I love Mondays. I think they may be my favorite day of the week. After the fun and rest and project-accomplishing of the weekend, it’s my day to hunker down, cozy in and plan my week.

I especially love Mondays on the farm. The animals seem to know I need some downtime and they oblige by snoozing contentedly in the morning sunshine. I turn off everything – music, TV, noisy kettle – and bask in the silence.

Since I’ve been learning to live slowly, I’ve embraced these quiet Monday mornings as time to reflect and write, think and dream. I let the laundry and dishes wait until after lunch. I move back my writing deadlines until mid-afternoon. And I quiet my restless heart and whirring thoughts.

On such mornings I like to have something special for breakfast. Something a little beyond eggs and toast or a bowl of cereal.

pancake recipes

Currently my favorite comforting breakfast is wholemeal pancakes topped with Greek yogurt and Rhubarb Ginger Sauce.

pancakes with yogurt

The sauce idea came to me as I examined (with chagrin!) a couple of scrawny rhubarb stalks that had prematurely wilted in the searing heat. With the ends dried out only the middle was worth anything. There wasn’t enough for jam or crisp or pie, but I thought a sauce of some sort would be perfect.

I thought a bit more and somehow ginger seemed like the right addition. So I chopped rhubarb and fresh ginger, covered them with water and simmered them until the rhubarb disintegrated into feathery little wisps. Then I added raw sugar and honey (use whatever sweetener you like), tasting to make sure it was just right. I simmered it until the sugar dissolved then set everything aside to cool. Once cooled I whizzed it up in the blender until it was smooth and pink with no ginger chunks to make your lips pucker when you bite into one.

rhubarb ginger sauce

I poured it over the aforementioned pancakes and Greek yogurt and both Bear and I were so smitten that we nearly ate the entire jar in one day. Mmm. 🙂 Since then I’ve been making it weekly, buying up bunches of rhubarb at the market and cheering on my one little rhubarb plant that survived the animal raids. 🙂

What is your favorite thing to put on pancakes?

PS – the winner of the Brave Girls Club Giveaway is Bethany Miller from the blog Good Global Citizen. Congratulations, Bethany!! 🙂