Wednesday is the New Saturday

Thursday, March 25, 2021

People need Saturdays.

I’m not saying we should “live for the weekend” or anything drastic; I’ll be the first to admit relishing in a quiet Thursday evening spent on the couch with a good book and a mug of hot tea, but people need Saturdays.

And Saturday doesn’t even have to be on Saturday.

Let me explain.

For the past two years, with only a very rare exception, I have worked every Saturday and Sunday. Wednesdays are my day off.

At first, Wednesdays still felt like Wednesdays. But over time, Tuesdays morphed into a privately indulgent Friday — not a wild or crazy Friday, but still a lovely, longed-for night when I knew I wouldn’t have to set the alarm the next morning — while Wednesdays became a hybrid Saturday-Sunday, a day where I might sleep in, or I might wake up early to go hiking. I might do a few loads of laundry and scrub the bathtub, or I might just read my book in the park for a few hours and treat myself to a chai latte.

Or, if that Saturday feeling is particularly strong — as it was yesterday morning — I might make pancakes.

Pancakes were dad’s domain growing up, and though I still consider his fluffy, boxed-mixed beauties to be the gold standard, this decently healthy, insanely easy recipe is perfect for one person looking to treat herself on a Saturday morning.

Even if Saturday is actually Wednesday.

Blender Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (a half-recipe adapted from the ever-reliable Ambitious Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large, ripe banana (best when they have plenty of brown spots)
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup (68 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) unsweetened soymilk (or milk of choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• A handful of pecans (toasted and chopped) and raisins, or other desired “mix-ins,” if using (I put mix-ins in quotes because we’re not really mixing them into the batter, but adding them to one side of each pancake while they cook.)

Protocol:

1. Add all of the ingredients except the mix-ins (if using) to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Let the batter sit in your blender for a few minutes while you heat up your pan.
2. Lightly coat a frying pan or griddle with oil or butter and place over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1/3 cup of the batter to the griddle for each pancake and top with your “mix-ins” of choice — I used a few raisins and toasted, chopped pecans, but imagine chocolate chips would be divine — and cook for 2–4 minutes until pancakes puff up slightly and you see a few bubbles along the edges.
3. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on both sides. If you find the pancakes are browning too quickly, you can lower the heat; for pancakes, I usually heat up my pan to medium and then decrease to medium-low later to keep the pancakes from browning too quickly.
4. Continue cooking pancakes, adding more oil or butter as needed until you’ve used up all your batter. I didn’t need to add more than a very light initial coating of butter to my pan and made 3 pancakes total.
5. Serve with your choice of toppings; I used a dash of warm maple syrup and a few more raisins and toasted pecans, but expect nut butter, jam, or even Nutella would also be delicious. Enjoy!

Happy snacking — and happy “Saturday!”