buttermilk waffles

Another day, another waffle recipe.  These were really good, a little bit crispy but also light and fluffy.  I’ll definitely be making these again.

buttermilk waffles, from New Basics, pg 452

buttermilk waffles

Our meals were all off today, and B cooked the kids a huge hot lunch and then went out to a work networking event, so I wanted something nice and simple for dinner.  Usually when we have dinner for lunch, I make lunch for dinner: sandwiches and all that.  But then I decided, why not breakfast?

This is easily the easiest waffle recipe I’ve come across: no yeast, no rising time, no separating eggs.  And they were very, very good.  This will probably be my main waffle recipe that I use in the future.

Buttermilk Waffles, from Williams Sonoma Breakfast.  Pg. 21.

breakfast porridge

It has recently come to my attention that the instant oatmeal we buy which does not taste like crap is $5 a box.  And each child eats between 1 and 4 packages a morning.  I spend about $10 a week on instant oatmeal, which isn’t even very good for you.  So I started looking through oatmeal recipes, and this one was the least labor intensive.  No crockpot, no cooking for 40 minutes… just soak the oatmeal overnight with a little bit of buttermilk and then cook for 5 minutes in the morning.

I admit, I have a tiny bit of the so-called “traditional foods” woo.  Despite being a vegetarian.  I think that some, not all, of the theory behind it makes sense.  I read this cookbook for fun, but this is the first recipe I’ve ever cooked from it.  There’s some nachrel reason why you have to soak it overnight (sprouted grains are best and it dissolves some sort of acid that you can’t digest and maybe something about fermented too.  I dunno.  All I know is that this was the easiest recipe.

And it was really good, too.  Better than instant.  Creamy and thick, but no lumps even though no stirring was required.  I served it mixed with some golden raisins, a small pat of butter, and a little bit of maple sugar.  It was so good, I had two servings, and Bobs had four.  Seriously.  Bibs, on the other hand, wouldn’t touch it.  She freaked out and insisted on oatmeal.  It’s gonna be tough for her when we finally run out of the current boxes we have.  No way am I continuing to spend $5 a box when this is healthier, only takes about 4 minutes longer, and actually tastes better.

Then I made sure to put undershirts on both kids (the baby’s always wearing a onesie under her clothes, so that amounts to the same thing) and I felt like a proper old-fashioned mama.

Breakfast porridge, from Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The Diet Dictocrats, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.  pg 455

Buckwheat Flapjacks

The cookbook says that these are buckwheat pancakes for people who hate buckwheat.  I have no clue if I like or if I hate buckwheat, but I do know that I’m feeling a bit of an all-purpose flour overload after all the baking I’ve been doing since starting this blog.  So I decided to give buckwheat pancakes a try, and this was the only recipe I had handy that didn’t require the batter to sit for 1-24 hours.  Hungry kiddos need feeding NOW!

The buckwheat flavor is tempered by a bit of cocoa powder, making these, technically, chocolate buckwheat pancakes.  I thought that they were pretty good, though the cocoa powder that I use is very strong so the unsweetened chocolate flavor was a bit much.  But it would work for people who like savory breakfasts: like my husband, who actually hasn’t tried them yet.

The batter was a perfect consistency to give the light, thin sort of pancakes that I prefer, and the grainy texture of the buckwheat gave them some heft.  I liked them, and now I’m curious if I’ll like regular buckwheat pancakes.  I’ll have to plan things out a bit better next time, so I can make the kind that have to sit around for a while.

Buckwheat Flapjacks, Country Breakfasts: Four Seasons of Cozy Morning Meals, by Ken Haedrich.  Pg 11

Blueberry Pancakes

When Bibs asked for pancakes for lunch today, I told her not to be silly.  But then I thought “what’s wrong with silly?”  So we had blueberry pancakes for lunch.

This recipe was excellent.  The pancakes are leavened with lots of baking soda and baking powder, which also gives them a nice little tangy edge.  There’s no buttermilk, just milk.  The recipe made a lot, too: I think I have 8 leftover in the fridge that the kids can toast for breakfast or snacks.  They’re nice and sturdy and fairly thick, so they should toast well.

Blueberry Pancakes, from Williams-Sonoma Breakfast.  pg 30.

Light Waffles

Not a great recipe, but really good waffles.  How on earth are you supposed to “gently fold” beaten egg whites and whipped cream into a very thick, heavy, yeasted dough?  I had to take the electric mixer again and beat the bejeezus out of it to get it somewhat incorporated.

It was the first time I’ve made yeasted waffles.  They were a bit heavier and more substantial that most of the waffles I’ve ever made.  They were good, but I’m not sure I’m in love with them.  They were very rich, and that was definitely good.  But I tend to like lighter breakfast fare.  The kids seemed to love them, though.  The recipe didn’t make all that many, either: I got 8 plus a tiny little spare one.  I’m looking to make more than that, so I can keep them in the fridge and give them to the kids as snacks.

Thinking about it, I bet they would be really good as waffle sundaes, with ice cream and some hot fudge sauce.  I don’t think they’d get soggy and mushy right away, like a fluffier waffle recipe would.

Light Waffles, from This Good Food: Contemporary French Vegetarian Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen, by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette.  Pg. 66

Gail’s Baked Apple Pancake

I was looking for a baked apple dutch pancake recipe when I came across this one, which isn’t quite.  It’s much lighter, with a crispy cinnamon sugar top, and an interior so fluffy it’s basically creamy (and, yes, it was cooked all the way through!).  I really liked it, the kids were ambivalent.  I’d probably make it for myself again, though it was a bit labor intensive what with separating the eggs and beating the white and the yolks separately.

Gail’s Baked Apple Pancake, from Ken Haedrich’s Country Breakfasts: Four Seasons of Cozy Morning Meals.  Pg 19.

banana chocolate chip pancakes

If there’s one thing I learned during my stint in the Junior League (you didn’t know that about me, didja?), it’s how to crash fancy balls it’s that you only need to change 3 ingredients before you can call a recipe your own and publish it in a charity cookbook so that you can have more fancy balls you can support your surprisingly impressive philanthropic efforts.  I ended up tweaking the recipe even more than that, but I still must give credit where credit is due and mention that the starting point was Ken Haedrrich’s Blueberry Banana pancakes.

The batter is very thick, an although as a general rule I don’t love thick pancakes, they are necessary for chocolate chip pancakes or else the chocolate makes a mess and everything falls apart.  If you want to try them a little thinner, add more milk.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix the flour, baking pwder, cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl.  In another bowl, mash up the bananas really well, and then mix in the yogurt, milk, and eggs.  You can also do this in a cuisinart to simplify things.  Whisk until it’s a consistent liquid.  Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended.  Add the butter, and mix.  Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Cook on a griddle over medium heat.  Since they’re thick, you’ll want to cook them fairly slowly.

Borrowed Home Fries

A potato hash with peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  It was a little bit creamy, and the onions and peppers added a touch of interest.

Borrowed Home Fries, Good Mornings: Great Breakfasts and Brunches for Starting the Day Right, by Michael McLaughlin.  Pg 59.

Great Buttermilk Pancakes

“Second Breakfast” is our Sunday morning tradition, and I always try to make something nice.  Either B or I sleep late (lately, every week is my turn, because I’m the one up all night with the babe), and whoever wakes up at daybreak with the older kids makes them their usual oatmeal.  Then when both parents are awake and downstairs, we have Second Breakfast, which should probably be called brunch, but that seems a bit pretentious.

This week I left my usual buttermilk pancake recipe on my computer upstairs, so I looked for a new one in one of my many breakfast cookbooks.  This one fit the bill perfectly, and it was quite delicious.  I subbed out the 1/4 cup of rice flour, because we didn’t have any, and I added more buttermilk because I like my pancakes thin.

I also used our Christmas pancake molds that I bought last January for a pittance!  Thanks to my new Pancake Pen, which was a truly brilliant invention, they came out perfectly.

Great Buttermilk Pancakes. Good Mornings: Great Breakfasts and Brunches for Starting the Day Right, by Michael McLaughlin.  Pg. 30.