“Huh? What are you going to do with those things?” I asked.“Sprinkle sugar on the pancakes and squeeze some lemon juice over it,” he replied. Considering that I only eat my pancakes with maple syrup, I was perplexed by his request. It wasn’t until I started spending some time in England that I realized eating pancakes with lemon juice and powdered sugar is a thing over there. Perhaps it’s something that people do in America as well but I just haven’t noticed. Have you ever heard of eating pancakes with lemons and powdered sugar? I don’t usually eat things that are too sweet in the morning, so I just eat pancakes plain with a bit of peanut butter and fresh fruits. That’s why I added a lot of spices to the pancakes to make them tasty on their own. I think you’ll enjoy all the flavors of the spices that are going on, too! However, if you don’t have nutmeg or cardamom around the house, feel free to leave those spices out.
MASTERING MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
Using the right amount of vegetables: The first time I tried making these pancakes, I mixed in 1 cup of grated carrots and 1 cup of parsnips. I used far too much vegetables. The pancakes turned out soggy and they weren’t appetizing to look or eat. I think using a total of 1 cup of grated vegetables is the perfect amount for this recipe. If you happen to go a little over (say, by adding 1 1/4 cups of grated carrots and parsnips to the batter), they should still come out fine.Substitutions: (1) These pancakes work great with 1 cup of grated zucchini, too. (2) If you’re not on a gluten-free diet, you can use whole wheat or all-purpose flour for the pancakes. A one-to-one substitution will work. (3) I used maple syrup to sweeten the pancake batter, but any other kind of sweetener (such as brown sugar, regular sugar or honey) works, too.
