I actually did take a few snaps of the folks during their visit last week, but thanks to the glory that was my Utica trip I was a little short on time. Now, I actually made them breakfast, because I've recently managed to nail down a recipe for blueberry pancakes that I like and reliably make. Here's the recipe, for those of you who are kitchen fiends:

Dry ingredients

• 2 cups King Arthur All-Purpose flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Liquid ingredients

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 1/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Blueberry ingredients

• 1 pint fresh blueberries (try to get smaller berries; these are invariably more flavorful than their fatso brethren)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, and make a little well in the center of the bowl. Pour the buttermilk, eggs, and butter into the center of the well, and stir with a spatula or mixing spoon until all ingredients are just combined. Do not overbeat! I learned the importance of this the hard way. Better to err on the side of lumpy batter than to beat the stuff too much and kill the flour.

Now, let the batter sit and rise for about 10 minutes or so, while you prep the blueberries. Just rinse the things and let them drain in the sink. Stir them in gingerly, and only until you have basic blueberry distribution. Again, don't mess with the batter any more than is absolutely crucial.

Heat up a nonstick pan on medium heat, until butter melts and browns on the top. I'd use about a 1/3 cup of batter per pancake, because I like mine a little larger than the ridiculous silver-dollar size most recipes assume. You can just use a 1/4 cup measure and heap it on.

From here on, cook 'em like normal. When the batter bubbles and the edges start forming, flip the pancakes. Serve with warm maple syrup (not disgusting log cabin or so-called pancake syrup) and butter or Brummel and Brown.

That's all there is to it! Here are a couple of pics of breakfast with my folks. Click to enlarge, as usual.