It seems I’m never home on weekends. I don’t even know what I do—not summery things like swimming or camping. The weeks just come and go and I can’t remember what I did with my time. When people ask on Monday how my weekend was, I look back at the blur of days and say, “Oh, nothing.” It’s just been that kind of summer.

But the once in a while that we are home on a weekend, it’s just the best. We sleep in, make coffee, open all the shutters and sip our mugs while listening to our Matt Pond PA Pandora station in the sunlight. That was last weekend. Only it was all that, plus pancakes. We’re still in cook-only-with-what’s-in-the-pantry mode, coupled with an urge to be healthy. That led me to my buddy Dan Sheehan’s blog. I knew he’d have something tasty and cozy. And of course, he did have the perfect pancakes. I just took his Poor Man’s Pancakes pancake recipe and substituted the white flour for whole wheat, then added some more fiber-packed stuff (who doesn’t love fiber??) for a healthier version. That’s all it took for a new weekend tradition to be born.

It’s impossible for me to make pancakes without thinking of weekend mornings with kids. PJ’d feet swinging from the kitchen counter, watching the flapjacks bubble on the skillet, excitement over whatever you’re doing that day. The same coffee, music, and sunshine I love now, but even more people to share it with, more elbows bumping in the kitchen. Sticky syrup covering surfaces you never knew existed…there’s something about pancakes on a weekend that just makes the world right.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes

½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup milk (any kind)
1 cup chopped mango or blueberries (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, flax, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Lightly beat the egg and add to the flour mixture. Add the melted butter and keep mixing quickly. Don’t let it sit or the hot butter may cook the egg a little. Add ½ cup of the milk and continue mixing, adding the rest until you have a lumpy batter. You may not need to use the entire cup. Fold in the fruit if you’re using it.

Grease a frying pan or griddle with cooking spray or butter and set over high heat. Pour pancakes to whatever size you like (a quarter cup of batter per pancake makes a nice size). They may not bubble on top as much as white-flour pancakes, so keep lift them with a spatula every now and then and flip when they’re golden brown. Keep checking the other side until it’s golden, then remove from heat.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook the rest. Serve with butter and syrup on a Sunday morning.