palm springs

you probably won't feel sorry for us, but it's a tough transition back from the hot sun of the palm springs desert to the june gloom of the southern california coast! here are a few images from our amazing, relaxing, way-too-short, sunny, fun weekend. the top two images are from part one of the weekend which was spent hanging out with great friends around the pool, drinking cuba libres and playing lots of dominoes. the two polaroids on the bottom are from our little retreat to the Parker Palm Springs which was spent sleeping in the cold air conditioning, eating the most amazing blueberry pancakes for breakfast and getting a good dose of Jonathan Adler design. we're ready to go back next weekend!

we're fifty!

well, we're not literally fifty. today is our fiftieth post on pictures & pancakes so we thought it was high time we share a delicious recipe for pancakes. most times i believe that simple is better and when it comes to pancakes, nothing beats good ol' fashioned buttermilk. you can get crazy with the toppings but leave the pancakes alone. everyone likes them a particular way - i'm a blueberry girl and andrew is a banana pancake guy. i also like to add a little lemon zest to the batter if i'm making the blueberry version. one more tip - do not over mix the batter! it'll be a little lumpy but that's okay.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 1/3 cup flour

3 tbs sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbs unsalted butter, melted

1 tbs vanilla

in a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. in a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, butter and vanilla. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

heat griddle over medium high heat and grease. pour 1/4 cup of batter over heat and cook until bubbly around the edges. flip and cook until brown.

Blueberry Sauce

1 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 cups blueberries

in a small saucepan, combine maple syrup and 1 cup blueberries. bring to a boil and simmer until blueberries release their juices. remove from heat and stir in remaining blueberries.

Caramelized Bananas

4 tbs unsalted butter

4 tbs brown sugar

2 bananas, sliced

in a small saucepan, melt butter and add brown sugar. swirl to combine and carefully add sliced bananas in a single layer. cook over medium high heat until they begin to brown on each side. serve over pancakes with maple syrup.