I don’t watch many TV shows these days. With two tiny kids and a cookbook manuscript deadline looming large on the horizon, I just don’t have time to keep up with the new stuff coming out (I haven’t even STARTED the latest season of Stranger Things 😬). Then one night while I was trying to keep myself awake while nursing my baby, I turned on Netflix. And up popped The Good Place.

I don’t even know what happened. Somewhere between thinking “Kristen Bell? Cool, I like her” and “It’s only a 20 minute ep what could it hurt” I was plunged into a wild world of architects, soulmates, and chili babies. It was the light-hearted romp through moral philosophy I didn’t know I needed.

My friend Jess recently shared her own love for The Good Place on FanDummies, a pop culture fan podcast where she is one of the lovely hosts. She mentioned on Twitter that while she was at comic con she visited the actual Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes cafe, a reference to an interdimensional crossroads in the show shortened to the “IHOP”. It’s filled with giant green floating disks (the pancakes), swirling blue chaos, vicious little monsters called Niednagels, and something called the Time-Knife. When I heard Jess got to visit the Good Place IHOP at SDCC, I felt unabashedly jealous. Then it got me thinking…Wouldn’t it be cool to make interdimensional pancakes at home?

They’d have to be blue and green, of course, to match the color scheme of the IHOP in the show. And kinda edgy, since the IHOP is supposed to be dangerous, but they’d have to be delicious too. My answer to this was classic buttermilk pancakes with a twist: I flavored half the batch with matcha to make it green and the other half with homemade blueberry syrup to make it blue. I threw some fresh berries into the batter too.

I was so pleased with the final product. The matcha was evident without being overpowering, and the syrup added distinct blueberry flavor without being too sugary. 

So fire up the griddle and whip up a batch of pancakes from the Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes…and if you suddenly find yourself caught in a swirling vortex between dimensions about to be eaten by a Niednagel or staring down the edge of the Time-Knife, just remember:

EVERYTHING IS FINE.

 A

Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes from the Good Place: An AWR Original Recipe

“It’s not the place you’re thinking of. This is the Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes. It’s the crossroads of all dimensions, like Grand Central Station but for space and time. If you eat anything in this IHOP, you will literally explode.”

— Michael, The Good Place

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

• For the Syrup
  • 1 lb frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
• For the Pancakes
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 2 Tbsp blueberry syrup (see above recipe)
  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 Tbsp matcha powder
  • Whipped cream and more blueberries, for garnish

      

Makes 16 pancakes and 1 1/4 cups syrup

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. To Make the Syrup: Add all the ingredients to a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil on medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid into a bowl (do not press down on the berries to release extra juice). Discard berries.
   2. Return the liquid to the pot and bring back to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low again and heat for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. The mixture will thicken somewhat. Cover and chill until cold. The mixture will thicken slightly more as it cools.
   3. To Make the Pancakes: In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl or large liquid measure cup, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Whisk egg mix into dry mix until moistened. Transfer half of the batter to another bowl. Mix syrup and blueberries into one bowl and matcha powder into the other.
   4. On a lightly greased griddle or cast iron pan on medium-low heat, cook 1/4 cup matcha batter for 1 minute on each side. Repeat with remaining matcha batter. Cook blueberry batter for a little over 1 minute on each side (5-10 extra seconds per side).
   5. Serve with blueberry syrup, whipped cream, and fresh blueberries.

 

 

Pop culture: part of a balanced breakfast! 🙂

Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs from Calvin & Hobbes

Calcifer’s Sweet and Spicy Candied Bacon from Howl’s Moving Castle

Maquis Granola Bowls from Star Trek

Stranger Things Apple Cider Doughnut Holes

Hopper’s Bacon Stuffed French Toast

 

 

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