Cornmeal Pancakes and Strawberry Topping

Hello! It's time for pancakes...for dinner or mayhaps breakfast or even lunch. Anytime, really. This recipe is hearty, filling but not too heavy. Hope you enjoy!

Cornmeal Pancakes and Strawberry Topping

adapted from the Joy of Cooking
serves 3-4

1 1/2 cup  cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 t. baking powder

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 to 2 tablespoons honey or sugar

1 cup boiling water

1 cup of milk

1 egg

step one: In a large metal (or a heavy) bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, butter and honey. Pour the boiling water over the top and whisk well to combine. Cover tightly and let stand at least 10 minutes. (I used plastic wrap to cover.)

step two: Preheat the griddle (medium-high) and spray with non-stick or add 1 TB butter to the griddle. (A non-stick pan works, too.) In a small bowl, whisk milk and egg. Combine into the cornmeal mixture. Combine the flour and baking powder, then add to the cornmeal mixture. Stir a bit. 

step three: Pour the batter (about 1/4 cup at a time) into the griddle/pan. Let cook until pancake stops bubbling on top and flip. Cook for 2 more minutes, or until slightly firm (no liquid).

step four: Serve with the strawberry topping. (below)

Strawberry Topping

1 1/2 to 2 cups strawberries

1/2 cup orange juice

1 t. vanilla or almond extract

1/3 cup sugar

step one: Chop the strawberries. In a medium pot on medium heat, combine all four ingredients. Stir and cover the pot. Let cook for 7 minutes, or until half of strawberries are liquified. (Stir occasionally during this time.) 

step two: Move the pot off of the heat and let sauce cool a little and thicken. Serve immediately on top of pancakes or ice cream.

Happy Eating!

Laurel

Fancy Schmancy Butter

Lemon dill butter (top)

Remember having honey butter on warm biscuits or cornbread at your great aunt's house? Oo, I do.
 I think she bought it in a jar, but I have made it since and was surprised at how EASY it is.

My first introduction to a COMPOUND BUTTER was that silky, drippy honey butter that got all over my fingers, the tablecloth, and my shirts as a child. I don't eat a lot of butter and have reduced it significantly in baking/cooking, so I don't think of making butter recipes as a healthy practice in my attempt to eat whole foods. HOWEVER, in small amounts, a bit of a compound butter can significantly kick up the flavor in mashed potatoes, a fish dish, or other meal. They add moisture and a bit of creaminess to leftover chicken, rice and pastas, as well. My photo examples aren't the prettiest, which means practice makes perfect, but they taste pretty darn good. :)

Strawberry butter

Varieties of compound butters and their parings:

Honey Nut Butter (2 sticks butter, 3 TB chopped nuts, 4 TB honey): on toast, waffles, pancakes, or English muffins

Berry Butter (1 stick butter, 2-3 TB berry jam): on toast, in oatmeal (a dab!), on crackers, rolls, waffles or pastries

Pesto Butter (1 stick butter + 2 TB pesto spread): on chicken, fish, pork, in rice, pasta, on a baguette, roll, or breadstick, onto corn on the cob, broccoli, asparagus, add in olive oil- or broth-based sauces

Citrus Butter (2 sticks butter + zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime): on fish, scones, biscuits, in rice, risotto, on cornbread or pastries, on veggies

Lemon-Dill Butter (2 sticks butter + 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill + zest of 1 lemon + 2 TB lemon juice + dash of salt and pepper): on fish, chicken (adds moisture to leftovers!), pork, pasta, breads, and veggies, add in olive oil- or broth-based sauces, on baked potatoes and in mashed potatoes

Honey-Sage Butter (1 stick butter + 2 TB honey + 1 1/2 TB dried sage): on fish, pork, breads, carrots...experiment with this one, which is a little different!


Directions for all varieties:

Step One and Only: Soften butter, don't melt it. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and use the back of a large spoon to work the toppings into the butter until all blended.

Storage: Keep in a sealed container OR wrap in wax paper and store in a small box container (butter will mold into the shape of the container) OR wrap in wax paper and roll into round logs.

Fridge or Freeze? Either one works well. With the recipes with fruits or fresh herbs, I'd freeze them and just slice of a TB or so when you need it. If you (or your kids) are a lover of plain jane noodles, add a pat of the pesto or lemon-dill butter for a little kick of flavor.

Compound butter (in little jars or in wax paper "sticks") make great gifts for dinner party guests.


Special thanks to these folks for the ideas and lessons on compound butter:
A beautiful mess
Alton Brown
Serious eats
Simple bites

I'm in Waco this week, in the next-to-last week of my formal education career. Hope you're having fun wherever you are!

Happy eating!
Laurel

Heavenly Dessert

Ever made an angel food cake?

Good for you! I have yet to conquer the sweet, egg-whitey beast. When I called Matt from the grocery store the other day, I asked him if he'd be down for a little strawberry blackberry shortcake. He groaned a little. I was totally puzzled. Turns out, it's not his favorite dessert. It is, however, one of mine.

This is because my grandmother instilled a love for all things strawberries by sitting me on a little stool in her kitchen and handing me a little bowl of strawberries with a little dipping cup in the middle of powdered sugar. I learned to dip the beautiful ruby fruits into the cloud puff of sugar happiness. Only at grandma's house will a three year old have her own bowl of powdered sugar...what a sweet, powdery, sticky mess. If that didn't top it, we'd usually read my books on Strawberry Shortcake (the cartoon character) while I dipped and drooled. Those pages in the books will never be unstuck.

Those fun (and brave, on her part) memories with my grandmother come to mind anytime I hear/see/devour strawberry shortcake the dessert. This was a common summertime (March through November in Texas) dessert when the whole family got together, and my grandmother usually served it with angel food cake. Sometimes homemade, but usually store-bought. So, if this shortcut is good enough for her, it's good enough for me.

Matt was suddenly a little intrigued when I mentioned that I'd be serving fruit topping on a pillow slice of angel food cake. So far, I've eaten half of the cake (yes...), but I'm sure he'll try it soon. Angel food cake is very low in fat (or fat free) and can be purchased/made with reduced sugar, too. It's a nice alternative to any heavy cake. So here's the super simple topping.

Warm Blackberry Compote
Makes 2 cups + a little
2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (or frozen, if you must)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar 
2 t. cornstarch (optional)
Dash of ground ginger and cloves
1 teaspoon of citrus zest (I used grapefruit, but lemon/lime/orange works well, too)


In a saucepan on high, combine the blackberries and the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.


With the back of a spoon, mash about half of the berries. (This will allow whole berries to cook, as well as create a thicker compote sauce with the rest of the berries.)


If you prefer thicker sauce, add the cornstarch here. (I didn't.) Combine the rest of the ingredients into the pan and stir until dissolved. Cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and berries have changed from black to a rich red sauce.

Top on heavenly angel food cake, yogurt, ice cream, toast.
Use as jam on sandwiches.
Serve beside pork, chicken, or turkey. (You might want to add a little pepper flakes or cranberries to the compote to give it a kick.)


Happy eating and Joyful living!
Laurel

Bananaberry Breadlet

The other day, I was in the mood for banana bread, but wanted it without the heaviness of a loaf and the convenience that I could grab and go in the mornings (because taking the time to stop and cut a slice of bread takes way too long, ha). Presenting...


The BREADLET:

A glorious warm bit of bread baked into handheld on-the-go size.

Bananaberry Breadlet
Perfect for on-the-go, this warm, gooey snack is half the size of a regular muffin and is dense as it is derived from a bread recipe.
makes 23 (not 24) breadlets


dry ingredients (in one bowl, combine:)
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
wet ingredients (in a second bowl, combine:)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 TB melted butter/margarine
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup blackberries, sliced in half (1/2 cup or so)

step one:
preheat oven to 350. spray or line 23 muffin tins.

the batter

combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir. then combine wet ingredients in a large bowl and stir. 


step two: 
pour dry ingredients into the large bowl, and stir all together. using a tablespoon (the kind you eat with), scoop out 2 spoonfuls for each cup, so the muffin cups are 1/2 full of batter.


step three:
bake breadlets for 10 minutes, making sure they are slightly firm (not jiggly) but not overly brown. cool on rack. eat.



**since there is a bunch of banana and blackberry happiness in them, i would stick them in the fridge for storage. i put them in sandwich bags or to-go containers to grab in a hurry. enjoy!

look at that gooey, banana-y goodness

So there you have it, the breadlet. I'm finding it's a nice treat before/after a workout, too.


Happy eating!
Laurel

Pancakes in a Can???

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. It's called Batter Blaster, and my mom introduced it to me. Now, if you look at my recipe list, you'll see that I do love pancakes and find deep satisfaction in making them from scratch. HOWEVER, it's a little tricky to get those perfectly fluffy flapjacks with crispy brown edges. Batter Blaster, LLC, a company out of Austin, is making it easier!


This company doesn't go in the same category as canned cheese or anything unhealthy. Here's why:

According to Batter Blaster's website:
2 pancakes= 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 5 grams of sugar
Ingredients include: wheat flour, cane sugar, and other natural ingredients
It's ORGANIC

Super easy and delicious. So I have learned...don't knock it 'til you've tried it.


Okay, we need a (simple) recipe to go with it:

Berry Easy Syrup
6 Strawberries, sliced into quarters
3 TB berry fruit jam
1/4 cup fruit juice

step one: In a saucepan on high heat, lightly stir. Heat all ingredients until they start to boil.

step two: When it boils, lower to medium heat and cover. Cook for 5 minutes. Juice will condense down, berries will soften, and will create a thick compote syrup.

Pink color-changing treat

Happy Monday, Friends!

I'm really loving this whole smoothie for breakfast thing. However, my crazy-loud blender wakes the neighborhood when I make them in the mornings. (Sorry, entire community of Hewitt.)

But this is the easiest way to throw anything healthy and fruit/veggie-related into my body in a timely fashion. I get, literally, 3 cups of produce in each tasty smoothie. And they're so simple. Party in your mouth!

Pink Party Smoothie
*makes 2 2-cup smoothies*

7 ice cubes
2 bananas
big handful of strawberries (tops off)
small handful (1/2 cup) blackberries and/or blues
(optional) 1 TB flax seeds, chia seeds
3 cups fresh spinach (raw & rinsed)







Direcciones:
1. Toss the ice in and let crush a little.
2. Toss the 2 peeled bananas and berries in (and optional seeds).



                               *Now here's the fun part*



From PINK...




 to GREEN!!!!

Now you may never want to look green--for obvious reasons--because you're either the Wicked Witch of the West or a little sickly.

But a smoothie? Bring on the green! You get your alphabet of vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, & K) and get added energy in a straw. Could I be any more nerdy excited?? Ha, probably not.

So, dear friends, there you have it.

A pink-turned-green smoothie to start your day on the right track. (Just don't wake the neighbors with your own crazy blender!)

Happy Blending!!