I am pecan nuts...

As pecans do not grow in our climes, I always feel deprived. I really love them! My love of them is possibly only surpassed by my love of pancakes, which is why, when I came across this recipe, I simply had to make it.
Looks like I am not the only one who likes pecans, he seems to enjoy them too.
This is a recipe from one of my must trusted cookery books by Nigella Lawson. I really love the almost haphazard way in which she cooks, and to be fair, I would really love to look like her as well. Ah well, failing that, I can at least try to cook like her. I find that you really never can go far wrong with her recipes, they are fairly simple, but always work beautifully.

Pumpkin pancakes with sticky maple pecans

For the pancakes
2 eggs
375 ml buttermilk ( you can substitute this with milk, soured be vinegar or very runny yoghurt)
1x 400 gr tin of pumpkin puree
250 gr plain flour
3x 15ml tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

For the sticky pecans
175 gr pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for pouring over pancakes

Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until frothy, then add the pumpkin puree and whisk again.
Beat in the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, whisking until you have a smooth batter. Or just pour everything into the blender together and liquidize.
Heat a heavy based frying pan or flat griddle, and pour in the oil. Wipe away any excess with kitchen paper, taking care not to burn your fingers, so that the pan is very lightly oiled. Anymore than that, and the pancakes will burn.
Using an espresso cup, pour small amounts of batter into the pan or onto the griddle, gently coaxing them into 7-8 cm diameter circles.
When bubbles form on top of the pancakes, flip thlem over.

This amount of batter actually makes loads of pancakes, but they are not very big. They are incredibly yummy though, and if you really think there are too many to eat in one sitting, you can easily freeze them. They will keep in the freezer for up to a month, if they last that long that is. We did freeze a lot of them, I am so looking forward to next Sunday!

We ate this "sauce" with them, which is the reason I wanted to make them in the first place.

Sticky maple pecans.

Toast the pecans in a large, hot frying pan.
When the pecan nuts are warm and smelling nutty, spoon the maple syrup over, stir to coat them, and keep sauteeing them in the pan until they are stickily, glossily coated.
Take the pan of the heat, and when you serve the pancakes, sprinkle a few pecans over them and pour over maple syrup.

So there you have it, my Sunday brunch treat. I did not get up to a whole lot this weekend. I pottered around in the garden for a bit and then made some more granny squares. I am now looking for some backing fabric for the yellow and white wonder to make it into a cushion. Even though the yarn is quite chunky, I do love the way it has turned out. I feel that this would make a very nice cushion for the chairs on a patio or in the garden. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate anymore of this yarn, so I had to change my original plan, but I have some nice other ideas now. This is the beauty about making things, you really have to use your creativity and be resourceful sometimes.
The books are by Alexander McCall Smith, and I bought them because I adored the BBC series they showed a couple of weeks ago, based on his books about the ladies no.1 detective agency. I thought the series was very atmospheric and really rather sweet. I like the books as well, they are quite philosophical.
The other thing I did this weekend was watch the programmes on the Chelsea Flower show. I watch this every year and think it is great, I really have to go some year. The garden that makes me really giggle this year is James May's plasticine garden. Only he could come up with a whacky idea like that...
Now I know, it is nothing like a real garden, but it is actually very cleverly made by a mix of all sorts of people, including school children and professionals. Somehow that really appeals to me. I think it is highly original to not just think of it, but actually execute the idea as well and have the guts to enter Chelsea Flower show with it.
It really made my day when I heard that the RHS had awarded him a plasticine gold medal. especially made for the occasion.

Enjoy your garden and the sun this evening!