Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Smoothies

It's too hot to bake - so not much going on here in August. However, one thing that's easy to do is blend up a smoothie. Just throw in your favorite ingredients - and voila! A refreshing treat.

Possible Ingredients
  • frozen fruit (bananas, berries, passonfruit, etc)
  • fresh fruit (pineapple, mango, etc)
  • liquid
    • yogurt
    • milk
    • juice
      • apple
      • grape
      • orange (this will make it bitter)
    • ice cream, sorbet
  • ice
  1. Chop fruit into smaller pieces, as necessary for your blender.
  2. Add additional ingredients and blend until smooth (or slightly chunky if you prefer).
  3. Drink or for a thick smoothie, eat with a spoon!
Notes
  • My favorite simplest combinations are
    • frozen banana and milk
    • mango and ice
  • My favorites are
    • mixed berries and banana
    • banana, pineapple, coconut milk (add rum to make pina coladas, or leave it out to keep it virgin)
Variations
  • Add almonds for a bit of a crunch and extra protein. Or try pumpkin seeds or shredded coconut.
  • Add fresh spinach for a bit of green.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Breakfast Pancakes

I like making pancakes but as for eating them - well, they're sometimes too filling and I feel like it takes the place of breakfast and lunch. So it's not often I do. However, today was a special day and so I woke up early to get these started.

I used a simple recipe found online (from Smitten Kitchen, which was from the NY Times). I think you can do just about anything for the base, and adjust to your taste (ex more or less milk for thickness) but I always like a pancake with fresh fruit instead of syrup.

I usually mash bananas into the mixture (which can replace the normally added sugar completely) but this time I took the recipes advice and tried adding slices of frozen banana to the pancake after pouring - and I have to say this was MUCH better! The banana flavor was stronger. I also tried some with frozen blueberries, but this was not nearly as good. I prefer fresh picked blueberries rather than the slightly sour frozen kind.

Everyday Pancakes ***
2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 T sugar, optional
2 eggs
2 C milk (more or less)
2 T melted and cooled butter (optional), plus unmelted butter for cooking, or use neutral oil.
1. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Beat eggs into 1 1/2 c milk, then stir in 2 T melted cooled butter, if using it. Gently stir this mixture into dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten flour; don’t worry about a few lumps. If batter seems thick, add a little more milk.
2. Grease the pan. When butter foam subsides or oil shimmers, ladle batter onto griddle or skillet, making pancakes of any size you like. Adjust heat as necessary; usually, first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms brown, after 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Cook until second side is lightly browned. Serve, or hold on an ovenproof plate in a 200-degree oven for up to 15 minutes.
Variations
  • Use fresh or frozen (not defrosted) blueberries. Drop berries after pouring batter.
  • Use fresh or frozen bananas. Slice them and press into surface of poured pancake. Cook slower to prevent burning. Optionally, mash the whole banana and mix with ingredients.
  • Use whole wheat flour.
  • Add vanilla or almond extract.
Notes
  • 6/7/09 Made a batch with about 1 3/4 milk plus a mashed banana. Placed slice bananas or sliced strawberries on top. Made enough to make 4 large breakfasts.

Yogurt Pancakes *****

These ones come out pretty fluffy. First time was with coconut and raspberries, which I thought was ***** but MM didn't like the coconut. Next time was with a mixed berry package (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), an extra egg white leftover from making cream puffs and no coconut, which I thought was just ****. 
  • 2 1/4 c flour
  • 2 T sugar (or use mashed banana instead)
  • 1 1/4 t powder
  • 1/4 t salt
  • optional: shredded coconut
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 c milk
  • 3/4 c yogurt
  • 1 T canola oil
  • generous amount of frozen raspberries or other favorite frozen fruit
  • butter or coconut oil for greasing pan
  1. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
  2. Beat eggs. Combine with milk, yogurt, and oil.
  3. Add wet ingredients into dry, and stir just until mixed.
  4. Grease cast iron pan and heat over medium heat. No need to grease after first time.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Frozen Passionfruit

The heat in August is tormenting - the last thing I want to do is bake. It doesn't get simpler than this for a cool and refreshing snack.
  • passionfruit
  1. Place in freezer and wait several hours or days.
  2. Cut in half
  3. Eat with spoon.