Coconut Syrup

From Jamie Cooks It Up blog

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 to 2 tsp. coconut extract

Place butter in medium saucepan and melt over medium high heat. Add buttermilk and sugar. Stir together, Bring a boil, stirring constantly, and let it boil 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add baking soda and coconut extract. The syrup will start to foam up and bubble. (That's why it's important to use a medium-sized pan.) Let it sit for 5 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it cools. However, it is still foamy (just FYI). 

 

Store leftover syrup in the refrigerator.

 

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A bit of housekeeping:

 

Winner of the drawing for a blogiversary gift from Kim's County Line is Susan Lindahl. She chose the notecards as her prize. Congratulations, Susan, and thanks to everyone for their comments and support during the first 11 years of Kim's County Line.