A Pancake of Substance

I had the good fortune to come across a wicked whole-wheat banana quinoa pancakes recipe a little while back. I’ve been playing with it ever since and it’s now my go-to pancake approach.

You can substitute other types of fruit for the bananas. For example, in the recipe below, I’ve used one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s quintessential berries: the partridgeberry. You can also use other types of fine grains (e.g couscous) for the quinoa, other types of sweeteners for the brown sugar, etc.

It is a Pancake of Substance. Yes, I’m capitalizing. And italicizing. It’s just that wonderful.

Quinoa partridgeberry pancakes

Stuff you use to make it:

• 3 eggs
• ⅓ cup plain yoghurt (I prefer Greek)
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• ¾ cup multigrain flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 2 cups partridgeberries

What you do with the stuff above:

1. Whisk eggs in a medium-large bowl.
2. Stir in yoghurt, almond milk and sugar.
3. In a smaller bowl, stir together the quinoa, flour and baking powder.
4. Stir the dry mixture into the wet.
5. Fold in the partridgeberries.
6. Heat some canola oil in the pan of your choice. (I like ceramic.)
7. Dollop in some batter, wait for some bubbles to appear and the bottom of the pancake to turn a nice goldeny brown, then flip them babies over.
8. Goes nicely with pure maple syrup, a berry sauce or another fresh berry (as in the picture above).

Spicy holiday breakfast

They say variety is the spice of life. Well, so is ginger. And cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Especially when folded into waffles.

Gingerbread is apparently a translation of the German word Lebkuchen which means cake of life. Sounds good to me.

Kinda gets you in a holiday mood.

Gingerbread waffles

Wet stuff
3 eggs
¼ cup blackstrap molasses
¼ cup canola oil
1½ cups buttermilk - storebought or homemade

Dry stuff
2¼ cups multigrain flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves

Steps

1. Prepare buttermilk, if making at home. (This will requiring letting it sit for 5 minutes, before adding buttermilk in step 2.)
2. Beat eggs in medium-sized bowl. Stir in molasses, oil and buttermilk.
3. Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl.
4. Stir wet into dry.
5. Scoop batter into wafflemaker. Depends on your gadgetry, but mine take 2½ minutes on a lowish setting.
6. Serve with what fancies you. I like plain Greek yoghurt, walnutes, berries and homemade berry jam.

Adapted from a Sobeys recipe.

Zucchini dreamin'

Harvested my first home-grown zucchini (all four inches of it!) and wanted to make something special with it. Here’s what I came up with. (My husband was first aghast that I would shred the cute zuke. But he liked the results.) 

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• ⅓ cup plain 10% Greek yoghurt
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 1 medium zucchini, shredded
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• about 2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• black pepper
• ¼ cup Parmesan, chopped finely
• ¾ cup multigrain flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder

Directions

1. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix in yoghurt, almond milk, zucchini, carrot, quinoa, onion, garlic, black pepper and Parmesan.
2. Mix flour and baking powder together. (Just use the measuring cup to mix these up in -- no need for a second bowl.)
3. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture.
4. Heat pan (I like non-stick ceramic) and add a little spray of your preferred oil.
5. Put pancake-size dollops of batter on pan.
6. Cook until golden on the bottom, then flip and cook for a couple minutes more. (I tend to cover the pan, but if you wish a drier pancake, you can leave it uncovered.)
7. After removing from pan, squeeze lemon over top. If feeling decadent, melt some homemade garlic butter on top of the hot cakes.

They are quite nice the day after, heated lightly in the microwave, with a drizzle of lemon juice. Also nice with Compliments’ Sensations Greek Style Oregano & Lemon Bread Dipper.

Makes about 9 pancakes.

Gourmet granola bars: The perfect chaser to Halloween

You know the feeling: A little hungry, but don't need a meal. Want something satisfying, but not the same old. Want something fun, but not too junky. You know you want something ... but what?

After having gorged on trick-or-treaties, many of your usual snack options may seem less than palatable. Or a case of the guilts may be pressing you to up the nutrient value.

In any case, search no further. These bars may well be the answer. Healthy, substantial and besides all that, they are super-duper delish.

This recipe is based on one I snagged from an acquaintance some months back. But I make a number of substitutions that turbo-boost it into good-for-you territory – without sacrificing any of the yum-yum factor.

Gourmet granola bars

Grab these:

• 3 cups twelve-grain cereal (uncooked)
• 1/3 cup milk powder
• 1 cup nuts (chopped; e.g. almonds, peanuts, walnuts)
• 1 cup dried fruit (e.g. cranberries, raisins or [chopped] apricots, dates, figs)
• 1 cup seeds (e.g. sesame, sunflower, pumpkin)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup tahini (= sesame seed paste)

Do this:

1. Mix dry stuff in large bowl
2. Stir in wet stuff
3. Press into 9 x 13" pan
4. Bake at 325°F for 25-30 minutes (or until golden brown)
5. Cool slightly, cut into bars and remove from pan
6. Place leftovers in sealable container and refrigerate.

There you have it. Loads of texture and flavor. Plus, a panful means plenty for hiking a trail, stashing at the office or simply enjoying at home, tea in hand.

Tip: Lining the "lasagne" pan (that's what my mom calls it) with parchment paper will save considerable grief during clean-up. A coating of oil or butter works OK, too.

Pizza that's dead simple

Ooh, dead. How Halloweenie. (Halloweenie? Ha, there's an image.)

In truth, "dead simple" is usually all the trick-or-treat that Fred and I bother with. And that's in keeping with how I view at-home pizza: Making it should be nothin' special, an ordinary occurance, something that's suitable for any occasion.

I love this pizza more each time I make it. It is easy, quick, nutritious. Plus, the thin crust is tailormade for a snack or light meal. (It certainly suits Fred, who likes to go easy on bread products.)

Dead-simple pizza

1. Place wholegrain tortillas on baking sheets
2. Spread basil pesto over some, salsa over others 
3. Add toppings. Nice combos include:
   • pear + walnut + blue cheese
   • tomato + olive + artichoke + parmesan
   • onion + garlic + red pepper + anchovy + mozzerella
   • spinach + hot pepper + chicken + aged cheddar
4. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes
5. Place on cutting board and slice into quarters. Serve hot.

Fred prefers to heap on the toppings. ("Jam 'er, baby. Jam 'er." That's a direct quote.). I prefer my pizza more sparsely topped. Either is fine, but realize that the deeper the toppings, the greater the required oven time.

What do you like on your pizza?

Beyond hot chocolate: Going nuclear

Hot chocolate screams comfort. It's the perfect stay-inside, curl-up and re-lax beverage, especially now that the weather is turning colder.

Hot chocolate is more adaptable than some folks realize. There are scads of ways to dress it up. I sometimes like mine with with a kick — by that, I mean spicy.

Another plus: In this age of the microwave oven, hot chocolate is easier to make than ever.

Sarah's Nuclear Hot Chocolate

1. pour favorite milk (e.g. 2%) into microwaveable mug
2. nuke approx 2 minutes
3. stir in 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
4. stir in preferred sweetener (to taste; I use sugar in equal parts with cocoa)
5. add dash of cayenne pepper.

Voila, one mug of radioactive goodness.

When feeling indulgent, I'll top it with freshly whipped cream. (Commercial "dessert toppings" can't compete in flavor or texture. And frankly, I'm wary of what's put in them.)

And consider these options: 

• dash of chili powder (vs. cayenne)
• block of dark chocolate
• cinnamon stick
• pure vanilla extract
• shot of espresso (or Tbsps of strong coffee)
• topping of frothed milk.

Oh, if you're old-school, you can always dispense with the microwave and let fly with saucepan on stovetop.

Of berries and buckets

Partridgeberries are one of my favorite berries, certainly among my top five. Tart and tangy, they're a quintessential Newfoundland treat. (In your part of the globe, you may know them as lingonberries or cowberries.)

Not only do partridgeberries carry a lovely deep-red color, but they smell fantastic when heated. Sincerely, conjuring that smell in your kitchen is one of those must-do experiences, worth adding to your bucket list.

Speaking of buckets, every year, I harbor intentions of marching across the barrens to pluck bucketfuls of partridgeberries, right after the first frost, which is prime picking time. But I rarely follow through, and fall back on picking my berries from the grocery-store freezer.

Whichever way you get them, here's how to turn 'em into sauce:

• dump 2 or 3 cups of berries into small saucepan
• add water (a few Tbsps)
• place on stovetop at low-medium heat
• stir intermittently, dialing back heat (as necessary) to keep a slow bubble
• remove from heat once sauce has thickened to desired degree (many of the berries will have broken up)
• add sugar/sweetener (to taste).

Berry sauce is best served warm, as a topping on frozen yoghurt, for example. If your sauce is thick enough, you can spoon it onto toast, like you would jam.

As for my bucket list, I'm going to add "actually get out on the barrens come berry season". Maybe next year.  :‍-‍)

The great guacamole experiment: the reveal

Based on examining a few recipes, I came up with this:

Spicy Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 plum tomato (diced)
• 3 Tbsp tomato salsa
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 Tbsp onion (minced)
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• pepper (a few turns of the grinder)

Directions:

1. Mash avocado in shallow bowl.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.

And Bam!, it's ready to devour.

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Leftovers should be refrigerated, in a container with a tight lid. Because most everything's fresh, this won't likely last too many days. (Not a problem in this particular household.)

Note, too, from last post's photo, that I used Herdez brand salsa. It's one of Fred's faves and contains almost no icky additives. But use whichever salsa that tickles you — mild, medium or flaming hot.

Now that I've prepared guacamole, it seems even easier than I'd thought. Certainly, the avacado was easy to mash.

And this guacamole was economical. Cost worked out to about $1.50 total, or 19 cents per oz. That's less than half the cost of pre-packaged stuff at the local grocery.

Oh, thanks go out to Andree, who forwarded her guacamole recipe via Comment. I'm going to try that version soon.h

Anyhow, looks like no excuses for this family from here on. Zero reasons to buy factory guacamole any more.

Tip: Juice from a fresh lime is best here. Besides unbeatable taste, the smell is amazing. It transported me straight back to the beaches of west coast Mexico, icy beer firmly in hand.