Perfect possibility.

I’m going to be honest with you, the infused maple syrup never turns out this bright red. I’m going to assume that when we first made and photographed these that we simply combines rhubarb with 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar and cooked it down until the rhubarb was mush, strained it and discarded the solids. But I like the flavor of the maple syrup.

In my mind, all of summer is this one Saturday morning, at my family's farmhouse in Western Massachusetts. It's 7:20, maybe 8:00 and I'm standing in dew soaked grass holding a cup of coffee. The air is thick and slow without the humidity that will creep in throughout the morning.

The sun in warm, birds sing lazily and insects buzz as I walk out past the barn, ducking under the clothes line, and pass around the vegetable garden to the strawberries. I fill a bowl to the brim, eating almost as many as a I harvest.

This is a moment when possibilities are endless. The day stretches ahead of me filled with seemingly unconflicting opportunities to weed gardens, harvest green beans and deadhead roses. I can hike in the woods, swim in ponds, and bike for miles.

The kitchen beckons with pancakes for breakfast, fresh garden lettuce and slightly warm cucumbers for lunch. I could marinate meat for grilling, juice plums for a granita, fry thick rounds of fresh zucchini dipped in egg and breadcrumbs.

I step back into the house, greet my parents and turn on Ibrahim Ferrer who sings throughout our breakfast while opportunities fade and contract as plans are made and schedules are set. The perfect possibility of the day ahead remains only until the last pancake has been eaten and the first mower starts up.

Strawberry Pancakes with Rhubarb Syrup

Serves 6

Your Mom said no pie for breakfast? Problem solved! The vanilla and lemon balm-infused milk gives a wonderful extra layer of flavor to these pancakes, but you can make the batter with milk straight out of the bottle if you want to save some time.

For pancakes:

• 1 vanilla bean

• ½ cup whole milk

• 1½ cups buttermilk

• 2-3 sprigs lemon verbena or lemon balm*

• 2 cup flour

• 4 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp cardamom

• 2 eggs, separated

• 4 tbs butter, melted and cooled slightly

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

*No lemon verbena or lemon balm? Add a tsp of lemon zest.

For syrup:

• 1 bunch rhubarb, cut in 1/2” pieces. About 2 cups

• 1½ cups real maple syrup

Directions

• Infuse milk: Slice open vanilla bean and scrape seeds into small saucepan with milk, buttermilk. Add bean and bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, add lemon verbena or lemon balm, and let steep 20 minutes. Strain out and discard solids - except the vanilla bean. Dry that and pack it in a container with sugar for vanilla scented sugar.

• Infuse syrup: Combine maple syrup and rhubarb in a small sauce pan. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Strain out solids and discard. Return syrup to medium heat and simmer to thicken.

• Make pancake batter: In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cardamom. Add strawberries and toss to combine. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, butter and infused milk. Stir liquid into dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Lumps are fine. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.

• Cook pancakes: Warm 1 tbs vegetable oil in a skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add batter by the 1/3 cupful. Cook until the bubbles that break the surface of the batter leave holes behind, rather than collapsing. If the bottom of the pancake browns too much before this happens, reduce heat. When the first few bubbles leave holes behind in the batter, flip the pancakes. Cook 1 minute longer. Serve pancakes topped with rhubarb syrup.

TIP: Your first pancake will either be over or undercooked until you get the heat just right. This is the rule of pancakes and not a sign of weakness on your part ;)