Pumpkin Pancakes and People
If you haven't jumped on the pumpkin everything train jump on now. I made these delicious pumpkin pancakes the other day, a wonderful fall feeling came over me and my day was increasingly better after partaking in these moist morsels of breakfast delight. If you don't appreciate pumpkin, I understand. Well actually I don't but I will pretend to. Also, this blog is not just about pumpkin.
It's about people, too.
People make or break this crazy life. We must interact with others for everything, from buying groceries, to finding a spouse, to getting our broken ceiling fan fixed (true story, my foot accidentally collided with it and the fan developed a sever wobble). People come in and out of our lives at varying speeds, but this constant remains: we are who we are because of others. Sometimes people can get us down and kill our mojo, but often people can encourage us and point us toward the true North we often forget about. The other day I noticed this truth multiple times throughout my day.
I talked with a friend on the phone in the morning. We caught up while I sat outside under a leafy tree and a cool fall breeze tickled my cheeks. It's nice to talk to someone who makes you laugh and calls out your strengths. She listens to the woes of life and finds ways to affirm me without saying, "but." You know how when you share a difficult situation and someone says, "but..." and then follows with how it could be worse, or "at least you have x, y, and z." But this friend says things I don't recognize as lining me up with what is important because she phrases them in a way not negating to my situation, but encouraging. Things like, "Wow, what a cool opportunity to be exposed to new ways of learning to lead." Ya, she's pretty awesome.
Second.
Making pumpkin pancakes and talking about life brought additional joy this fine day. It meant so much to have a friend support my love of pumpkin and use this common ground for a fun time of conversation and food. Doing things like cooking together is such a simple way to spend time with others. I watched as she masterfully flipped our pancakes and I just talked. It's nice to verbally process sometimes, listening can be just as powerful as offering up advice. We decided these were some pretty bomb pancakes so I'm sharing the recipe bellow.
All this to say, I am continually finding the little things in life can mean the most. In the grand scheme of things, life is built of more little moments than big moments. Make the little ones count.
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients |
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 and 1/4 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
Directions |
1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Spoon onto preheated griddle in desired shape of pancake.
3. If desired, drop chocolate chips into wet pancake.
4. Flip when golden brown, generally 2-3 minutes.
5. Serve warm, and for an extra treat serve with Speculoos Cookie Butter from Trader Joes.
Yes, there is sugar, that's why you eat one.
