What's in a name? Why Chokecherry Pancakes?

My first memory of being a real foodie (or food critique) was at a very young age - my Grandfather T made pancakes served up with his home made chokecherry syrup. Pretty good for a guy in his eighties, who picked the berries himself, and had a garden of his own until the day he died (well past ninety). Anyway, I could not handle the fact that his syrup turned the pancakes green (despite the syrup being a deep burgundy). I am not sure what he added to the syrup or to his pancakes to cause this chemical reaction. He also used to make his own wine out of the chokecherry berry - and when it didn't taste quite right, he would add vodka. Maybe he did it for the taste, maybe he did it so no one else would drink the wine but him? But maybe that is why I am such a slap dash cook .... although I usually substitute garlic and chillies for vodka! And yes, I love wine, and come by this quite honestly. I grew up around gardens and gardening, where fresh produce was always in abundance. I was forced to pick berries, when in season, from a young age. My mother and her sisters (from the Chokecherry and Vodka lineage) used to compare: what they canned, how many jars, number of litres; what they baked, how much; and they could talk endlessly about recipe books .... it was a one-up competition with them! In fact, it still is! My Grandma and Grandpa J also had an amazing garden. One of their favorite soul nourishing activities was shelling peas! And they just loved new potatoes. My grandmother's garden was her passion, especially her flowers, but she always had an amazing veggie patch too, along with raspberries, strawberries, and crab apples. My foodie beginnings most certainly started in Canada, and I come by this foodie bug very honestly. It is in my blood. I grew up on organic produce. Every May we planted a garden, harvested it throughout the year, then every October we dug it up and salvaged what we could for the cellar and for more canning, and more one-upmanship among my mother and her sisters. But, Chokecherry Pancakes is where it really all began for me as a foodie or food critique, so hence the name of this blog! Today I write Chokecherry Pancakes from Australia, where I have lived for almost ten years.