It was the Best Thanksgiving Day Dinner, ever.  Memorable.  In fact, my husband and I talk about it almost every year.  Now, you know that my Gorgeous Man and I LOVE a great feast.  So of course for our very first Thanksgiving Dinner, we had something quite special…  

We had pancakes.  Pancakes?!  You heard me, PANCAKES!  We had pancakes with syrup.  Now, why on earth would we choose to eat pancakes on Thanksgiving Day?!  (Not by choice, I can assure you!)

We were engaged-to-be-married, college students, living one–thousand miles away from home.  And unfortunately, we were too broke to come up with enough gas money to be with our families.  We lived in the dorm on the college campus (in separate dormitories, just in case you were wondering) but something dreadful had happened!  Since almost every student went home to be with their family on Thanksgiving, the college cafeteria was closed.  Closed!  Disaster! How could they do this?  

Eating out of vending machines seemed like a poor option for our Thanksgiving Dinner, so after pooling our money together, (including pennies) my wonderful Gorgeous Man and I headed for the only open restaurant we hoped could afford: DENNY’S.  But when we got seated, we looked with dismay at the menu ~ the only thing we could afford,  was an order of pancakes.  ONE order of pancakes.

Everyone else in the restaurant, and I do mean EVERYONE, was enjoying their “Holiday Turkey Dinner” with mashed potatoes and gravy.   The waitress looked at us with a confused expression on her face when we gave our order for a plate of pancakes.

She looked straight in our eyes and asked kindly, “Wouldn’t you like a turkey dinner?” 

I felt like crying and screaming at the same time, “YES, we want a turkey dinner!”  But, being full of pride, we both smiled and lied, “Oh no, we really want pancakes!”  We ordered our one plate of pancakes to share (and two glasses of water, so we could leave a tip for the waitress).  

As we waited for the pancakes to arrive, the delicious aroma of turkey and pumpkin pie made me dig my fingernails into tight fists.   But I made a decision right then, right there, in that Denny’s Restaurant:  I WILL BE THANKFUL EVEN IT KILLS ME!  (I felt like it might!)
  
When our pancakes arrived, I forced a smile, then looked at the wonderful man  sitting next to me.  As he began to pour the syrup over our pancakes, I was suddenly filled with genuine gratitude, because instead of complaining, he encouraged me, “Some day we’ll look back at this and laugh!  And we’ll always remember our first Thanksgiving together!”  We hugged each other, then dug our forks into our Thanksgiving feast!  It was wonderful.  Different than what we had hoped for, but it was absolutely: The Best Thanksgiving Dinner… ever.   

Now, all these years later, on Thanksgiving morning we start the day with pancakes!  Homemade pancakes, this is!  And our delicious, (gluten and dairy free) Favorite Pancakes set the mood perfectly, for another joyous Thanksgiving!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Favorite Pancakes

These kid-favorite hotcakes are deliciously hearty, yet light pancakes made with gluten-free oat flour, ground flax seeds, coconut and millet flour and just a touch of real maple syrup stirred in the batter.  What a perfect way to start the day!

Ingredients:
1 cup (gluten-free) oat flour
1/3 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup millet flour

1/3 cup ground flaxseeds 
2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups milk of your choice (I use refrigerated coconut milk) 

3 large eggs
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegarGimme Gluten Free Method:
1.  Preheat griddle according to the manufacturer’s directions.  If you do not have a griddle, preheat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  As you cook your pancakes, watch the heat closely so your skillet does not get too hot.
2.  In a large bowl whisk together until well combined; all of the flours, flaxseeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3.  Add the milk, eggs, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.  Whisk until smooth and well-blended.
4.  Brush the pre-heated griddle or skillet with coconut oil (my favorite) or vegetable oil or ghee to coat it well.  For each pancake pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot griddle, making 4-inch pancakes, about an inch apart.

5.  Let the pancakes cook until golden-brown color on the bottom.  (I have noticed that these pancakes take a bit longer to cook, so take a peek ~ Lift the edge of a pancake up gently with your spatula and take a look to see if it is golden-brown.)  Flip the pancakes over and cook until done.   Serve immediately with butter (or your favorite dairy-free spread) and warm maple syrup.  

Makes 10-12 delicious pancakes.

Happy Thanksgiving!  BIG HUGS to you!   

And remember ~ YOU ARE LOVED!