Deb's Favorite Pancakes

Deb is my in-lawed mother, as in the law says she’s my mother because I married her son, its all very complicated. This recipe is for her favorite pancakes, well…actually…Deb hasn’t ever had these pancakes, but if she did they would be her favorite. How do I know this? Because they contain two of her favorite things, two ingredients she has on a daily basis (and no, one of them isn’t coffee, but good guess). Two ingredients she travels with, two ingredients she dreams about all night and wakes up in the early morning light to consume. Two ingredients that she whispers softly to, “You complete me.” Two ingredients she wants to be buried with…ok so maybe I exaggerate a little but she eats them everyday people, there’s a deep connection. And these ingredients are…Chia seeds and Greek Yogurt.


Maybe you are not familiar with these foods, maybe you should try them, maybe you know everything there is to know about them and I’ve insulted your intelligence, either way they are an excellent addition to your weekend morning ritual. Deb’s daily duo adds a rich and slightly crunchy texture to the traditional pancake, an excellent way to get your daily dose of calcium and omega-3. Top with bananas and blueberries and REAL Maple Syrup and be catapulted into your sweatpants wearing Sunday.


Little Debbie’s Pancakes
Makes Approx. 8-4 inch cakes
Serves 2-3

1 cup white whole wheat flour (King Arthur brand can be purchased at most Grocery stores)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup Chia Seeds (can be purchased in most health food stores)
1 cup Greek Yogurt, honey flavored (again, available in more grocery stores)
1/2 cup milk (whatever you have in the fridge, I used soy)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and Chia seeds. Add in the yogurt, milk, egg and melted butter. Stir until just combined*. Heat a skillet to medium, when hot coat pan with butter and drop approx. 1/3 cup batter per cake into the skillet. Spread out the batter evenly with a rubber scraper. When the batter begins to puff up and the bottoms are golden brown, flip them. Cook on the other side until golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

*This batter is thicker than a traditional pancake batter. Its consistency is between a drop biscuit and pancake batter; if you’d like it a little thinner add a little more milk.

Raggedy Andy's Bars

My brother-n-law, Andy, told me about this recipe. I love it when people are excited about discovering great recipes; it’s in these moments I get to be my absolute food obsessed self and the feelings are mutual. In my head I hug the other person so hard I lift him or her off the ground and run home to get cookin’ (because of course in this perfect moment I have everything at home I need to make it). Andy loved that this bar was a quick breakfast that kept him full. And let me tell you he is no sickly computer nerd wincing in the dim light of his parents basement, he’s a dominate male who thumps his chest to display his food chain status. Keeping him full is a challenge and these bars trained, spending hours in the gym to pull off gold.

Once I got my hands on this recipe I had to bastardize them with my healthy substitutions, I’m sorry, but if I can’t be myself in the kitchen where can I? And in my 100% bias opinion I made them even better. The sucanat I used instead of brown sugar didn’t fade out the natural sweetness of the dried fruit and the whole wheat pastry flour bulked up these bars to make them even more of satisfying breakfast. Lastly the vegan “butter” I used that bound together the grain and fruit into a hand held treat wasn’t blood thickingly rich so it gave me sustained energy without incidence of lethargy. A perfect mid-afternoon, how can I make until 5pm desperation snack. This bar will shot gun you into your work flow or bring you back when your focus strays. You will reach new heights in productivity. These bars can be your secret weapon to promotion after promotion until you can retire early circling the globe on your 100 ft. yacht. Damn, get to making these bars already.

Energy Bars

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1.5 cups packed dried fruit (I used apricots, golden raisins and craisins)

1 cup rolled oats

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup sucanat, or brown sugar

½ cup chopped nuts (I used pecans and walnuts)

¼ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. cinnamon

¾ cup Earth Balance vegan margarine, or unsalted butter, melted

1.5 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 and grease a 9x9 baking pan and line with foil.

Combine the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the butter and vanilla, combine until well blended. Press the mixture in the prepared pan and bake until top is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack.

Summer refreshed

Having a hard time keeping cool this summer? I've got a drink to cure your heat induced puffy sausage fingers syndrome. Get some first- Ade from Lemons (puns make me feel like a nerd). Make some lemonade, duh everyone's doin' it. This one's a keeper, not too sweet, made with the most awesome nectar agave. The best part about this swweettner is its low-glycemic index, it doesn't cause large spikes in blood glucose (sugar) levels. Its even keel for your pancreas and your sweat glands. Make some and give it to overly dramatic fainting ladies, little kids who say no to sugar rushes and your on-the-verge of diabetes friends.

AID Me with Lemons
adapted from GOOP.com

• 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (I like 3/4 c. but I'm a tartlette. )
• 1/2 cup light agave syrup
• 1 quart of water
• Fresh mint
• 1/2 cup vodka (if you happen to be celebrating getting a new job)
  

Mix everything together, adding a bit more of any ingredient, if necessary

And feel as refreshed as hiking in the Virgin River

101cookbooks.com

When I began discovering food blogs I was very pleased to find this one. Heidi’s vegetarian fair keeps it simple and delicious. I have made more of her recipes than any other food blogger out there; which is a grandiose statement considering I spend many hours (more than I spend cooking) reading those tantalizing blogs with their tasty food photos. I have a wee bit of an obsession. The best part about her food is that it makes me feel ssooo good. (It’s all about MY feelings, just ask my husband) It puts my mind and body on the same pleasure frequency.

This is her ultimate veggie burger. I wonder how many times I'll make this...

Then there's this dreamy combo

Strawberry Panzanella and Frozen Yogurt

People pleasin' does a body good food.
Eat it and your Dietitian will thank you.

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Remember that Will Ferrel SNL Gatorade commercial parody with Cookie Dough?
I know you want to drink this.

Until a few weeks ago I had been without a kitchen since Thanksgiving 2008. It was not an easy time, there was much lamenting over recipes that would have to wait and too much shelf-stable food consumption. But that’s all over now and I knew when the freshly remodeled kitchen was finished I would have to quickly dirty it in order to make these.

Chocolate chip cookies, the universal crisp, chewy, chocolate hand held agents of comfort. I tried and tried to find a prefab, packaged cookie in my kitchen-less days that could give me satisfaction but I always ended up feeling used; seduced by

promising packaging, followed by morning after regret. These cookies however will never deceptively take advantage of your weakness to their kind. These hotties are everything they promise to be. Regret never enters your thoughts after you eat one, or two, or even five. I love these cookies and they love me. It’s a perfectly dependable, devoted relationship we have.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from The New York Times

Time: 45 minutes, plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate least 60 percent cacao chopped, I used Ghirardelli’s 60% chips

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

Note: This is the HARDEST part, longing definitely sets in, but (insert love related cliché) it’s worth the wait.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, Bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies from the heavens.

Go on... get carried away.