FAVORITE PANCAKES

Back in the mid-70's (I think!), I found this recipe in a Family Circle magazine.  Rather than buy "boxed pancake mix" with rather "strange ingredients", prepare this--  it is so easy, quick, and good.

This recipe is for about two servings, but can easily be doubled/tripled :

1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons salad oil (or melted butter)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sometimes, I add about two tablespoons of wheat germ.  I add more buttermilk if batter is too thick.

Cast-Iron Dutch Baby (PUFF Pancake) w/ Blueberry Sauce *

M-m-m-m-m-m...

♪ Cast Iron Skillet, ...take me home

to the place where I belong... ♪

(Adapted from John Denver's song-- 

Take Me Home Country Roads.)

I don't know of many other things that

can take me back as quickly to 

when my mother was standing at her 

old wood-burning kitchen stove 

than this cast iron skillet can--

that is one of the reasons why

this PUFFY PANCAKE is a favorite

to make and enjoy!

Other reasons include "I like the taste

of these, and the ease of making them!" ...

and, they remind me of my son's wife,  

Audra, who made these for us when 

we were visitors.  

Depending on the degree of hungriness, this might serve three people, OR, oh my goodness, ...just ONE "Starvin' Marvin"! (?)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• ...............................
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' (powdered) sugar
• ...............................
• Blueberry Sauce with optional lemon wedges.  Recipe for sauce is below.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Scatter the butter into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.  Place on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 450-degrees.  (Watch to make sure butter doesn't get too hot while you are making the batter.)
2. Meanwhile, pour the eggs* into a blender and blend on high until light and foamy.  Remove the blender's lid and add the milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt.  Blend again until all the ingredients are completely incorporated.
3. Remove the heated pan with the butter from the oven, pour in the batter (do not stir), and return to the oven immediately.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and puffy.
4. While the Dutch baby cooks, make the blueberry sauce (recipe is shown below).

 5.  When the Dutch baby is done, remove form the oven and use an offset spatula to loosen and lift it onto a cutting board.  Cut into wedges.  Sift the powdered sugar over each piece and serve with lemon wedges (optional) and blueberry sauce.  

This is also tasty served with Maple Syrup, or 

with... whatever you like!

BLUEBERRY SAUCE RECIPE:  (I cut the following amounts in half, and had enough.)

• 2 pints blueberries, fresh or frozen.
• 1/4 cup (or 4 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (or 3 teaspoons) lemon juice

     DIRECTIONS:  In a nonreactive*** sauce pan, and over medium heat, stir together the blueberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.  Simmer until the blueberries begin to pop, about 15 minutes.  Mash lightly to release more juice.  Let cool just until ready to serve.

* I found this recipe on Facebook.  It was submitted by Rachael Narins in November of 2016-- shared by Grit Rural American Know-How and can be found at (http://www.grit.com/food/recipes/dutch-baby-recipe-zerz1611zfis)  

** My 8-yr. old foster boy has taken a real interest in cooking/baking and I am happy about that.  He gets his stool to stand on and doesn't miss anything!  At first, he was uneasy while learning to crack an egg, but, ... He cracked the three eggs for this recipe just like a PRO!!! 

     

*** Non-reactive material is glass, plastic, stainless steel, glazed ceramic, unglazed clay, Corning Ware, or non-stick (which has the metal coated). Calphalon and Alpholon cookware have non-reactive surfaces on them. Le Creuset has a porcelain surface over the cast iron.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Pancakes

                                                                         Photo by Doris

Okay,... so I sometimes think I won't be 'doing this' (posting recipes/photos) too often because my most favorite recipes are already posted,... but, ... but, ... but, then I leave the 'door' open that I just m-i-g-h-t sneak one in here and there.   And,...I'll tell you what prompted me to do it.   I was reaching for a box of All-Bran cereal.  At the same time, I'm still hearing remembering two of my grandchildren describing this kind of cereal as looking like chicken feed ("chicken mash", they said, after the milk is on it for more than a minute)!  Even though I'm not crazy for the flavor and texture of this very plain kind of cereal, it's what I'll do because I know fiber is good for me (good for many).  BUT!, with the box already in my hand and making its descent from the cupboard this morning, I couldn't help but see the notice "New Recipe on Back"-- well, of course, I had to give that a look!

Ah-h-h-h, a couple of things factored into my next decision-- the picture looked gooooood, I was very hungry, I happened to have every one of the listed ingredients on hand, a-n-d, ... since I was already planning to eat the bran, why not eat it like this!?!?!  So, ... I did...and I will be putting the recipe for these on my list of 'favorite things to make for breakfast'.  They also passed the 'taste testing' from my hubby.  They're a mix of pancake/banana nut bread, etc.  I'm not done, yet!-- with adding a little butter and 100% maple syrup made from our own trees on this farm, my description is a simple "M-m-m!'

Some might say these are 'heavy', but I say it's more that they are "filling" (satisfying)-- two were great plenty for me. 
Yield:  I think I ended up with 10 of these 4.5" pancakes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup 100% whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Kellogg's All-Bran Original cereal
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 and 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 medium ripe banana, mashed (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• Maple Syrup
• Banana slices and additional chopped nuts for garnishing (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, Kellogg's All-BRAN Original cereal, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Mix together.
2. In a second bowl, combine the slightly beaten egg, milk, ground flax seed and mashed banana; stir until well combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir only until just combined.
3. Stir in the 1/3 cup chopped nuts, optional
4. Pour about 1/4 cup batter* onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or into a skillet.  Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown**, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and its edges are slightly dry. 
5. Top with syrup, banana slices, and additional nuts, if desired.

*  I like to use my larger cookie scoop for this because it's about the same size and the batter dumps from it so easily (I guess it has no choice when I shove it out with the lever).

**Remember that with using the whole wheat flour, we already have a 'darker batter'-- so, when they say "golden brown", it's a little different look than we'd have when making all white flour pancakes.  Don't have the heat so high that they get 'dark' before they're done in the middle.

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Leave nuts out of the batter and off the top if you have a 'non-nut liker' in your group...

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P.S.  I make up a double batch of these, cool each pancake on a wire rack, then layer 'em  between squares of Saran Wrap or waxed paper.  Next, I stick those little stacks in a Ziploc and I can freeze them, or just refrigerate them for enjoying over the next few days.  It's so convenient to pull one or two out, put 'em in the toaster and... ENJOY!!!   Some mornings, I take one of these (okay, maybe two!), fold it in half with a thin layer of natural peanut butter in between.  I liked that, too.

Whole Wheat 'n Oats Banana Pancakes

Don't let the '12-ingredients' part stop 
you from making these!  

They are easy, and............ I LIKE!

A BONUS:  You'll KNOW what's in THESE!*

*I remember attending a meeting held in the auditorium of the high school in Shawano when the lecturer said something like this about the packaged/convenience food we buy:  "If your first and second grader children cannot (or could not) pronounce the words in the ingredient list, don't buy it, don't eat it!"

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If you like a combination of banana, peanut butter and chocolate, do this:

Above:  Use the same recipe for the pancakes, but drizzle them with a 2:1 ratio of pure maple syrup and creamy peanut butter.  Oh, ...and top 'em with a KISS! (Depending on the quantity you want, use twice as much syrup as peanut butter.)

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2. 1 cup whole wheat flour
3. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4. 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (I used 'light' because that's what I had)
5. 2 teaspoons baking powder (I use the aluminum-free kind that's now readily available)
6. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt (Kosher is good)
8. 1 whole egg
9. 2 cups whole milk (I used 2%)
10. 2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus a bit more for the griddle
11. 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
12. 1 banana, coarsely mashed

You could also add chopped nuts to the batter if you wish.

DIRECTIONS:

• Place the rolled oats into a mini food processor or blender.  (I put the oats into a pint jar and then used my regular 'big boy' blender.)  Blend until it is the texture of coarse flour.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the ground oats, wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
• In a large liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla and coconut oil (because my coconut oil was cool and sort of 'solid', I measure out the amount and just barely warmed it back to 'liquid state' before adding it).
• Mash banana coarsely and add to liquid mixture; stir in.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir (or whisk) just long enough to combine.  
• Let the batter sit for a few minutes while the griddle heats up.
• Spread a little coconut oil over a hot griddle.  Use a quarter cup to measure out pancake batter onto the preheated griddle.  

• Flip once the bubbles begin to pop and no longer fill back in with batter.  Keep warm and repeat with the rest of the batter.

Let's have some...

Thanks for stopping by!

This recipe adapted from www.simplyscratch.com

Blueberry Pancakes

With this easy "from scratch" recipe, there is no need 

to keep a box of pancake mix on hand.  

At least, that's what I think!

Don't let the directions make you think this recipe 

isn't "quick" to put together because,...it really IS!!!

This past week, I took a little friend blueberry picking.  It was a new experience for her and, for myself, it was an experience I wanted to repeat.   We ate so many of them before they were off their bushes for a few hours.  YUM!!!  Others went into two kinds of muffins, and these into pancakes.  More of........ YUM!!!

At $3.00/lb., they were still more economical 

than paying close to that much for just a pint.

INGREDIENTS:

(This recipe makes about six pancakes the size of those shown in the picture.  You can easily double it for more.)

• 3/4 cup milk (I did not use low-fat milk) 
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (shake well before measuring)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries (I used fresh)
• Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add the vinegar to the milk and let sit for about five minutes to "curdle".
2. During the five minutes that the milk is "souring", combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk together well-- the flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
3. When milk is ready, whisk the egg and melted butter into it.
4. Pour the dry mixture into the mixture of liquid ingredients. Mix only until quite smooth.  Add berries.  Stir in.
5. Heat pan or griddle to medium heat and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Pour 1/3 cupfuls of batter* on the prepared hot surface.

7.  Flip to finish.   Serve with whatever you desire.

*The deep color of the yolks in the free-range eggs 

we have is what made the batter/pancakes 

more yellow than usual.

Above:  If you don't have extra berries to garnish 

the plate, that's okay, too!!!!  Believe me!, there's 

nothing wrong with eating them just like this!!!

Potato Pancakes (LIKE!)

I can hardly believe I did this, but,...I have set a goal.  I guess time will tell if I see it through. 

The GOAL:  For the month of February (and there is even an EXTRA day in it this year!), I'm going to 'try' not making anything for just us unless it has vegetables, fruits, whole grains, or meat/eggs/protein in it.  Yes, I know, with that 'liberal' criteria, I could still be making a lot of cookies/desserts by using whole grains and eggs.  So,..........more specifically, I am going to concentrate on not making anything in the sugary kind of dessert category.   I have to see if I can do this--....... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!........................

I took the above photo of this "I think I can..." last August while heading east from Portland.

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My first 'vegetable' posting of this month... 
PO-TA-TO  PAN-CAKES!!!!  

Hubby LIKES potato pancakes!!!!  These happen to be huge in my mental file of  'memory foods'-- I had this kind of pancake while young, and later at the annual Potato Pancake Dinner put on by my hubby's Aunt Alma along with the other women of St. John's Lutheran Church.  That very popular event was held right after church on a Sunday in the Fall.  Besides all the pancakes, sausages and applesauce you cared to eat, there was an almost endless supply of extra beautiful/tasty homemade pies.  OH, WHAT A SPECIAL FEAST!!!!   

Not totally satisfied with how my potato pancakes would fry up, I asked Aunt Alma how they did theirs for the pancake dinners.  She told me, "We spread a coating of shortening on the griddle, then a swipe of butter over that-- it's the butter that helps them brown to their golden color."  AHA!-- ever since then, I had good luck.

While there still are annual potato pancake dinners in our area, the annual Potato Pancake Dinners held at that particular Lutheran church went by the wayside as more and more of the ladies aged.  I miss much about my hubby's Aunt Alma.  On the long list of  'I miss her because...' is seeing her in that kitchen on the 'Pancake Sundays' of years gone by!

The pure maple syrup (open pan style) made right here on the farm from our own Maple trees only makes these better.  I'm being reminded of the old Dick and Jane stories:  Run syrup, run!  See syrup run!.....................

Yield:  Eight of 6" pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup flour (all-purpose flour, OR a flour your diet requires)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (fine salt mixes in more evenly)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 medium (or 3 large) potatoes peeled and medium/coarsely chopped.  (I happen to love using Yukon Gold because... that's what I have.  Our daughter grows them for us.)

DIRECTIONS:

• Combine eggs, milk, onion, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in blender and run for about 30 seconds until all is chopped/blended.
• Add 1/2 the amount of chopped potatoes; when that is blended/chopped, add the rest. Blend/chop until no 'potato chunks' remain.
• In a pan over medium to medium-high heat, or on a 350° griddle, spread small amount of shortening/oil.  To that, add just a little swipe of butter*.  I spread this around with a pasty brush.
• When a tiny dab of the potato mixture dropped onto the hot surface starts to 'sizzle',  you can proceed.
• Drop potato mixture onto the heated surface-- I measured and poured out 1/3 cup at a time and spread it out to a 6" circle with bottom of the cup. 

• On my long griddle, I can fry three at a time.  Lift and peek underneath edge from time to time, to make sure they aren't getting too dark.  When you like the 'goldness', lift with pancake turner, and quickly/lightly swipe griddle with the end of a stick of butter and put pancake back down to fry the other side.  When frying these a few minutes ahead, I keep them warm on a plate in a 170 degree oven (or as low as your oven can be set).

Serve warm with whatever you like-- common favorites could be applesauce, maple syrup, sausage links/patties, or ???

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* The swipe of butter is what helps the pancake to 'brown'.

I adapted today's particular recipe from one I found on http://recipecurio.com/potato-pancakes-fresh-applesauce-handwritten-recipe/  (I love that website!  As I look at all the 'saved' and 're-found' recipes, I can picture sweet little cooks who loved and served their families well.)