I thought pancakes-with-gravy was my family's secret: it sure seemed so for many, many years. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy. I keep packets of instant gravy just for putting on pancakes on Saturday mornings (who has time any other morning? (I mean if you go to church Sundays)). Not as good as home-made, but when you got the itch, you gotta scratch it.

My basic pancake recipe is one cup flour, maybe scant 1/2 tsp salt, 1 generous tsp baking powder, one egg, 1/3 cup oil, one cup milk. On really inspirational mornings I'll add some bran (for health's sake and for the nutty flavor), and a tiny bit of arrowroot.

But mostly I just use the just-add-water stuff. Krusteaz, from beautiful downtown Kent, Washington, USA. The working chef's friend. :)

Alex