sprinklefingers

we had pancakes for breakfast. healthy pancakes.

see, my in-laws are in town and my m-i-l has some particular eating habits. some people would call them picky or hard to work around - but at this point i find it all rather endearing. she’s always got some new restriction and now it’s more like i’m playing a food-related video game where i have to figure out what she can eat that everyone else involved will actually eat, too. i’m always up for a challenge. so it’s kind of exciting. [note: i don’t ever play video games, so i’m sorry if that analogy wasn’t quite right.]

anyways, last night she told me she was steering clear of sugar and meat. (pay no attention to the bites of dessert she had at dinner last night AND the chicken taco she had for lunch today.)

anyways, this morning’s pancakes were NOT my usual pancakes. they were filled with oatmeal and whole wheat flour. and one measly tablespoon of brown sugar. and guess what? she deemed them fit for her latest diet. and she ate two. soaked in maple syrup (which isn’t sugary at all.)

while all of this m-i-l talk is fun, the point of my post actually ISN’T her crazy dieting ways. it’s really about commercial dishers.

yes, commercial dishers.

i’ve been meaning to tell you that anytime i prepare something that is remotely batter-y and i want to make sure equal amounts get plopped into loaf pans, muffin pans, popover pans, waffle irons or pancake pans, i use a commercial disher. the same disher i use for portioning sausage and cookies. (but i wash it first, of course.)

i buy them in the smallwares section of my fave restaurant supply house. they’re cheap, they make for more precise baking, they’re easy to clean and they last for a good long while. and, in desperate situations, they make ideal microphones for 2 year olds.

you should unleash the magic of the disher in your kitchen. especially when it’s pancake day.

ps: no a disher is NOT simply an ice cream scoop. they come in specific capacities so you know how much you’re scooping. brilliant!