The jar of white wine had been sitting in my refrigerator for some time, just a quarter of a cup, but I refused to throw it out. I also didn’t know what to do with it. I wasn’t baking muffins. No bread kneading loomed on the horizon (white wine is great for extra rise in many baked goods when combined with milk and a rising agent). I didn’t have a chicken breast to marinate. Heck, I couldn’t even tell you which bottle from the wine rack had been so abandoned that I would leave a quarter of a cup forgotten in a mason jar.

So as I started whipping up blueberry pancakes this morning, it hit me: just a bit of white wine with the milk and baking powder was bound to produce a seriously light texture; lots of bubbles.

Sure enough, working from a recipe Faye learned at school, this was one of the best batches I have ever made. Bubbles rose up immediately on top of the batter as each disc cooked in a pre-heated frying pan. What a glorious way to start the weekend and celebrate the start of winter weather, especially when the girls added maple syrup (that winter-weather goodness so often associated with our fine and, currently very cold, country).