This week, I was joined by a very special guest – my friend Rob Rokicki. Rob is the composer and lyricist of the new musical – “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”, which recently debuted Off-Broadway! When I asked Rob if he would join me on the show he was ecstatic to co-host and to do something Percy Jackson themed. Almost before I could even finish asking him what he should we should make he replied “BLUE FOOD!” In Percy’s world, his mother’s is always bringing home blue food of him to eat. Percy takes great pride in it saying that’s it’s weird and he likes it that way. Go Percy! So, to fulfill that blue request I’ve made these Percy Jackson inspired Blue Pancakes.
As a side note, I have cut out nearly all refined sugar from my diet and have been looking for healthier ways to satisfy my sweet tooth. I found a recipe for honey-sweetened pancakes and replaced the honey with Blue Agave Syrup. Raw Agave is low on the glycemic index which means it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels the same way normal sugar does. At least, that’s what I’ve heard – and then of course there are a ton of articles saying it’s all a lie!!! Oh, the internet…. Anyway, the agave can be switched out for honey or another sweetener if you want.
To make the Blue Pancakes you will need:
- 1 c. All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 Tbls of lemon mixed with enough milk to equal one cup)
- 2 Tbls. Blue Agave Syrup (Raw if you can find it) or honey
- Bluberry Juice or Blue Food Coloring
- Optional: Fresh Blueberries
Let me show you how it’s done!
- Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, powder, soda, salt in a large bowl and set aside.
- Make the buttermilk if needed. Add in a few drops of blue food coloring to this or use half the amount of buttermilk and half blueberry juice (this will come out more purple/gray than blue, but it’s a nice natural alternative if you are trying to stay away from food dyes).
- Mix together the wet ingredients: buttermilk, egg, and Agave syrup.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients together until just combined – a few lumps is fine if you’re just making normal round pancakes. If, however, you are making shapes, then you’ll need to get a smoother batter so it doesn’t clog the tip of your squeeze bottle. Note: This will also result in a thinner pancake as a lot of the leavening reactions will be lost in transferring batter from bowl to squeeze bottle and then onto the griddle. It will still taste great but will be flatter than if you had just ladled the batter from bowl to griddle.
- Heat your griddle or pan on a low heat and coat lightly with cooking spray or butter. Lower heat is better for making pancake shapes. Have fun creating lightning bolts, tridents, dolphins, Medusa and whatever other Olympian characters you like!
- Flip pancake over when the surface has gotten bubbly and it looks like the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. They will probably only need 20-30 seconds on the other side. Bedazzle with fresh blueberries before you flip if you like!
- Enjoy with melted butter and maple syrup!
And there they are – my Percy Jackson Inspired Blue Pancakes!
