a special rarity

Jocelyn Wagner knows it's a special rarity to be at home sick with her dad eating pancakes.

I made this my Facebook status this morning but quickly removed it. Why?

1) Less people knowing that myself and my father are ill the better (H1N1 rumours are moving faster than the 'disease' itself);

2) the statement involves a bit too much gloat, which I'd rather avoid;

3) posting stuff on Facebook is essentially like starting rumours about oneself - why do that to oneself?

Thus, after those reasons, is the purpose of having a personal blog. To express oneself to only those rare few who actually, possibly, follow my ramblings. I.e., my two and only sisters.

Now for pancakes!

When my dad makes a pancake, he takes the task literally. I don't mean the cake is made from scratch. I mean the cake is made to fit the entire pan. Here's how Papa makes the cakes:

Add water to President Choice pancake mix, whisk. Crack egg into pan, flip before yolk solidifies; remove. Pour entire batter into same pan over med-high heat; let bubbles form but no charcoal. Flip, wait a minute or so then return fried egg to top of pancake to "warm." Locate Grade No. 1 Light Maple Syrup (1 L container from Costco, no less) from fridge and sit at breakfast counter with single-cup black coffee to accompany. Consume.


Most times I pass on the offer to have a pancake with Dad. Those offers tend to come on weekends, his normal time to be home during the morning. But today is a Tuesday and he is home feeling ill. I too am home with similar symptoms though have no where else in this world I need to be (huzzah). So this is a special rarity to be at home with Dad, making pancakes.

I accepted the offer, but requested a smaller version. His attempt at 'small' was appreciated, though my portion ended up being just half the size of the pan. No complaints about this. Just a concern about the absorption rate of maple syrup: where the hell does it go so quickly? I poured on nearly 1/4 cup and I could barely taste it in my fluffy cake de pan after a few minutes. Oh well.

Can one ever have too much maple syrup?

Note to self: consume maple syrup during train trip.