A Southern Grace: taste & create, lucky number xiii

August 20, 2008

taste & create, lucky number xiii

Yum

I don't consider myself to be a superstitious person (although I do tend to knock on wood quite frequently, just in case). I don't toss spilled salt over my shoulder or fret about breaking a mirror. I boldly walk under ladders and encourage black cats to cross my path. And fortunately, I have no problem with the number 13.


It's fortunate in this case because this round of Taste & Create, run by Nicole of For the Love of Food is #13. I was paired with Katie from One Little Corner of the World. Her blog is full of useful and delicious recipes, and even some great tips for entertaining.

I chose to make her Blue Corn Flapjacks. Pancakes of any kind remind Katie of her grandfather and the huge buckwheat pancakes he'd make for her every Saturday. This struck a chord with me because while my brothers and I were growing up, my family had pancakes every Sunday. It was Mamboree's duty for years, and then I took over. So like Katie, I'll probably always associate pancakes with family.


Katie was the recipient of some authentic blue cornmeal from Mexico, but I wasn't so lucky (perhaps it was that salt I spilled yesterday or that mirror I broke back in '97...). I went to two grocery stores and two other stores and finally found some blue cornmeal at Dollar General, of all places. Unfortunately, I don't think its source was blue corn. No, I suspect it was regular cornmeal dyed blue (the presence of FD&C Blue No. 1 in the ingredient statement was a bit of a clue).


Regardless of the source for that cornmeal and in spite of the resulting neon blue hue, the flapjacks were quite tasty. They were fluffy and soft and super absorbent, which I consider an important quality for my pancakes. The more maple syrup they can suck up, the better.

Thanks to you, Katie, I now have a bag of scary blue cornmeal and a killer corn flapjack recipe.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wooaaaah that shot with the maple syrup dripping is pure food porn! As always you have me craving food late at night here. Perhaps I'll make some pancakes tomorrow for breakfast (or maybe tonight for a late night snack!)

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOD, Grace. Is your career in food porn photography?? I don't think I've seen photos that gorgeous, outside the fancy schmancy food porn magazines. They almost stopped my heart. Blue corn pancakes I'm not sure about, but those photos, man. I'd eat them if they look like that.

Bunny said...

Grace, first I wish I could make pancakes, for some reason I never get it right, never. Yours look so good, all fluffy and soft. Second , your pictures are always amazing, I don't think it's possible for you to take a bad picture. Absolutely perfect!

LyB said...

I totally agree with you that the more absorbent the pancake the better! Yay! for maple syrup! :) Those pancakes really do look fantastic Grace, so fluffy and light, beautiful!

Sandie said...

I'm giggling WITH you about the corn meal being dyed blue. I'm crazy about taste & create posts, I really should participate sometime!

Oh, and for the record, I'm not superstitious either... although I do knock on wood (just in case), toss spilled salt over my shoulder (just in case), would never think of walking underneath a ladder (just in case), and have been known to turn the car around if I see a black cat walk across the road in front of me (just in case).

But as far as the number 13, it has ALWAYS been a very fortunate, lucky number for me, so it's no wonder these flapjacks came out tasty! Poor number 13 though, always with the bad reputation.

The Blonde Duck said...

Sweet! I'm always looking for Southwestren recipes but I've never heard of blue corn flapjacks! I'll take any excuse to drown something in syrup!

I'm drooling in anticipation...

kat said...

I'm just sitting here laughing at the corn meal dyed blue!

Anonymous said...

Those look good enough to eat 13 of in one sitting! You know, for good luck...

Jeanne said...

Oooh, that is pure food porn... but I think these babies might be bad luck for my diet ;-)

Pam said...

I love the blue pancakes - my kids would too, they look really delicious. Great photos - I love the dripping syrup.

Lisa said...

What an interesting shade of pancakes! But don't they look delicious? I think pancakes must be one of the most photogenic foods ever and making them with blue corn is a great twist.

OhioMom said...

Pretty pancakes! They look so light and fluffy .. :)

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Oh what a stack! I love how the maple syrup drips.

Anonymous said...

Perfect pancakes! Love the stack and syrup.

Anonymous said...

Grace you are so brave "Dollar General"? I love corn pancakes blue or white! Great photos.....

La Bella Cooks said...

oooh, look at that syrup dripping down. I could use a few of those with my boring morning coffee.

Deborah said...

I love how fluffy those look! And I think the blue is kind of fun!

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

The greenish glow is a little scary but they do look perfectly fluffy.

Sharon said...

You know you're a food blog addict when you want to lick your screen (repeatedly). I love pancakes though mine usually end up a little floppy looking...I'm jealous of your pancake perfection!

Marjie said...

My brood eats waffles. I just can't get past having to make a hundred pancakes, and no one will wait for me to eat! So, dudes, make your own dang waffles (with the batter I keep made in the fridge).

Emily said...

Those pancakes sure look good!
Fluffy and delicious.
I like the blue color. I'm going to have to shop at Dollar General more often.

Vera said...

Grace, super-absorbency in pancakes really matters :) Lovely hue :)

Anonymous said...

Inquiring minds want to know...Did you wait for the drip and take the pics with two hands or did you tripod, pour and shoot with one-handed? These are very important questions.

Anonymous said...

Okay. I have to tell my hunkster about these for his Sunday pancaking duties. He's been on a bit of a diet, but I'll just email him a shot of these and we'll be back in pancakes again. You have me thinking about blue corn meal now, of course...

Unknown said...

here in hong kong, beef meat = red dye, sweet potatoes = purple dye ;)

and i do knock of various wood surfaces often enough i'll probably create a dent on my lil table soon hehe

RecipeGirl said...

That's pure maple food porn. Did you have someone pour the syrup for you while you shot the photos? I can't imagine that you were pouring and shooting at the same time!!

Looks great... we might be able to find that blue cornmeal around here in Southern Cal.

Anonymous said...

I was born on the 13th, so I consider it quite lucky! And I'd also feel lucky to eat those lip smackin' good flap jacks any day girl.
Rock on!

KJ said...

LOL - FD&C Blue No.1. I wonder how many shades of blue there are. It seems nothing is beyond food manufacturers!!

Still your pancakes are very inviting. There's something about dripping maple syrup that's irresistible.

Anonymous said...

i could get on the blue corn train, if they looked as perfect as yours!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Scary blue cornmeal is to be found no where around these parts. I had trouble finding corn flour even...but these pancakes sure sound light and fluffy:D

Gloria Baker said...

Grace look absolutely yummy and nice! Gloria

Anonymous said...

Blue pancakes... my kids would go crazy for those :)
I want to lick the syrup right off of the screen there. Great photos!

Thistlemoon said...

Wow! I love buckwheat pancakes! But blue corn is awesome too! Nice photos!

vanillasugarblog said...

Is this food porn? lol
Am I crazy to say that I just love that color?

Ann said...

I love pancakes. Mostly, I love it if they're fluffy and thick. You nailed it, sister.

Leslie said...

Dollar General??? Who would have thunk it?
They do have a lovely shade of blue!

Katie said...

These look good, but blue food has always creeped me out a little. So I guess I would have to just eat a few of these to get over that.

Paula said...

Oh Lord above! Ok, posting photos like that is just not fair! I mean, gee whiz, I want to slurp up every drop of that syrup, then pour on more, and slurp up the blue pancakes! Love how you associate them with family, and I know my kids would love the blue color!

Jenny said...

Now those are some gorgeous looking pancakes! Drooling over here! Really beautiful!

Laura said...

This just cracked me up. Scary blue cornmeal... maybe it is the drugs....

Anonymous said...

I am glad you liked the pancakes. My boys just loved them - I have to make them again soon. Anyway your picture is waaaay better than mine. I have to work on my photography. They looked absolutely wonderful.

Sandy said...

My pancakes NEVER turn out like this. YUM.

Anonymous said...

Those look so sweet and delicious! Yummmm

test it comm said...

Blue corn pancakes sound good. They ended up with a really nice colour.