Banana Cocoa Pancakes

Last week I took Sebastian to have 3 baby teeth removed to allow the 2 adult teeth that came in behind them like a row of shark teeth space to move forward. This is just the start of our orthodontic road, one that I should have envisioned when I fell in love with a Brit, that is if the stereotypes are to be believed. Although his crooked bottom teeth could also have been a tip off. Sebastian had a panoramic jaw x-ray that shows a future where space issues will not be so easy to solve.

In preparation for the removal He was given a sedative and as it began to take effect I found myself with very mixed feelings. After all he was honestly hilarious saying things like, "Whoaaaa, this chair is floating. How do I stay on?" After his teeth were removed he asked for a mirror to see the new him. After staring at his new smile in a kind of removed glazed way he held the mirror up to the dentist light. When I asked him what he was doing he replied, "I'm letting the light see itself." When he was going through the prize box he put on one of these bracelets and said, "Mommy look, it's like a slinky." Then he floated his arm through the air saying, "Wheeeeeeeee." The problem I have is with it is, now, thanks to an oral surgeon, I have seen what my 7 year old would be like stoned.

But in the end the whole morning was an opportunity to reconnect with Sebastian. As he gets older we are moving away from the relationship we had when he was a baby. He is still cuddly and affectionate, loving to hug and sometimes it seems wanting to be attached to me. But somehow it is still different, he is still 7 and independent, not needing me for all of his needs. Holding my hand to walk to school until a friend joins us and they want to run and climb trees When we left the office he was helpless and dependent again as I carried him to the car and drove him home. Like a toddler he sat in the back asking the same questions over and over.

Apparently the sedative they gave him affects memory, this way he will not have a memory of them actually removing his teeth. In the car on the way home it meant he had no memory of my telling him, five minutes ago, that his teeth were already removed and we were going home, so he kept asking. I am appreciative that he is growing up and our relationship is changing, but I still enjoyed the morning together that captured the best parts of our relationship when he was a baby, with out the unending work. It was a little like I imagine being a grandparent will be.

When it was time for him to eat something he ate an entire pint of home canned applesauce, and then he and I shared a stellar omelette. The omelette had cheddar, cilantro, smoked ham and avocado and had him rolling his eyes back with joy. Julian doesn't like omelettes so we don't have them as much as Sebastian would like. However I am not going to share an omelette recipe with you, instead I am going to share the banana cocoa pancake recipe we had the night before for dinner. The one Sebastian enjoyed enough that he happily ate dozens of them, which was helpful as he could not have breakfast before the procedure.

I know I just shared a pancake recipe with you but in my opinion you can never have too many variations. Pancakes make a great quick dinner and in some houses are considered a special breakfast. Not to my spoiled children however, who think breakfast is not special if it took less then 30 minutes to make. If you want to make my two feel special you are expected to really work for it. This recipe is wholesome and different. It contains no sugar, relying instead on the super ripe banana for sweetness. The recipe contains both whole wheat flour (I upped the amount used when I made them) and wheat germ. As is often the case for a flavor rich dish you cannot taste the whole wheat in the final pancakes.

Banana Cocoa Pancakes

Adapted from Aimée at Simple Bites

1 cup plain full fat yogurt

1 banana (the riper the better, mine was brown)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (to make sour milk add 1 Tbsp white vinegar to 1 cup milk, stir and let stand for 10 minutes)

2 eggs

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp wheat germ

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter melted

2 Tbsp coconut (optional, I did not use any)

Combine the yogurt and banana in a large bowl and puree using an immersion blender until smooth (you can also puree in a blender or food processor). Add the milk, eggs, vanilla, salt and cocoa powder to the yogurt banana mixture and blend.

Stir the baking soda, wheat germ and coconut if using into the wet mixture and stir well. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the melted butter and stir in until just incorporated.

Cook pancakes on a lightly greased griddle, non stick pan or cast iron pan. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup or nutella and banana slices if desired.