Lemon poppy seed pancakes

I made these pancakes for brunch and Sandy and Jeff requested the recipe — which is the highest form of flattery except for eating a third serving.

The original recipe has you make curdled milk by adding white vinegar; I prefer to just use buttermilk. Also, both versions are faintly lemony. Not super-lemony like those lemon smack-in-the-face cookies I made for that royal wedding brunch years ago. One last thing: Poppy seeds add a certain je ne sais quoi, but I actually don't know what that is. I may try these with blueberries instead.

Lemon poppy seed pancakes 
Serves 4 (or 3, if you eat like us)
¾ cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter (plus extra for cooking)

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp poppy seeds

2 tsp lemon zest

1. Stir the buttermilk and lemon juice together in a bowl. Whisk in the egg, butter, and vanilla.

2. In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppy seeds, and lemon zest. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk a few times (lumps are okay; don't overmix or your pancakes will be chewy).

3. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and coat with melted butter. Scoop ¼ cup of batter onto the pan and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip the pancakes with a spatula and brown the other side.

PS: There are a bunch of tips at The Secrets to Making Great Pancakes. (Rest the batter to relax the gluten? Who knew?)