Friday, March 10, 2023

Feast for the Senses: Secret Subject Swap

Key Lime Pancakes | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #breakfast

 


Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This month 3 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: Spring is in the air. What is your favorite spring time activity?
It was submitted by: Rena of The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver.
 
 
 


Actually, that's a difficult question. Much more difficult than it would have been when I was living on the East Coast. Much more difficult even, than it would have been living away from the East Coast in the years before 2020. Much more difficult than it should be.
 
Growing up on the East Coast meant varying between two really fun activities, walking the beach, and spring skiing. Walking the beach required dressing a little warmer, but it was so worth it, feeling the sun on your skin for the first time in months, and smelling that salt air. Spring skiing, on the other hand, required less clothes than winter skiing, easier movement, and warmer trips up the lifts. Ahhh, spring.
 
Living here in the beachless {{sob}}, mountainless {{sigh}} Midwest, especially since 2020, has necessitated that my main spring activity be playing a robust game of "avoid the Covid spreaders." As activities go, not something that's going to make it onto my favorites list. Necessary? Yes. Fun? Not so much.

The downside of spring, rubbing my eyes and stocking up on tissues and allergy medicine isn't exactly a fun activity either.

But I do love spring, it's my favorite season. I get to move away from the heartier "warm you from the inside" meals I cook over the winter months to lighter meals. Like breakfast for dinner.



Key Lime Pancakes | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #breakfast

Key Lime Pancakes
(with my Blueberry Maple Syrup)



And although I know this is a lame answer to your question, since I'm really not sure what activities I'll be able to enjoy in the coming days, I can tell you what I love about spring. It's the waking up, the emergence from the long winter hibernation, the exercising of all of my senses.

Spring is a feast, and it's not just about taste. Spring is a for all of the senses. 

Sight: There is beauty in snowfall, a feel of peace as the first flakes cling, pristinely white, to the branches of the bare trees. But even then, it's brown and white.

In the spring, dark afternoons are banned and daylight replaces the dreariness of winter. Daylight in which to enjoy the colors with which Mother Nature paints the outdoors. Grass, leaves, flowers, beautiful color emerging everywhere. 

And the wildlife comes back.   


Feast for the Senses | picture taken by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #blogging #spring



Sound: The chirping of the birds, even the sound of lawnmowers, car windows down and radios turned up, spring has its own unique sounds.

Smell: Flowers, especially the lilacs, and food cooking on grills throughout the neighborhood. Even the smell of freshly cut grass brings a smile.


Feast for the Senses | picture taken by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #blogging #sprin



Touch: It's not spring until I've got my hands deep in the dirt of my outdoor pots, and standing on the back deck, feeling the sun on my face.

Taste: Key Lime Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup, anyone?


 

Secret Subject Swap, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Climaxed

The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver 

 






Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics








Key Lime Pancakes         
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup key lime juice
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lime zest
OPT: 1 - 2 tsp green food coloring

4 - 5 TBSP butter

Directions:
*Melt the 1/2 stick butter, set aside.
*Place the milk and key lime juice in a small bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes. 
*In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and lime zest.
*After 10 minutes, whisk the melted butter, egg, and food coloring (if using) into the milk and key lime juice mixture, then mix into the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.
*Over medium heat in a small skillet, melt 1/2 TBSP of the remaining butter until hot. Add about 1/3 cup pancake mix and swirl around to form approximately a 5 inch pancake.
*Once the center starts to bubble and the edges are browning, flip the pancake over, reduce the heat slightly, and cook the other side until browned.
*Remove, keep warm, and repeat with the remaining butter and pancake batter.


15 comments:

  1. I can't wait fo the Lilacs to bloom! They are my favorite spring flower. Your pancakes sound tasty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too, I love when the outdoors seems to spring to life.

      Delete
  2. I'm ready for the grill! I love to cook but cooking outseide in teh Spring has to be the very best!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pancakes hit the spot, but did I miss the recipe for the blueberry maple syrup? My husband already makes a syrup (well, more a compote?) with frozen blueberries and a small amount of maple syrup, just cook together for a few minutes and that's what we put on our pancakes. I can't wait for spring!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Blueberry Maple Syrup recipe ties in with an upcoming blog post so it'll be posted in a few weeks.

      Delete
  4. Lilacs and fresh-mown grass! Can't wait! Sadly, I'm still looking out on 3 feet of snow...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We don't have any on the ground, but it did still snow twice yesterday. So ready to warm up.

      Delete
  5. I think each season has it's advantages, but spring (and fall) have the most.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the people I know would completely agree with you.

      Delete
  6. I am in a better place, I love Spring and all the beautiful vibrant colors, but this post from 2019 kind of sums it up for me.
    Spring, I’m not sure. Spring is travel time and I no longer have a travel partner. My family, my husband and our children have been my world. We did everything with my family and our children. I have never had close friends. For 46 years and 10 days my husband was my best friend. We did everything together. On occasion, we did things with our siblings. My children are grown and their own families and things to do. One by one our siblings died and then we were exclusive. So, I’m not sure I am ready for Spring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry you lost your life partner. I hope you can find some joy in the season, and that your family continues to include you in their lives.

      Delete
    2. I do, when you get older, the world changes. I wake each morning and that is certainly something to be joyous about. It is different, but I am thankful to see what each new season brings.

      Delete
  7. wow, love the freshly mowed grass and the deer. I think I haven't seen grass in six months . we just got another two-six inches of snow, but I kinda liked it this week. i was in a grand mood.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're going to have it, you may as well enjoy it.

      Delete

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