Pancake Mix

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to cook! On the weekends we always have more time to make something more extravagant than oatmeal/ cereal. I adapted a pancake mix from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook for our big weekend breakfasts.

Recipe:

Mix:
31/2 cups rolled oats
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons baking power
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3/4 cup canola oil

Pancake:
1 cup mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Direction:

Mix: This is so easy you will ask yourself, "Why haven't done this before". Put oats and bran in food processor and pulse until chopped. Drizzle oil in food process to combine. Combine the rest of the dry ingredients in big bowl. Add oil, oats, and bran to big bowl and combine with hand. Then I put the mix into a freezer bag then bag into freezer. This will keep indefinitely. (Wasn't that crazy simple?)

Pancakes: Beat two eggs in bowl then add milk and vanilla. Beat liquids until homogeneous. Add mix and spices. Mix until just combined. The batter will be very thin but let stand for about 15 min and the whole grains will soak up the liquid like a sponge. Then make pancake like normal.

Alternatives:

- Depending on what I have in the refrigerator I use different dairy sources. For example buttermilk or yogurt work well.
- ANY spice additions will work. I like cinnamon, cloves, or almond extract.
- I like to use two eggs because I like a thinner pancake but one is all that this mix needs.



Uses:

I love the flavor of oat pancakes so this mix was great! I have not used the mix for anything other than pancakes however you can use the mix for waffles too. I love added whole fruit in my pancakes: blueberries, apples, or bananas. Oh, and how can you forget toppings: I love some almond butter and David LOVES some pure maple syrup. I have also used apple butter, raisins, and any fresh fruit. Mercy, I am hungry just thinking about it!

Citrus Cookies

I like to make baked goods for people even though I don't typically eat them myself. My sisters always get angry at me during the holidays because I love to bake and bake but make others eat them. Whatever, they will get over it. Anywho, I just moved to Florida so now all my gifted bake goods consist of something "bright" and sunny" - hence Citrus Cookies.

Recipe:

Dough

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon finely grated citrus zest (a mix of lime, lemon, orange, and grapefruit)
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 - 3 tablespoon some sort of fresh squeezed citrus juice reduction (same as zest)
  
• 2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Icing

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon finely grated citrus zest (the same flavor of the cookie)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons citrus juice reduction (the same flavor of the cookie)

Direction:

First preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat (this is the ideal but my mats got lost in the move - or I never had them I cannot remember - but i used a spritz of olive oil).

Beat the butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high heat until smooth. Add the sugar and citrus zest and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (The creaming is important to get a great texture so don't skimp here.) Add the yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the juice reduction.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.

Scoop the dough with a small cookie scoop. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the prepared pans. I like to punch down the middle a bit to help it cook evenly. Bake the cookies 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For icing: Mix the confectioners' sugar, juice reduction and zest in a medium bowl. (If needed, add up to 1 teaspoon more juice, but keep in mind that if the icing is too loose it won't set.) Place tin foil under the cooking racks and spoon icing once cookies have cooled to just above room temp. Dry cookies on rack. Serve.

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Alternatives:

- I think you could use any citrus combination. I would like to try a pure grapefruit or key lime version.
- I would also like to try these with reduced sugar and maybe a honey/ citrus glaze for the top. yummmmm.
- Also, how good is ginger and lemon together! come on citrus ginger crinkles, MAN that would be great.

Uses:

I guess I really don't have to complete this section because it is obvious. You can eat them or send them as a gift. But, let's say that you make tons and are not able to eat them...I think this would be a great addition to a yogurt parfait (crumble them).



Dave sure liked them...

Greek Bell Peppers

Peppers, peppers everywhere. In an attempt to sate our addition to Mediterranean, more specifically olive oil. Here is a recipe sure to be delicious when I try it in a month - Greek Bell Peppers.

Recipe:

6 bell peppers (two can fit into a pint jar and one into a half pint)
6 T lemon juice
6 T kosher salt
6 T cracked black pepper
3+ T Cilantro
olive oil


Direction:

Phase one: roasting the peppers. I cut the peppers in half and de-seeded them before placing them on a broiling pan. broil on high for 10 min with skins facing up. Then I put them in a large bowl and covered with tin foil (the steam allows the skins to bubble and peel faster). After about 5-10 minutes in the steam bath I took as much skin as I could off under cold water.
Phase two: In sterile half pint jars place one Tablespoon salt, black pepper, and lemon juice and 1/2 Table spoon cilantro. Then julienne the roasted and skinned bell peppers. I stuffed one pepper's worth into the jar then filled the rest of the jar with olive oil. I used the chop stick poke method to remove visible air bubble and top off with olive oil and lemon juice if needed. I processed in boiling water for 15 min.

Alternatives:

- I think next time adding some kalamata olives rather than salt...some capers may be good too.
- basil rather than cilantro.

Uses:

Ok, so i have never made these before and therefore never tasted them - and it will be a week before I can try them. But I think any thing with feta would be amazing; an addition to a rice dish; included in a mix for dolma; a like snack; in a pita with spinach, tomatoes, and sprouts...man i am already hungry.

Pickled Bell Peppers

Oh, yes there are more peppers - they seem to keep multiplying in that bin! One of the great recipes found was for pickled peppers and adapted the recipe. This was an all day project so make sure you have plenty of time.

Recipe:

10 peppers
1 onion
2 quarts white vinegar
4 bay leaves
1 T pepper corns
3 T kosher salt
some olive oil


Directions:

Phase one: roasting the peppers. I cut the peppers in half and de-seeded them before placing them on a broiling pan. broil on high for 10 min with skins facing up. Then I put them in a large bowl and covered with tin foil (the steam allows the skins to bubble and peal faster). After about 5-10 minutes in the steam bath I took as much skin as I could off under cold water.
Phase two: pickling. bring the vinegar to a boil with the herbs, spices, onion, and salt, and cook the peppers for a few minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon, draining them well, and transfer them to clean sterile canning jars. Filter the vinegar, returning it to the pot, and bring it to a boil again; while it's heating divvy the onion rings and bay leaves among the jars. Pour the boiling vinegar over the peppers, add a tablespoon of olive oil to each jar. Then I used a chop stick to poke around the jar and remove any visible air bubbles. Then add more liquid if necessary. Process in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Put them in a cool dark place for a month, and they're ready. Expect them to keep for a year.

Alternatives:

- The onions are not completely necessary but do add flavor.
- Also, the addition of garlic would add another layer of flavor.


Uses:

Eating pickled peppers make me feel kind of fancy because they are not an everyday meal staple (like peanut butter). Try these little gems on a sandwich with cheese; part of an antipasto platter; a pizza topping with feta; mixed into steamed veggies; and many more...

Best-ish Salsa

We have and excess of bell peppers and by excess I mean a good 40! I searched the web and found some recipes that feature the beautiful bell pepper. The first of these recipes is a cooked salsa. I adapted the recipe from here which claims to be the "best"but after processing this I decided I like raw salsa better. But, one has to cook it a little when canning.

Recipe:

6 large tomatoes
4 cups green bell peppers
3 jalapenos
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
handful cilantro

Directions:

I chopped all the tomatoes, green bell pepper, jalapenos, onions, and garlic in the food processor. The chopped pieces (you want the pieces to an appropriate size to fit on a chip) go in a pot with the apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Let this all come to a boil then cook at a rolling boil for about 10 min. At minute 8 throw in the cilantro. I canned the salsa - so I immediately poured the salsa into sterile jars and processed for 20 min.

Alternatives:

- You can reduce the boiling time if you like more raw salsa
- While I canned the salsa I am sure freezing would work just as well.
- I put in a lot of bell peppers because I had a lot of them. You can use more or less of the main ingredients to fit your taste.

Uses:

This is really a simple one, there is the obvious chips and dip; This would taste great on eggs; and really any type of Mexican food; this would also be great as an addition to black bean (or any bean) soup.

Star Fruit Butter

What do you do when you have and excess of fresh star fruit? First, how often does that happen - apparently frequently in South Florida - and second, star fruit is not the most familiar of fruits to me so being creative is hard. Despite this I decided to try my hand at star fruit butter.

Star fruit is really good for you and is classified as a "superfruit". You can read about star fruit here if you are interested.

Recipe: (I adapted from the star fruit chutney)

2 cups cubed star fruit
1/2 dry red wine (I think any kind would be fine)
1 T agave nectar
1 T powder ginger
1/4 t ground cloves
2 T apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Basically, I threw all the ingredients into a pot and let simmer on low for like 3 hours. Around hour 2 I put the mixture into a blender to puree all the skins. This reduces a lot - I made a double batch and all of that resulted into a half pint jar. I canned the butter and it is now on my shelf for an occasion yet to come.

Alternatives:

- You could not simmer as much and make more of a syrup rather than a butter.
- I thought of adding a fresh lime at the end to brighten it.
- Fresh ginger would give it more of a kick.

Uses:

- Ok, so this is where I struggled the most because the ginger gives it a little bit of a spicy kick but the fruit adds some sugar. However, Dave has found the most uses: feta and star fruit butter sandwich; almond butter and start fruit bagel; and pour over cream cheese for a dip.