By The last day of February and the maple taps are going in. I don't wait for the calendar; I wait for the trees. This week the south slope has been running — slow, clear, the first real sap of the season — and by Sunday the whole grove will be tapped and the collection rounds will start. March arrives tomorrow and the season with it.
I spent Saturday putting in taps, working through the grove in order from south to north, the same route I've walked every early March for thirty-eight years. The grove is healthy — better, actually, than it was five years ago, the trees responding well to the improved care practices I started then. A sugar maple that is cared for produces better sap for longer. That's a relationship with a seventy-year arc, which is a longer investment than any human one.
Teddy called on Sunday to ask about the maple season. He wants to come up for it this year — he and Sarah are talking about a spring break visit. I said: come during the running season and you can work the collection routes. He said: yes. Just yes, immediately, no hesitation. That's the right answer. There are experiences worth saying yes to without deliberation.
The tomato seedlings are up. First true leaves appearing on the Brandywines this week, the small jagged leaves that are the first real indication the season has begun its long preparation. The seedlings in February under the grow lights and the maple taps going in: two different kinds of beginning, happening simultaneously. That simultaneity is what March is. Everything starting at once, trusting the sequence.
Teddy said yes without any deliberation, and that kind of answer deserves a breakfast worth showing up for — something I can pull together before the morning collection round without standing over a griddle for an hour. Sheet pan pancakes are exactly that: one pour, one pan, oven does the work while I’m pulling on boots. And when the first real syrup of the season comes off our own trees and goes over a warm square of these, March announces itself the way it should — everything beginning at once, right on schedule.
Fluffy Sheet Pan Pancakes
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
- Fresh maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Coat a rimmed 18x13-inch sheet pan generously with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to get into the corners.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth and uniform.
- Make the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until just combined. A few small lumps are fine — do not overmix or the pancakes will be tough.
- Fill the pan. Pour the batter onto the prepared sheet pan and use a spatula to spread it in an even layer all the way to the edges.
- Bake. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until the top is set and lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The edges will pull away from the sides of the pan slightly.
- Cut and serve. Slice into squares directly in the pan. Serve immediately with warm maple syrup — fresh from the season if you have it.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 195 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg