Sacramento Digs Gardening: Cheery way to start the day: Pancakes packed with cherries

A neighbor’s bountiful trees remind me: We’re still in cherry season. But it won’t last much longer.

Here’s a way to start your day with this flavorful fruit. Instead of traditional blueberry, try these cheery buttermilk pancakes packed with juicy sweet cherries.

Flip the pancakes when they have plenty
of bubbles.

This simple pancake recipe makes the most of fresh cherries. Remove the pits and cut the cherries into quarters; the smaller pieces make for better distribution in the batter.

Fold the fruit gently into the batter; otherwise, the batter may turn pink with cherry juice (which is OK, too).

For fluffier pancakes, make sure your ingredients stay cold before mixing.

Serve with butter or margarine and syrup. Maple syrup works fine; cherry or berry-flavored syrup is even better.

Cherry buttermilk pancakes

Makes 8 to 10 pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled

1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and quartered

Butter or margarine for griddle

Instructions:

These pancakes almost don't need anything else
-- but serve with butter and syrup if desired.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a smaller bowl, mix together buttermilk and beaten egg. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients until smooth. Stir in melted butter or margarine. Fold in cherries.

Heat griddle to 350 degrees F. Melt butter or margarine on the griddle.

Spoon or ladle batter onto griddle. Let pancakes cook until bubbles cover the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook until done, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Serve warm with butter or margarine and syrup, if desired.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes pancakes cherries fruit spring June breakfast cooking produce management farmers markets stone fruit Sacramento gardening

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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