Lemon curd is one of my favorite things to eat.

Growing up, I was never a “lemon person;” rather, if a dessert didn’t have chocolate in it, it wasn’t worthy of the name. While that’s still more or less true (I will chase a slice of apple pie with a square of chocolate), I have dreams of taking long, leisurely swims in a big vat of sweet-tart lemon fluff, pausing only to take a bite of key lime pie. Too much? My food fantasies run away from me sometimes…

Anyway, lemon curd. For the past few years, ever since I discovered it (Stonewall Kitchen’s is my favorite store-bought version), I’ve been putting it in my breakfast. In yogurt. On pumpkin cakes. In sandwiches. You get the picture: most things taste better with curd.   Most things also taste better when you make them yourself, and I figured this was especially true for my favorite sweet condiment. I made lemon bars way back when -vintage LVP alert!- but that was before the lemon-love really hit.

I’d bookmarked Joy’s recipe for Tangerine Lemon Curd over a year ago, which could not have been simpler. The hardest- and most time-consuming- part was finding a store that stocked tangerines! After a mere 30 minutes in the kitchen, I had a brilliantly yellow jar of creamy-dreamy curd. I added close to double the amount of lemon juice called for, but that was the only changed I made to the recipe.

Looking for a new vehicle to enjoy it with, I decided to make pancakes. I’ve been having a strange craving for cornbread and cornmeal-based things lately, so flipped through a few recipes before settling on Veganomicon’s Blueberry Corn Pancakes.

February Photo A Day Challenge, Day 2: Words.

We had a little… difficulty… with these ‘cakes. I’m not a pancake aficianado by any means, and expected to lose at least the first one to the Pancake Gods.

The batter was way too thin, and our first couple cakes turned into a crumpled mess.

We ended up sifting in nearly a cup more cornmeal and flour (combined) until we finally started turning out pancake-looking pancakes. Also, using cooking spray instead of butter to grease the pan seemed to help.

Evolution of a pancake:

They were a little dense (we probably should have increased the amount of baking soda when we upped the flour), but still pretty good!

I topped mine with 2% Chobani and lemon curd- which plays nicely off the lemon zest in the pancakes- and dipped them in maple syrup. Who says weekday breakfasts have to be boring?

Lots ‘o questions today!

Are you a fruit or chocolate person?

Do you have any pancake-making tips? What’s your go-to recipe?

Had any kitchen flops lately?