I have a slight cherry obsession right now.

But really, don’t we all?  I’ve never met someone who doesn’t get a little crazy when they’re in season; buying and eating them by the bag on an almost daily basis.  I’m extra lucky that Vancouver is much closer to the land of the beautiful yellow-pink Rainier cherries.  I can never turn down their blush.  They’re essentially flirting, right?

Cream quirk:  I always prefer to eat them cold.

It would be fun to make a cherry pie again.  But that takes more effort than I want to expend on a warm summer day, and you certainly shouldn’t have pie for dinner if you’re trying to step up from cereal.  How about pancakes? Sold.  But I had no syrup.  But I had no desire for it.  Butter would be fine, even better with some lemon zest to balance the sweetness of the cherries.  An easy two-bowl pancake batter (try Sugar’s excellent three-bowl batter if you have a few more minutes), a hot pan and some good TV, and I had a lovely, seasonal solo supper.

Dining companion:  Breaking Bad

Cherry-vanilla pancakes with lemon butter

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Everyday Pancakes

Serves 2.

0.5 cups flour
0.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
0.5 cup pitted and quartered fresh cherries
A little melted butter, vegetable oil (or spray)

Preheat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.  Beat egg, milk and vanilla separately.
Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and cherries and mix until just combined.  Do not over mix.  Some dry lumps are okay.
When pan is hot, brush a little of the melted butter or oil on to the surface.
Add batter to pan in pancake size desired.  Once bubbles appear across the surface of the entire pancake, flip over and cook for another minute or two.  The first pancakes will take a little longer to cook than later ones.
You can keep pancakes warm on a sheet in a 200 degree oven.

Lemon butter:  mix a few tablespoons of room temperature butter with a few teaspoons of freshly grated lemon zest.