Sour cherry pancakes (Cherry blintz style)

We are in the time of sour cherries! I think I have harvested about 8 gallons worth, and I might have hit my max. Cherries are soaking in various vinegar/honey oxymel ratios on the counter, they are fermenting for wine, and are in bowls waiting to be pitted, with more pits strewn on the floor, and my compost bucket heaped with more (thank you cherry pitter - what an amazing tool). My prime experimentation right now (besides the wine) is to dehydrate the cherries and make a version of craisins, hence the variety of ratios of honey/apple cider vinegar jars on the counter. I will post my favorite results, but it will be a couple of weeks yet.

My current favorite way to eat the cherries is to mash them up with some heavy cream, shredded coconut, and a splash of maple syrup. It's like ice cream that isn't frozen. And because I had an open package of bacon, I thought I might try that topping on pancakes, except I wanted something a little less rich. So I used yogurt and tahini instead of cream, which was stellar. It made me think of cherry blintzes, though I think those usually mean a more crepe-like pancake. Somehow the tahini-yogurt combo creates that cheese-like quality, and flavor-wise, this hits the blintz mark (at least as I seem to have it in my memory!). 

I had lots of whey from my raw milk yogurt exploits, so I tried an oat soaked pancake recipe that I found very tasty. To be fair, all of this extra sweet in the form of maple syrup or honey is not standard operating procedure for me, so it's like party time over here. I mean, OF COURSE stuff with a little maple syrup or honey is delicious. This is why the sugar industry is big business! Still, it's moderate enough for me, and feels like a seasonal treat that I am willing to indulge.

The pancake recipe is courtesy of Nourishing Days, which is a blog by a couple who lives off grid and favor traditional, fermented foods. It's super simple, and hearty. I followed it closely, except I made only 1/3 of it (I did not add any honey). I did use a little extra whey and water, just to make sure the oats were thoroughly covered. Basically, the soaking is just enough liquid to fill the oats up. The version below serves 3.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup whey, yogurt, buttermilk, or water with a splash of vinegar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• coconut oil or butter for cooking

Directions

1. The day before you wish to serve the pancakes for breakfast combine the oats, warm water, and whey in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well, mashing the oats down into the liquid as much as possible. Leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours. (I used a little extra whey and water here.)
   
2. In the morning preheat your skillet over a medium-low heat.
3. Combine the eggs, baking powder, salt, and other flavorings in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the oat mixture and stir to combine. It will be thick, unlike regular pancake batter.
4. Allow your coconut oil or butter to melt in your warm skillet. For each pancake scoop a heaping tablespoon or two of batter into your skillet. Gently spread the batter until 1/16-1/8 inch thick. (It really is quite spreadable, so even though it looks like a small amount, it stretches.)
   
5. Allow to cook until the bottom has set and the edges and top begin to dry out, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and allow to cook another 3 minutes or so.
6. Serve warm with butter, nut butter, jam, honey, or real maple syrup. *For Cherry Blintz version, see below!
   

Cherry Blintz topping (approximate measurements, this is highly dependent on the thickness of your tahini and yogurt):

• 1/2 c cherries
• 1/2 c thin yogurt  (if thick, use half water half yogurt)
  
• 2-3 T tahini 
• 1-2 T maple syrup

Mix the yogurt and tahini first to get a smoother consistency. My yogurt is quite liquid-y (think thin kefir), so it worked to thin out the tahini, and with the cherries and their juice, hit the perfect consistency. You would need to add water if your yogurt is thick. Add the cherries and use a spoon to press/mash them against the side of the bowl to release more liquid. Add maple syrup to taste.

*I also added some black raspberries and a few milkweed flowers just because I'd picked them this morning and they seemed in the right color pallet!