Banana Pancakes

"This song is meant to keep ya

From doing what you're supposed to

Like waking up too early

Maybe we can sleep in

I'll make you banana pancakes

Pretend like it's the weekend now."

Banana Pancakes, Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson's lyrics pretty much sums up the perfect kind of day to make banana pancakes: a lazy morning lie-in, a day dedicated to "you and me", a day for slowing down and taking your foot of the accelerator of life. I made banana pancakes on such a day.

I woke up to a nice long bank holiday weekend, one of those days where you turn around in bed and see your loved one lying next to you, and the sun rays are just peeking through the little gaps in the curtains, and everything seems perfect. No need to think about work for a good few days. My other half had had a long week at work and I thought it would be nice to make a lovely breakfast for him. I slipped out of bed quietly and went to see what was available in the cupboard.

I pulled out my big book of breakfasts, aptly called Breakfasts & Brunches, and flipped through the pages. This book, I think, was a real find. It was the one and only copy on the shelf of a popular bookstore in Singapore, and it seemed out of place being there, as though the bookstore happened to have it and did not know what to do with it but plonk it together with the other cookery books. Written by the Culinary Institute of America, the pages are filled with delectable breakfast dishes, from homely omelettes to full-on steak.

I turned to the section on pancakes and found what I was looking for: a recipe for banana pancakes. This one had an accompanying blueberry maple syrup which I sadly had to leave out as I didn't have any blueberries; as for the bananas I had plenty. I got busy mashing bananas, measuring out the ingredients and within the half hour had whipped up a nice big plate of pancakes, which I served to my other half (who was awake by now) topped with generous dollops of butter and syrup. So unhealthy, yet so perfect. Nothing beats eating banana pancakes in your pyjamas with your loved one and a nice cup of tea.