Oh, my friends, we were in a restaurant the other night and the oddest thing happened…

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So, did the title of the blog get you riled up? No worries, I’ve no intention of starting a turf war nor am I trying to stick labels on anyone. I was just pondering the other day where I fall in the baking scheme of things, and thought it was an interesting topic.

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Every time I see a picture of pancakes, I want to drop everything, run into the kitchen, and whip myself up a quick plateful.

So why is it that I only make pancakes about once a year – if that?

There’s nothing so compelling as a hot-off-the-griddle pancake, spread with soft butter and drizzled with thick, dark Grade B maple syrup.

Or, in the case of the pancakes pictured above: tangy-sweet lemon syrup.

So what stops me from making pancakes?

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There is a wonderful Norwegain book that I read with my children about three sisters who go out to pick strawberries for their mother. The girls run, giggling, out into the meadow; a picnic basket swinging from one child’s arm, two large tin buckets for the berries swaying from the handles clenched by the hands of another.

If only life were that idyllic. Even though the berries are being picked for jam in this book, I can’t help but think of strawberry shortcake each time I read it. Maybe it’s the picnic basket with the red and white checkered cloth that invites the image to my head and elicits the memory of an old friend sharing this dessert each year at the peak of strawberry season.

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Have you ever really stopped to think about why we eat and drink certain foods together? So much so that they share a name like tea bread, wine biscuits and, of course, coffeecake.

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Aren’t these the most lemony looking pancakes you’ve ever seen?

Bright as a summer sun, their color comes from eggs, and whole-grain cornmeal, and grated lemon peel. A totally golden triple play if ever there was one.

One thing these pancakes DON’T have: wheat flour.

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“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

It’s a phrase we all remember from years past. Don’t get me wrong, lemonade is wonderful on a hot summer day, but I think the phrase could use a little updating.

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What’s your favorite flavor?

We’re talking baking now; answers like cilantro, umami, and Kettle Chip Spicy Thai are off limits.

We posed this question on our Facebook page several months ago, and the results were surprising – at least to me.

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All right, Harry Potter fans, what was Dumbledore’s password to his office in the very first book? Got it? All together now…

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Remember the famous Tunnel of Fudge Cake?

Clearly, this isn’t it.

And amazingly enough, there are people in this world who don’t live and die by chocolate.

The pages of whose cookbooks don’t automatically fall open to recipes for brownies and devil’s food cake and chocolate chip cookies.

You know who you are, vanilla fans. And lemon lovers.

And coconut connoisseurs.

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