Lists are good when not much is happening.

[wallwalker]

- So, um. I've written very little this month - about four thousand words in eleven days. Writing is hard. Although I blame that less on writing being hard and more on FFXIII taking up way too much of my time and attention. Still, if I don't get into gear I'm not going to be anywhere close to 80% of this story for fantasybigbang when the end of September rolls around.

- Speaking of FFXIII... Still in Chapter 11. I think I'm near the end of the chapter, which has gone on forever. It's become less about character development and more about exploration. I like the exploration, but I miss the character development. Also, I'm still reeling over the bombshell that Fang dropped earlier in the chapter. SHE was Ragnarok? What the hell?? I'm hoping that once I finally get out of this damned tower and get to Oerba there'll be some more elaboration.

- In more real-life related news, the exercise I've been sticking to is starting to pay off. I've lost five pounds in the past month, which is good when you've been steadily gaining weight for a year... I do need to keep at it, though. Didn't make it to the gym tonight, going to try for tomorrow morning instead... early enough that it won't be so hard to drive there in the heat.

- Did I mention it was bloody hot here? I have never wished for rain so badly. Temperatures have been over a hundred degrees all week. Makes it hard to go out and do things in a car with no AC. I do the best I can, but it's a pain.

- Anyway. I'm cooking more, and most of the time I manage not to eat out, although I've ended up doing it a couple of times (today, for instance. I was planning on coming home for lunch but the timing didn't work out.) Made a half-decent meatloaf on the fly, as none of the recipes that I had accounted for only having one pound of meat available. It would've been better if I'd remembered to add at least a tiny bit of salt before cooking, but it's probably healthier without it anyway.

- However, pancakes are still my nemesis. I cannot get the heat right for the little suckers. It doesn't matter if I use high heat, low heat, medium heat... I always end up with one side burnt and the other side barely cooked at all, because the one side always burns before the top is ready or even able to be flipped. The directions I've found for cooking pancakes have been no help; it says to "preheat your lightly-greased griddle or skillet to 400 degrees." I don't have a griddle, and it gives no indication of how that translates to heating a skillet. Does anyone reading this have a method that works? Please?
I guess I shouldn't be too upset - I've only recently started trying to learn to cook, so I shouldn't expect to be great at it right away. But I want to get this right, because I really like pancakes.

Comments

Pancake Advice

[dmz2112]

First of all, your skillet is definitely way too hot if you are burning pancakes before you flip them. You really don't need any heat at all to cook a pancake -- they want to cook pretty badly.

400 degrees sounds like it is much, much too high.

So start with your skillet on medium-low, then slowly turn the heat up if you feel like it is taking too long. Find a temperature that gives you enough time to make all the pancakes you want without being rushed, but isn't so slow that you are waiting around forever to flip the 'cakes.

What you're looking for is holes in the pancake. They start out as bubbles, and then the bubbles pop. When the bubbles are popping and they start leaving clear, stable holes through the pancake, flip the 'cake. Then just cook it on the other side until you like the color. Don't be afraid to flip back and forth until you're comfortable -- you aren't expected to know what color the underside of the pancake is through psychic means, but you'll develop a sense for how long they should be cooked over time.

In general, my pancakes come out a little more brown than I'd like, but definitely fully cooked and delicious.

Good luck!

[stealth_noodle]

I am not a pancake expert, but mine usually come out okay on medium-low heat in a skillet if I flip as soon as I see little bubbles on the top, stare at the pancake's edges until it look like the new underside might be firming up, and flip back and forth until both sides are happy. Also, the first pancake is always a bit off. I have no idea how to avoid this.

...I make my pancakes one at a time, slowly.

[dragovianknight]

400 degrees seems way too high. I usually put a bit of butter in the cold skillet and wait until it's sizzling nicely, then pour in the pancake batter. It definitely should start to firm up well before it burns. (And as was already mentioned, the first pancake always comes out weird/wrong. I don't know why, I just feed it to the dog.)

You might try practicing with silver dollar pancakes, as being smaller they set up and are flipable faster.