So recently I stumbled upon some AMAZING pancakes. And I mean, UH-MAZE-ING. They're great solo, with butter, or with the whole sha-bang (butter, syrup, powdered sugar, anything really!). They're from Food Wishes, a blog which AllRecipes linked to recently in their featured seasonal recipes. I've taken the liberty of reproducing the recipe below with only two seasoning changes I made (I'm a bit of an addict on flavor, so the changes will be off to the edge, don't worry. If you like a more subtle flavor, go with the original). If you'd like more instruction on mixing methods, follow the link above to Food Wishes, there is a lovely video showing you exactly how to mix flour, milk, eggs, etc. But really, they're just pancakes. Hard to mess up! (especially with this flavor)
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Pumpkin From Scratch (Part 1)
So I recently went bananas, (err, pumpkins?) over making my own pumpkin puree, since Safeway doesn't seem to be carrying canned pumpkin recently (Trader Joe's does, but the lines are SO LONG!!).
I went to town with my chef knife to open it up initially, because (as I discovered) it can be really difficult to cut a pumpkin in half!! Cleavers work well too, my favorite was the high-swung chop to break this bad boy up!
Ever had a hard time trying to clean out the goop without breaking too much of the sides? Ice cream scoops work really well, because they give you a better angle than a regular spoon, and they have a deeper bowl so you don't have to empty them as often.
The goop separated, I microwaved sections of the sides in a glass dish with a cover to cook them. It took about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the piece. When cooked, it should be pretty mushy & peel away from the skin easily. My favorite tools for this process are a fork and spoon: The fork spears a section in place skin-side-down, and you use the spoon to gently scrape away at the pumpkin meat.
After you've got all your pumpkin meat cooked, you can throw it in a blender or Cuisinart to finish pureeing it. Cuisinart is easier, blender takes time to blend, then smash down, then blend some more... not fun!! After it's all blended you can either cook with it, bake with it, eat it straight (My daughter loves it with cinnamon & a pinch of sugar) or freeze it for cooking later! I recommend freezing in 1 or 2 cup amounts in freezer bags, so it's easy to thaw just what you need.
Happy Halloween!
I went to town with my chef knife to open it up initially, because (as I discovered) it can be really difficult to cut a pumpkin in half!! Cleavers work well too, my favorite was the high-swung chop to break this bad boy up!
Ever had a hard time trying to clean out the goop without breaking too much of the sides? Ice cream scoops work really well, because they give you a better angle than a regular spoon, and they have a deeper bowl so you don't have to empty them as often.
The goop separated, I microwaved sections of the sides in a glass dish with a cover to cook them. It took about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the piece. When cooked, it should be pretty mushy & peel away from the skin easily. My favorite tools for this process are a fork and spoon: The fork spears a section in place skin-side-down, and you use the spoon to gently scrape away at the pumpkin meat.
After you've got all your pumpkin meat cooked, you can throw it in a blender or Cuisinart to finish pureeing it. Cuisinart is easier, blender takes time to blend, then smash down, then blend some more... not fun!! After it's all blended you can either cook with it, bake with it, eat it straight (My daughter loves it with cinnamon & a pinch of sugar) or freeze it for cooking later! I recommend freezing in 1 or 2 cup amounts in freezer bags, so it's easy to thaw just what you need.
Happy Halloween!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Lemonade & Variations
What could be better for the tail-end of summer than a cool glass of lemonade, or maybe a lemonade twist? My favorite drink for hot weather is the Rose Lemonade, which I devised after visiting a restaurant in Ashland, OR (that sadly is no more!). Alternatives are included in my recipes to give your last summer event a perfect drink compliment. So what's your favorite style?
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