Chai Pancakes - March/April – Sara

I like Chai, and I like pancakes. Hence, my entry. Quick and easy (much like this post as I’m getting in right under the wire) and yummy!

Recipe:

1 egg

¾ cup milk

2 tbsp butter

1 cup flour

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp cardamom

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp sugar

hint of cloves

Mix it up and throw them in a pan for a minute or so on each side. Here’s what you get

I also made some cardamom infused whipped cream which added nicely and some rosemary lemon simple syrup which didn’t turn out quite as nicely (it became candy). Oh well… thems the breaks. Overall, very pleased.

Chai Pancakes - March/April – Sara

I like Chai, and I like pancakes. Hence, my entry. Quick and easy (much like this post as I’m getting in right under the wire) and yummy!

Recipe:

1 egg

¾ cup milk

2 tbsp butter

1 cup flour

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp cardamom

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp sugar

hint of cloves

Mix it up and throw them in a pan for a minute or so on each side. Here’s what you get

I also made some cardamom infused whipped cream which added nicely and some rosemary lemon simple syrup which didn’t turn out quite as nicely (it became candy). Oh well… thems the breaks. Overall, very pleased.

Falafel Pancakes- Pancakes- March/April 2011

OK, I had big plans to do a mashed potato pancake with a romesco sauce, but of course someone beat me to the punch. So, I went with plan “B”. This is a falafel pancake with a yogurt sauce and a dollop of hummus. The falafel recipe I use is pretty involved, and one for which you must plan ahead. Here’s the basic recipe:

• 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
• 1 cup dried fava beans
• ½ cup coarsely chopped parsley
• ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• ½ cup coarsely chopped mint
• 1 to 2 bunches of scallions chopped
• 4 large cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ¼ to ½ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 TBSP lemon juice
• 4 TBSP bulgur wheat soaked in water for 1 hour then drained
• Chickpea flour to act as a binding agent

Soak the garbanzo beans and fava beans in water overnight. Chances are that once they have soaked you will have WAY more garbanzo than fava. In case you’ve never worked with fava beans before you should be aware that once they have been soaked there is a shell which MUST be removed. I didn’t know this the first time I used fava beans. I figured these were the worst tasting and textured beans ever cultivated (regardless of how good your Chianit might be). If you decide to forgo the step of removing the skins be prepared for some MAJOR gastrointestinal distress, also plan on being alone for a few days.

This picture shows an unshelled and shelled Fava bean.

 Once the beans are ready pulse them in a food processor until they are roughly chopped. Add the rest of your ingredients except for baking soda and chickpea flour. Pulse some more in the food processor until everything is well mixed. It should look pretty lumpy, but your leafy herbs shouldn’t appear leafy anymore.

 

Stir in your chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and let sit in fridge for about an hour. While the falafel mixture is resting in the fridge you can make a yogurt sauce. Here’s my recipe which I make to sight:

Yogurt plus equal parts of garlic paste, ginger paste, and mint or cilantro chutney. Liberally sprinkled with garam masala and mixed well.

Remove falafel from fridge. Form into patty cakes. Pan fry in olive oil until pretty brown on both sides. Finish in a 350F oven for 20 minutes.

 

 Serve with your yogurt sauce and some homemade hummus. Super scumptastic.

Falafel Pancakes- Pancakes- March/April 2011

OK, I had big plans to do a mashed potato pancake with a romesco sauce, but of course someone beat me to the punch. So, I went with plan “B”. This is a falafel pancake with a yogurt sauce and a dollop of hummus. The falafel recipe I use is pretty involved, and one for which you must plan ahead. Here’s the basic recipe:

• 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
• 1 cup dried fava beans
• ½ cup coarsely chopped parsley
• ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• ½ cup coarsely chopped mint
• 1 to 2 bunches of scallions chopped
• 4 large cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ¼ to ½ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 TBSP lemon juice
• 4 TBSP bulgur wheat soaked in water for 1 hour then drained
• Chickpea flour to act as a binding agent

Soak the garbanzo beans and fava beans in water overnight. Chances are that once they have soaked you will have WAY more garbanzo than fava. In case you’ve never worked with fava beans before you should be aware that once they have been soaked there is a shell which MUST be removed. I didn’t know this the first time I used fava beans. I figured these were the worst tasting and textured beans ever cultivated (regardless of how good your Chianit might be). If you decide to forgo the step of removing the skins be prepared for some MAJOR gastrointestinal distress, also plan on being alone for a few days.

This picture shows an unshelled and shelled Fava bean.

 Once the beans are ready pulse them in a food processor until they are roughly chopped. Add the rest of your ingredients except for baking soda and chickpea flour. Pulse some more in the food processor until everything is well mixed. It should look pretty lumpy, but your leafy herbs shouldn’t appear leafy anymore.

 

Stir in your chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and let sit in fridge for about an hour. While the falafel mixture is resting in the fridge you can make a yogurt sauce. Here’s my recipe which I make to sight:

Yogurt plus equal parts of garlic paste, ginger paste, and mint or cilantro chutney. Liberally sprinkled with garam masala and mixed well.

Remove falafel from fridge. Form into patty cakes. Pan fry in olive oil until pretty brown on both sides. Finish in a 350F oven for 20 minutes.

 

 Serve with your yogurt sauce and some homemade hummus. Super scumptastic.

and now, for something completely different....

POTATO PANCAKES WITH "THE BOMB" SAUCE

I wanted to make my banana pancakes. Maybe I still will. But today, my husband issued me a cooking challenge. "Make potato pancakes," he said. So I did. I decided not to look at any other recipes for said pancakes first, and I have NEVER made potato pancakes before, so this was truly figuring it out from scratch. I decided to stay as true to a traditional "pancake" as I could, making something of a batter that is able to be poured in some way and some real syrup-consistency topping instead of going the gravy route.

Here is the ingredient list in its final version, though it took a few tries to get a good consistency. There is no picture of the ingredients, since I didn't know what I was going to end up using.

5 small-medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4-1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 T. butter
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1.) Boil the potatoes in salted water until quite soft. Drain nearly all the water from the pot.
2.) Mash the potatoes with the yogurt and butter while hot.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. (This can all be done in one pot, which is a great plus in my book.)
4.) Preheat a griddle to 375*. I used butter on it, because butter makes everything good, but that is probably not necessary.
5.) Pour and spread the batter. The batter is a little on the thick side.
6.) Cook 4-5 minutes per side.

This makes roughly 20 pancakes. You will wish you had more. Double this recipe if you have more potatoes in the house than I did.

Pat ran around Muncie while I made the pancakes, looking for the *secret ingredient* for the pancakes. We finally had Pat's sister to thank for her effort at getting us just what we were looking for: real bacon fat!

The "syrup" is easy:
2 big spoonfulls of bacon grease
2 spoonfulls of brown sugar
2 spoonfulls of tomato paste

1.) Melt the fat in a pan on medium-high heat.
2.) Add the sugar.
3.) Reduce heat and add the tomato paste.
4.) Add water to thin to desired consistency.

Pour "The Bomb" sauce over the pancakes and garnish with green onion slivers (which taste great with it, in addition to being fancy).

Pat loved it.
Eden kept saying, "Yummy syrup!" all during dinner.
Israel said, "This is the BOMB!"
Our housemate, Kyle, agreed it was very good.
I was skeptical at first as I wished they would have been a little more fluffy, but in the end I could not complain. I wished I had made more.

and now, for something completely different....

POTATO PANCAKES WITH "THE BOMB" SAUCE

I wanted to make my banana pancakes. Maybe I still will. But today, my husband issued me a cooking challenge. "Make potato pancakes," he said. So I did. I decided not to look at any other recipes for said pancakes first, and I have NEVER made potato pancakes before, so this was truly figuring it out from scratch. I decided to stay as true to a traditional "pancake" as I could, making something of a batter that is able to be poured in some way and some real syrup-consistency topping instead of going the gravy route.

Here is the ingredient list in its final version, though it took a few tries to get a good consistency. There is no picture of the ingredients, since I didn't know what I was going to end up using.

5 small-medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4-1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 T. butter
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1.) Boil the potatoes in salted water until quite soft. Drain nearly all the water from the pot.
2.) Mash the potatoes with the yogurt and butter while hot.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. (This can all be done in one pot, which is a great plus in my book.)
4.) Preheat a griddle to 375*. I used butter on it, because butter makes everything good, but that is probably not necessary.
5.) Pour and spread the batter. The batter is a little on the thick side.
6.) Cook 4-5 minutes per side.

This makes roughly 20 pancakes. You will wish you had more. Double this recipe if you have more potatoes in the house than I did.

Pat ran around Muncie while I made the pancakes, looking for the *secret ingredient* for the pancakes. We finally had Pat's sister to thank for her effort at getting us just what we were looking for: real bacon fat!

The "syrup" is easy:
2 big spoonfulls of bacon grease
2 spoonfulls of brown sugar
2 spoonfulls of tomato paste

1.) Melt the fat in a pan on medium-high heat.
2.) Add the sugar.
3.) Reduce heat and add the tomato paste.
4.) Add water to thin to desired consistency.

Pour "The Bomb" sauce over the pancakes and garnish with green onion slivers (which taste great with it, in addition to being fancy).

Pat loved it.
Eden kept saying, "Yummy syrup!" all during dinner.
Israel said, "This is the BOMB!"
Our housemate, Kyle, agreed it was very good.
I was skeptical at first as I wished they would have been a little more fluffy, but in the end I could not complain. I wished I had made more.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Lemon Blueberry Syrup

I have been on a quest for a great, uncompromisingly tasty "healthy" pancake. I've tried many recipes and know that I dislike whole wheat flour in pancakes. So this morning, April 2, I searched "Oatmeal Pancake" and took my first result on a "Google knows best" kind of hunch. Allrecipes "Oatmeal Pancake II" was the winner, and with over 7,000 reviews and an average 4.5 out of 5 stars, it seemed like a winner. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was and how light, fluffy and delicious they turned out. Our only complaint, too few for our hungry family of four (don't let the almost 2 yr-old fool you, she outdoes us all!). Definitely double the recipe for maximum enjoyment.

Tip: the absolute KEY to a fluffy pancake is to just barely mix the ingredients. Over mixing will ruin all your hopes and dreams.  For cooking, my rule is 3 minutes on the first side, 1 minute on the other... so long as my griddle is perfectly heated. Pancakes are so picky, right?!

Also, I invented a kick-ass lemon blueberry syrup on the spot.

Oatmeal Pancakes II, by mom2hh (not to be confused with the horrifically inedible Oatmeal Pancakes I)

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk [I used 2/3 c greek yogurt & 1/4 c milk, plus more to thin it out a bit]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

Directions

Place flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and egg in a food processor and puree until smooth. [this actually works really well & quick, but traditional mixing methods would do, I suspect]

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

------------------------------

Lemon Blueberry Syrup, by me

1 cup or so of frozen blueberries (I forgot to measure)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sugar
dash of water

Heat and blend with a stick blender, then boil until thickened a little, let stand so it won't scald your tongue.

Maddie approved

Lucy approved

Blueberry Syrup makes great finger paint

THE END

Oatmeal Pancakes with Lemon Blueberry Syrup

I have been on a quest for a great, uncompromisingly tasty "healthy" pancake. I've tried many recipes and know that I dislike whole wheat flour in pancakes. So this morning, April 2, I searched "Oatmeal Pancake" and took my first result on a "Google knows best" kind of hunch. Allrecipes "Oatmeal Pancake II" was the winner, and with over 7,000 reviews and an average 4.5 out of 5 stars, it seemed like a winner. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was and how light, fluffy and delicious they turned out. Our only complaint, too few for our hungry family of four (don't let the almost 2 yr-old fool you, she outdoes us all!). Definitely double the recipe for maximum enjoyment.

Tip: the absolute KEY to a fluffy pancake is to just barely mix the ingredients. Over mixing will ruin all your hopes and dreams.  For cooking, my rule is 3 minutes on the first side, 1 minute on the other... so long as my griddle is perfectly heated. Pancakes are so picky, right?!

Also, I invented a kick-ass lemon blueberry syrup on the spot.

Oatmeal Pancakes II, by mom2hh (not to be confused with the horrifically inedible Oatmeal Pancakes I)

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk [I used 2/3 c greek yogurt & 1/4 c milk, plus more to thin it out a bit]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

Directions

Place flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and egg in a food processor and puree until smooth. [this actually works really well & quick, but traditional mixing methods would do, I suspect]

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

------------------------------

Lemon Blueberry Syrup, by me

1 cup or so of frozen blueberries (I forgot to measure)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sugar
dash of water

Heat and blend with a stick blender, then boil until thickened a little, let stand so it won't scald your tongue.

Maddie approved

Lucy approved

Blueberry Syrup makes great finger paint

THE END