This Feeds Me Hungry Musings of a Gastronomic Gypsy – NC-based freelance writer Victoria Bouloubasis

Punky Pancakes with Escazu goat's milk chocolate. Photo by Victoria Bouloubasis.

If you’re one of those people that thinks goat cheese, goat’s milk and goat butter are too goaty, then consider yourself warned. This pancake is infused with goaty, swims and sizzles in goaty and is topped with an extra heaping dollop of goaty that oozes a goaty glow, sliding over the rounded edges unabashedly– kind of like an actual goat who decides she can slip off into a forest without any qualms or conscience. Believe me, I know.

Some people can’t handle goaty, just like others (ahem, me) can’t handle a herd of 19 errantly rude goats. But why not give it a try? The recipe below is an advantageous result of freelancing: brunch whipped up on a whim after a very productive Monday morning.

I took a yogurt-based pancake recipe and, like a punk, altered it to my liking. My breakfast does what it wants! It’s packed with additional ingredients I threw in on the fly– Meyenberg goat butter, local Escazu goat’s milk chocolate and the savory sweetness of a few dashes of cardamom. The name, then, is inspired by the cute little kid you see below. We met on the morning I witnessed his birth, a beautiful moment that eased newbie nerves on my first day herding under the Algarve sun. I held him in my arms on the walk home and named him Punky, an homage to the mohawk-sporting, most self-sufficient farmers I had the pleasure of meeting in Portugal.

Punky would eat these pancakes. Totally. Photo by Victoria Bouloubasis.

If you can handle goaty, throw on an apron, click the link below and whip up this hardcore recipe. Don’t be a sissy.

Punky Pancakes with goat’s milk chocolate and cardamom

1 cup flour
2 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
1/2 cup water
2 tbs. goat butter (I used Meyenberg), melted
About 1 oz. goat’s milk chocolate bar (I used Escazu), roughly chopped
A couple dashes of cardamom

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

Combine eggs, yogurt and water in medium bowl. Whisk in butter. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until moistened.

Fold in chocolate bits.

Preheat griddle over medium heat. Grease lightly with goat butter. Pour individual scoops (about 1/4 cup) onto pan. Cook until bubbly. Flip and cook for about 2 minutes. Makes about 4 to 5 huge pancakes. (Note: the sugar, cardamom and chocolate added enough sweetness for me, but you may want to lightly drizzle some maple syrup or add a fresh fruit compote. Go crazy and smear goat butter between the stacks.)