My cousin, Jamie, is back with a barefoot-and-pregnant-in-the-kitchen recipe winner. It'll make you want to have another kid. Serious.

Hey Sar -

I have literally been trying to write this post for a week. But every time I sit down to make it happen, something (ahem, someone) interrupts. So it's 6am Sunday morning and here I am. The house is quiet and I finally have a moment to myself.

I am now 31 weeks into pregnancy #2 and wow. This has been a completely different experience from three short years ago with Charlie. I'm exhausted (like, I-just-took-a-nap-during-this-sentence exhausted), my feet are swollen, I can't get an uninterrupted night's sleep (due to multiple bathroom visits or my sweet little angel coming in at 3am for snuggles, which I totally don't mind), I have no time to exercise, and the heartburn. Oh, the heartburn. I know that baby is basically in my throat at this point, but I run through the electric fence to the buffalo sauce every night anyway (see below). Larry the Cable Guy and I would have a lot to talk about. And at this rate, when Baby Sissy (which Charlie has affectionately named her) arrives, she's going to have no sheets and we'll have to make diapers from dish towels.

But what's really gotten me this time...The cravings. Make your husband run to 7-11 at 11pm cravings. Here's a short list to give you an idea of what I'm dealing with here:

Baby Corn, out of the can

Tapatio (not good for the heartburn but I can't help myself)

Anything with buffalo wing sauce

Mexican food

Kalamata olives (which I previously despised for my entire life)

Ice cream. Duh.

Graham crackers topped with speculoos spread (thank you for that one, dear cousin) and a square of Theo 70% Dark Chocolate

Salt

Popcorners

And the list goes on. And on.

So last Saturday morning, as I am laying in bed at some gawd awful hour and mindlessly scrolling through IG, I come across a post from Smitten Kitchen for Sweet Corn Pancakes. OMG.

Must.

Have.

Now.

I roll out of bed, put on a bra and some slippers, head to Met Market for a "few" ingredients (why can't I get out of that friggin' place for less than $50, anyone?), and then home to get these babies on the griddle.

They were delicious and completely hit the spot -- the sweet corn gave a little grit to the pancake, and Log Cabin syrup rounded out the dish (maybe my pancakes and the HFCS in the syrup were neighbors when they were kids?). Delicious and a perfect way to use up all of the fantastic corn gracing our local farmers markets. And best of all... Charlie ate up every bite.

Sweet Corn Pancakes

I made these exactly as the recipe called for. One modification I would make is to pulse the corn a few times in the food processor after sauteing to break up the big bits.

Makes about nine to ten 4-inch pancakes

2 tablespoons butter (1 ounce or 28 grams), plus additional for brushing pan

3/4 cup kernels cut from one large ear sweet fresh corn

1/8 teaspoon (1 gram) salt plus additional for seasoning corn

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups (296 ml) buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon (13 grams) sugar

3/4 cup (3 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (3/4 ounce or 22 grams) cornmeal, any kind

1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet or griddle pan over medium heat. Add corn and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until it begins to brown ever-so-slightly. Sprinkle with salt and set aside to cool. Wipe out skillet.

Lightly beat egg in the bottom of a large bowl, then whisk in buttermilk, corn, vanilla and sugar. In a smaller bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet, mixing until just combined but still lumpy in appearance.

Reheat your skillet or saute pan to medium. Brush the pan with butter and ladle 1/4 cup batter at a time, 2 inches apart. When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, flip them over and cook them until golden brown underneath. If they seem to be cooking too quickly (dark on the outside, raw centers) turn your heat down to low for the next batch and inch it up as needed. Repeat with remaining batter, and serve immediately with a pat of salted butter and a healthy dose of maple syrup.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen