Disaster-ly Made Delicious Pancakes

I did something yesterday that I do not typically do. I made buttermilk pancakes (for the first time, I might add) all by myself!

Okay, it was a bit more like 97.837999999% by myself. . .

. . .my Mom did help a little bit.

It's not like this is a new recipe either, it is one my Mom has used for a long time to make the pancakes that we like. But as usual, something had to go wrong whenever I was chosen to make them. Seriously, it seems like something always has to happen whenever I try to make something. Live and learn. . . That's all I can say about my cooking experience.

At first it looked like yesterday would be an exception, but No no no! I couldn't get off the hook that easily!

First, I got out all of the ingredients. I made an especially huge effort to be specially careful about the amount I used of everything since I was doubling the recipe. 

2 cups of flour!

1/2 tsp of salt!

2 tbsp of sugar!

I even double-checked several-checked the amount of everything before I put it into the bowl! Though, of course, the first time I was making these pancakes, we had to be almost out of all-purpose flour. I know, it's not the healthiest. . . However, that forced me to use a cup of unbleached wheat flour, which is healthier, but it does slightly change the taste of the pancakes. . . Turns out, that was really nothing.

Next, I was again trying to be smarter than usual and I got out a 3 cup measuring glass so I could pour in the buttermilk, add the olive oil (I even looked it up to make sure Olive Oil qualified as "Cooking Oil" instead of asking, you know, so I was doing it by myself), and then the eggs. It seemed like the best way to measure and mix everything up without dirtying a measuring cup and another bowl. Buttermilk in. . . so far so good. . . Now the oil. . . still going strong! And now the eggs. . .

Okay, okay! I admit it, I am not the best at cracking eggs, I know that!

It's just not one of my skills, but I'm not too terrible at it.

So I made sure to be super careful.

The first egg went in great! No shells, no mess. The next one I cracked open was a little big more of a pain. A small piece of shell was sitting atop the yolk and before I could plan on how I was going to get it off. . . it slipped past me. 

And into the batter the little piece of eggshell went!

I've got this. No big deal, I will just keep an eye out for it and scoop it out when I can! No worries. . . So with half an eggshell in each hand, I went over to the trash can to throw them away. Somehow when I reached the garbage, I only had one half.

I have nooo idea what happened. I looked back on the counter. It wasn't there, so  I must not have set it down. I looked in the trashcan and there were like two other egg shells in there. Someone else had thus already had an egg or two this morning. Surely, I had already dropped it in the trashcan. This was ridiculous. I dropped the other egg shell in and went back to mixing all the wet ingredients together.

Things were looking up, they were mixing together just fine and everything looked right. I made a little well in my dry ingredients as my Mom had earlier instructed me to do. Then I gave it one last stir and pulled out the whisk. . .

What was that white stuff on it?

Oh no! No, no, no! It couldn't be! I touched it. . . it was hard. Maneuvering it out of the whisk, I was completely certain now of what it was. My missing half of the eggshell.

Still, it is completely beyond me how it got in there. Did I put it in there without thinking? Or managed to somehow drop it when I wasn't paying attention? Because there it was, and now my beautiful mixture of wet ingredients was filled with little bits of broken, white eggshell. . .

The pancakes were ruined. This was a disaster. Something always has to go wrong.

Wait, I could still save my pancakes without having to start from scratch! With a burst of inspiration, I fished out a strainer from one of our cabinets. Not one of those things with the big holes for pasta, but with the wire-y stuff where surely the liquid ingredients would slip through and my eggshell mishap would get left behind!

And. . . *drum roll* It worked! Sure, some of the thicker clear part of the egg just wouldn't go through the strainer and I wasn't about to pour it in this newly-dirtied bowl and risk having to strain them all out again. . . So I called in the Mom-squad! Just kidding, I called Mom in to get her advice on whether or not the batter was salvageable.

After this was the worry that they were too thick, even after Mom had added in some  more buttermilk. But to my surprise (and I will say, delight!) they turned out pretty good. Even with having to kind of squish them down a bit while cooking them to make sure they were cooked thoroughly. However, I survived.

Despite all the little mishaps and disasters I created along the way (and the mess), my pancakes were a delicious success.

How are you in the kitchen?

Are you a pro? (don't be afraid to admit it)

What's your favorite breakfast recipe or mishap story?

Tell me below!

DISCLAIMER: I would not recommend following my recipe or using my kitchen skills. . . as it is not a guarantee that you will end up with egg-celent pancakes.

What's the Deal with this Blog?

My ideas for this blog are all over the place. I have a lot of interests- reading and writing are just two of them. With fifty books ahead of me this year (that is, if I follow through with my New Year's Resolutions), I hope to do some book reviews and other "stuff" on this blog.

Sure, there are plenty of blogs and sites out there with millions of book reviews, but whenever I want to read a book I tend to care a bit less about someone else's opinions on the book and more about the content. I look for answers to questions like: Is there any sexual or sensual content I should know about? Language? Magic or wizardry? It's hard to figure these things out sometimes without someone giving away a story's plot. Often times I'll scroll through Amazon reviews and skim what people say there. Other times I just look at the book and read it myself. Being a Christian and a picky reader, I am careful about what I spend my time dwelling on. I hope to provide reviews that I would look for myself; reviews where I give my opinions on the book, but also reveal the books content as unbiased as I can.

As a book lover, I obviously love buying books too. . . and boy, do I love buying books. There are several stores where I live that I can usually pick up a good book for around $5. Sometimes that is a brand new book and other times it is a used one that is in decent condition. Either way, it is dangerous for me to go anywhere near a bookstore with spending money in hand. Did I mention I have a Kindle Touch? I do, and I am nearly addicted to purchasing books on there too (when I have the money, but mainly when they are super cheap- as in $free$). That being said, would anyone be interested in book hauls? Maybe where I share the books I am purchasing and thus give a sneak peek to the books being reviewed in the near future? I thought that would be fun.

I also love to write. . . (fictional novels if you want to be more precise). Though I have very little schooling on such writing, aside from several classes on writing for school (3Rs, Expository Writing, Journalism, and English 111 for college), I have accumulated a lot of information up in my head and have been writing on my own for quite some time. There are several books, authors, posts, and other random finds I would love to share with anyone interested in writing. Also I can always share my experiences in writing, how I started out, and why I continue to do so.

Lastly, it would be nice to share about my life here. It is not like I live some super duper amazing life, but personally I like it a lot and it is nice enough for me, even with its ups and plenty of downs. The way I see things and go about my day is not the same for anyone else. Plus, with all these random interests I have, it may spice up this bookish blog to share some. Maybe I'll just have to do a post about me and anyone who would like to follow along with this blog could leave feedback on what they would like to read.

For example, I've found that recently what book I am currently reading affects what I want to eat. Okay, that sounds weird. But what I mean is when I was reading The Hobbit, for example, I had my own "Hobbit" breakfasts which included eggs, toasted bagels with butter, and juice. I am terrible about skipping breakfast because I do not have an appetite for it, but while I was reading this book it made me want to have a big "Hobbit" breakfast every morning! Wouldn't it be neat to organize some meals around the books I am reading and share the menu/recipes I use on here? I thought it might be.

Oh, and as a girl, it can not be forgotten that I like fashion, hair, and some makeup as well. The idea to create simple looks for different book characters sounds fun to me (you know, sort of like what they have to do for movies). Anyone want to see some stuff like that?

Otherwise it is just a matter of waiting and seeing how things fall into place. Interests come and go, so do viewers and readers. I am just another person in this world, but everyone has a story. I would like to share mine, and with Jesus Christ as the author and main character of this book there are sure to be adventures ahead.

That's why I am second in this story. Even though it may be "mine", really this whole thing is about the Lord, Jesus Christ. He has given me a life to live and I choose to live for His glory (not that I always do a very good job of that, I mess up a lot). He is first in this whole book of life and from my point of view I am the secondary character in this story. Yeah, it's something pretty special. You are the secondary character in your story too (I'm not the only one). I am just one of the many who understands my life is not all about me, but Him (my Savior and Lord, Jesus). I would like to keep track of where I go and not waste my life by keeping it all to myself. (See I told you there would be more plot development on that secondary stuff later.) So anyways. . .

Let me know what you enjoy reading about in the comments below! 

Do you write? What are some of your interests?

I am up for trying new things!

Photos & Illustration by Jackson