Pancake dilemma: Part 2

I have solved the buckwheat pancake dilemma! I've used this recipe twice now, to much success. There's no picture because of the speed at which I gobbled these babies up. They looked kind of like this though.


I served them sandwiched with almond butter and honey, topped with sliced bananas, cinnamon, Greek yogurt, and more honey. They are simply divine, and not too heavy but super satisfying. Give them a try!

Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes (vegan)
-serves 2-

Ingredients:

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. flax

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup almond milk

2 tsp. oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup blueberries

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, flax, and cinnamon. Measure almond milk into liquid measuring cup and add to it the oil and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine, then pour into dry ingredient mixture. Whisk just until combined so batter isn’t too gummy.

Heat a large skillet over medium. Spray with oil and pour two pancakes by the 1/4 cupful. Dot with blueberries and cook for about 3 minutes before flipping over. Cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side, remove from pan, and repeat with remaining batter (spraying the pan before each new set).

Summer cornbread

Whenever I'm trying to invent a new recipe, I always do plenty of research. For example, on this particular occasion, I think I printed out three recipes from online and consulted two cookbooks before I was finally confident enough to step out on my own. I was expected to bring my creation to Jenny's party too, so I couldn't mess around. It had to be good on the first try.

I knew I wanted to make some sort of loaded cornbread. Jalapeno-cheddar cornbread, to be exact. But cornbread recipes vary so much that I felt doing ample cross-referencing was appropriate. Some use more cornmeal than flour, some use cornmeal and flour in equal amounts. Some have almost a full cup of white sugar, others stick with a small amount of brown sugar.  But I noted several consistencies across the recipes and decided to use those as my starting point.

This cornbread includes cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and corn kernels for flavor and texture. It uses cornmeal in equal amounts with flour, this being because I didn't want too much of a crumb. It had to be able to support all of my add-ins without breaking apart. Also, because I was aiming for a more savory cornbread, it has no refined sugar- only a small amount of honey for subtle sweetness. What was the final result, you ask? Out of this world! There's nothing like creating your own recipe and everyone loving it. I had one woman come  up to me at the party and say, "I'm a cornbread connoisseur, and I say these muffins are to die for." I couldn't believe it!

In conclusion, if you make this cornbread, you probably won't regret it.

Sarah's Summer Cornbread
-makes 12 muffins or 1 8x8 baking dish-

1 cup medium grind whole-grain cornmeal
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil (I like to use light olive oil)
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese (I used mild but I'm sure sharp would be yummy)
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

Preheat oven to 375 (350 for 8x8 dish). Spray 12 regular muffin cups or baking dish and set aside.
Sift cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and oil in another bowl, then whisk in honey. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.
Gently stir in cheese, jalapeno, and corn kernels. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups or pour into pan.
Bake until tester comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes (a little more for 8x8 dish).

Note: I plan to make this again using diced bell peppers instead of corn kernels. It would also be great with a little Monterey Jack in the mix.Your add-ins can vary according to personal taste!

Adventures in carrot cake

This carrot cake is nothing like its traditional cousin. More like a bread than a cake, it is very moist, very dense, and sugar free! Sweetened only with ripe bananas, dried figs, and prunes, it makes a lovely afternoon snack or could even make a satisfying breakfast. The bananas lend a unique flavor not typically found in a carrot cake, and the pecans add the perfect amount of crunch. 

The frosting is made with Greek yogurt and a little maple syrup. The recipe called for cream cheese, but I'm glad I abstained. The cake turned out so moist and dense that I think cream cheese might be overwhelming. But if you try it with cream cheese, let me know how it goes!

The only changes I plan to make next time: reduce the amount of maple syrup in the frosting (I love my tart Greek yogurt just the way it is) and replace some of the butter with light olive oil. I've got nothing against butter, but something about it lingered in the back of my palate for a looong time, and it felt almost too rich. Almost.

All in all, this cake/bread is fabulously healthy and delicious. Please give it a try!

Inspired by Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks.

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole-grain and 1 cup all-purpose)

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. fine grain sea salt

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup prunes, dried figs, and/or dates, finely chopped into a paste (I used a mini food processor)

3 ripe bananas, mashed well

3 medium carrots, grated

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 eggs, lightly whisked

6 ounces Greek yogurt or cream cheese

3 Tbsp maple syrup or honey

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper. 

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in pecans and set aside.

Stir the dried fruit into the melted butter and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the bananas and carrots. Stir in the fruit-butter mixture, breaking up any fruit clumps as you go. Whisk in the yogurt and eggs. Add flour mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

To make frosting, whip or whisk together the Greek yogurt and maple syrup. Spread onto the cake once it has completely cooled.

Granola Girl

I'm a granola girl this morning. Due to an entire day off from anything until 5:00 pm yesterday, I had plenty of time on my hands to bake (and catch up on quite a few season finales I've missed). I've been wanting to make granola for quite some time now, and with all the necessary components handy, I thought I'd give it a shot. It was incredibly easy to do, and I don't think I will ever buy commercial granola again. Making your own is just too simple, too fun, and too delicious! Not to mention the endless amount of possibilities and ingredients you could throw in. Your granola can be as simple and minimalist or as creative and abstract as you like- use your imagination!

This recipe was inspired by Green Kitchen Stories. Here's what I used:

1 cup multigrain hot cereal from Trader Joe's (you can use rolled oats, rolled rye, etc. instead)
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 cup raw flaked coconut
2-3 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. water
cinnamon (tons of it)
dried apricots, figs, and prunes, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, toss nuts, seeds, and coconut together to combine. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spread this mixture on it.
Drizzle with maple syrup and water, then sprinkle with cinnamon. Do not toss yet.
Place in the oven for about 17-20 minutes, maybe more and maybe less. Keep an eye on things so you don't over-toast, making sure to toss and stir at least twice throughout baking.
Meanwhile, place chopped dried fruit in the large bowl. Once the toasted ingredients have cooled completely, mix it all together and add more cinnamon if desired. Store in a large glass jar or similar container.

Important note: When you open the container the morning after you make this, it will smell like Christmas.

Pancake dilemma

These pancakes were my first attempt at making Tangerine's buckwheat blueberry pancakes with sliced bananas and yogurt. On the menu, they also have coconut pancakes with ginger syrup, so eventually I'd like to combine all of these elements for a buckwheat blueberry coconut pancake with ginger syrup.

When I got up in the morning, though, I also really wanted to try making cornmeal pancakes. I have been craving some good cornmeal pancakes for so long! So I thought, why not use half buckwheat flour and half cornmeal? Well... I'm pretty sure that next time I should just make up my mind and go with one flavor experience, because there is definitely some room for improvement with this stack.

The good:
Flavor wise, they were actually pretty great. I layered them with some mashed banana and there was maple syrup in the batter, so they had the perfect amount of sweetness.
They were quite moist even without maple syrup poured over the top. The blueberry sauce, Greek yogurt, and mashed bananas were all I needed for condiments.

The bad:
The cornmeal and buckwheat were battling ferociously for dominance the whole time I was eating these. The buckwheat desperately wanted to showcase its nutty aroma and smooth texture, while the cornmeal wanted me to top it with honey and cranberry relish and experience its awesome graininess. I really couldn't convince them to be friends, and I was sorry to have made them so uncomfortable.

I wasn't going to post the recipe, because I like for you readers to have something you can go and make without fear. But then I realized, when I started this blog I invited you all on this journey with me. Therefore, it would be only fair for me to tell you what I did and ask for the best feedback you can provide. I will be experimenting much more with these, and it's a shared experience! So don't go and make these and expect them to be amazing. Because they're not. Tell me what you think would make them great. I think the first step is to (a) choose whether I want to have cornmeal pancakes or buckwheat pancakes for breakfast, then (b) replace the other half of the flour with spelt or whole wheat so the other guy can show off to the best of his ability.

Here's a rough outline of the recipe:
(serves 1)

1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp protein powder of choice
1/2 to 3/4 cup almond milk
2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and let settle while the pan heats up. The chia seeds will start to gel and make the batter a little thicker. If the consistency is not as thin or thick as you like, add more milk or flour as necessary. Make sure to spray the pan before cooking each pancake- they take about 2 minutes per side, over medium to medium low heat.
Top each pancake (except the last one) with mashed banana as you stack them. Pour thawed frozen blueberries over the pile and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.