Whole Wheat Pancakes — The Only Thing Worth Drizzling First Syrup On

March. The sap is running. I tapped the sugar maples on Monday — twelve trees, same ones my father tapped, same ones his father tapped before him. You drill a hole, tap in the spile, hang the bucket. The sap drips. Slow at first, like the tree is deciding whether to trust you, then faster as the day warms. By afternoon the buckets are half full, clear liquid that looks like water but tastes like spring with a whisper of sweetness — the faintest suggestion of what it will become.

I wrote about the tapping for the blog. Took my time with it — described the process in detail, the way a man describes something he's done so many times it's part of him. Drill at a slight upward angle. Two inches deep. Use a fresh hole each year, never the same spot twice. The tree has to heal. You respect that. You rotate around the trunk over the years, and the tree gives you what it gives you, and you say thank you by not asking for more than it can spare. There's a relationship between a man and his maples that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. It's not ownership. It's stewardship. You take care of the tree. The tree takes care of you. It's the oldest deal in Vermont, and it still works.

The sugarhouse is running. I boiled the first batch of sap on Wednesday — forty gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, which is a ratio that would discourage anyone who thinks about efficiency. Sugaring isn't about efficiency. It's about patience and fire and the faith that forty-to-one is a trade worth making. The steam fills the sugarhouse — thick, sweet, warm — and the sap slowly darkens, slowly thickens, slowly becomes the thing it was always going to become. You can't rush it. You can only tend the fire and wait.

Helen brought me coffee in the sugarhouse at noon. She stood in the doorway with two mugs and the steam swirled around her and Frost sat at her feet and the scene was so exactly Vermont, so exactly this life, that I wanted to take a photograph but didn't because some moments are better left in memory, where they can't fade or curl at the edges.

The first syrup of the season is always the lightest — Grade A Golden, delicate, the kind you drizzle on pancakes and close your eyes. It tastes like March. It tastes like waking up. It tastes like the thing you waited all winter for, finally here, in a jar, in your hand, proof that the world turns and the trees live and the patience was worth it.

The sap is running. The sugarhouse is alive. Spring is here. We begin again.

There was never any question about what we’d make with that first jar of Golden — pancakes have been the tradition here since before I can remember, the only proper way to taste the season’s first syrup. Helen set down her coffee mug and we made them together, right there in the farmhouse kitchen while the sugarhouse was still warm, Frost watching hopefully from his spot by the stove. Here’s how we do it.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4 (about 10 pancakes)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, shaken
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Fresh maple syrup, for serving — the real kind, ideally Grade A Golden

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until evenly combined.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
3. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently with a fork or rubber spatula until just combined. A few lumps are fine — overmixing makes tough pancakes. Let the batter rest 3 to 5 minutes while the griddle heats.
4. Heat the griddle. Warm a cast iron griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease with butter or a neutral oil. The surface is ready when a few drops of water skitter and evaporate on contact.
5. Cook the pancakes. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip once and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown on the second side.
6. Serve immediately. Transfer to a warm plate and serve right away with a generous pour of fresh maple syrup. Close your eyes for the first bite.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 235 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 410mg