I know, I know, they’re just so fun to photograph. Besides… I also made this.
you see that fab green color? Nutrients, that’s what that is. (Read: KALE!)
And this.
I’m just visually taunting you, no big deal
But this needs improvement, so you don’t get a recipe. Yet. Let me make it awesome first, then I’ll share.
And I also did this. Yeah yeah, there’s a wee bit of Scottish in me (have you checked out my last name lately?!) and I like to be repppin’ at the Pleasanton Highland Games. Don’t be judgy.
A Bellendaine!! [The Scotts are out! War cry of Clan Scott, ahhhhh yeahhh] And yes, that IS the ancient-green Scott tartan.Anyyyway. These muffins. I made quinoa muffins once before back in Salem for Kira and I, and MAN were they delicious. So I figured, why not again? Except this time, I had a plethora of dead bananas getting deader by the minute in the fridge, and they really needed to go to a nice home in muffins. And cake. Which is why the above happened (imperfectly… it was kind of an experiment). And really, I stopped to listen to my internal thought process when I was baking… and it’s ridiculous. Really ridiculous. Apparently I am a tad ADD when baking: “ooooh dead bananas, they should go in something but what? Tired of muffins. No bread it takes too long I want instant gratification OH! CAKE! A half recipe would bake faster Hmmm okay so it has eggs but I don’t want to use eggs today what about flax? nahhh OOOH vinegar goes with bananas and brings out their flavor, what about vinegar and baking soda? ooh but wait I want quinoa… okay so quinoa muffins and banana cake and kale pesto… that’s a weird combo but whatever” etc etc etc and on and on and on. Be thankful you aren’t inside my head.
mo’ muffins!
Peanut Butter Banana Quinoa Muffins
Makes 11 muffins. Very slightly adapted from Pardon the Dog Hair, here! The quinoa gives these muffins a slightly crunchy texture (in an extremely good way), and are full of all kinds of delicious things. Whole grains, protein, lower in sugar, and perfect for breakfast. Or snack. Or appeasing your gremlins at any time.
timberrrr
Acquire:
1 c quick oats (uncooked) (Mine was more like 3/4 c quick oats, 1/4 c rolled)
3/4 c whole wheat flour
dash of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey
1/2 c milk bev (mine was 1% milk)
1/3 c lowfat plain yogurt
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tbsp-runneth-over (aka heaping) peanut buttahhh
1 egg
1 c cooked quinoa (about 1/3 c dry)
1 buhhnahhnuhhh, mashed
a sprinkling of chocolate chippies
it seems like there should be a rainbow leading to the pot o’muffin..?
Preheat the oven to 375, and lightly grease muffin tins.
You know the drill, muffins are easyyyy: In a bowl, whisk together oats, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and cinnamon. In a larger bowl, whisk applesauce, vanilla, honey, milk bev, yogurt, and brown sugar until sugar dissolves. Add in egg, quinoa, and banana and whisk until incorporated. Add dry into wet, sprinkle in chippies, and (avoiding overmixing) stir to combine. Fill tins about 2/3 full depending on muffin size preference… and bake for 15-16 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Because, you know, I reeeally like to store things in jars.
I apologize for the blogging delinquency! Between thesising and graduation looming in five weeks (how did THAT happen?!) I’ve been just a little busy… But I’ve been very productive in the thesis realm lately (which is good, since my presentation is two weeks from Tuesday—eeeeep! I’m starting to see Neo-Gothic architecture everyyyywhere, including in movies… and think in architectural terms. This has got to stop!), which needed to happen a little bit more than blogging. But now that my SIXTY PAGE beast of a thesis is edited in entirety, I’m down to just the conclusion! Hooooray, now I have time for some blogging catch up!
SO! Now I can share the tasties I’ve made recently with you. I promise I’ve still been eating (relatively) interesting things lately. Ish. Dinner needs work. But when I get off work and then thesis for a few hours, dinner gets last priority… steamed veggies + protein of choice + quinoa/polenta/oats is usually what happens… delicious, to be sure, but really, I’m getting bored. BUT! In two weeks, I will be DONE WITH THESIS! And therefore have much more free time for the important things (you know, like new active wear Pilates, eating, and cooking).
So. Enough of that… moving ON!
Happy Easter, by the way :) I ate the ears off my dark chocolate bunny, mmm. I’m not sure how to tackle the rest of it, as it’s solid, and I feel kind of mean if I try to stab it with any sharp implements…. Is biting more humane?! Yeesh. Chocolate bunny dilemma.
So besides neo-gothic skyscraper architecture and moral dilemmas regarding humane consumption of chocolate bunnies, I’ve been baking! I promised myself I would share other things besides healthy cookies, but oops. Cookies happened again, and they’re good! Besides, I liked the pictures. So you get cookies again, and THEN I promise something different. Promise! These cookies are lightly sweet and cakey, perfect for breakfast or a snack. The ingredient list is very forgiving, so feel free to substitute with whatever you have on hand.
jars make superior storage devices.
Banana-Yogurt Breakfast Cookies
I made these with Christine (workout and baking buddies! what a great combo, cookies + pilates), and I think we got about 20 smallish cookies. They could easily be made bigger if you want more breakfast-sized cookies. We adapted them from The Hot Plate, here!
Acquire:
1/2 c plain lowfat yogurt
3/4 c mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp turbinado sugar (or honey, if you have it)
1.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 c rolled oats
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
judicious handful of pepitas
sprinkling of chocolate chippies (We had minis, yayyy!)
oh no! it's escaping the jar. time to EAT IT.
Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease cookie sheet(s). In a medium mixing bowl, combine yogurt, mashed banana, olive oil, egg, vanilla, and sugar. Stir to combine. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, oats, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, salt, and pepitas/chocolate chips. Add wet into dry, and stir to combine. Drop by the heaping spoonful (or two, if you want massive cookies) onto your prepared cookie sheets, and bake for 10 minutes! Easy peasy cookies to appease your snacking gremlins.
So. I had taken a fab set of pictures for today’s post (with natural light, even! Thanks, Oregon, for cooperating) yesterday, and they were all nicely stored on my camera, ready to be uploaded. This morning, when I uploaded them, I swear I put them into my blog photos folder. I know I did. So…
Where are they?! Nowhere to be found, is the answer I’m looking for. Maybe in pot of gold at the end of a rainbow? I suspect leprechaun involvement in this (definitely not user error. DEFINITELY leprechauns). Probably because I didn’t make a leprechaun trap last night… those sneaky little buggers! I better rustle up some green to put on… currently I’m not wearing any (that’s visible, anyway! ha.). I’ve always loved St. Patrick’s day! And yes, I am for-reals Irish (not just 1/365th), which is probably why I’m being targeted by those feisty little green men.
Blurry, but I still like it...
Anyway, after much grumbling, I took another set of photos (sadly not as good as the last ones), so you can vicariously enjoy the soda bread scones Kira and I made to celebrate! They turned out beautifully—the shape almost reminds me of a four leafed clover. Scoring the top of soda bread lets the fairies out (and promotes even baking, but that’s less fun), so I kept to this tradition and scored my scones into triangles… we now have a sprite-free apartment! To me, these scones don’t taste like traditional soda bread, but they are definitely delicious. And not at all bad for you, since they’re made with soda and yogurt rather than eggs and butter. Mmm… and, I have to say, they’re excellent with lemon curd (what isn’t?!)!
yum yum yum
Irish Soda Bread Scones
Very slightly adapted from Eat Drink Love, here! Makes 8 scones.
3 c whole wheat pastry flour (We used half pastry, half whole wheat bread flour)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (optional but sooo good)
1.5 c low-fat plain yogurt (Kira and I usually keep this instead of buttermilk, but buttermilk works here too)
1/3 c chocolate chippies
1 tbsp turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 425, and line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Make a well in the center, and add yogurt and chocolate chips (or other add-ins of choice). Stir to combine: the dough will look shaggy when its close to incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead into a circle (ish). Place onto prepared baking sheet, and slice into 8 scones (a knife works fine for this). Brush the tops with buttermilk (if using), and sprinkle turbinado sugar onto them for crunch factor :) Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops are golden! Eat. Preferably warm, with lemon curd. Mmm. Maybe share with a leprechaun, if one happens by…
Saturday was a good day indeed… life handed me Meyer lemons! Or rather, Trader Joe’s handed me lemons. Or at least put them where I would see them and then pay for them, and THEN they were handed to me.
And then. They were mine. Citrusy goodness, miney mine mine. (And Kira’s. Sharing is caring!)
At which point I was confronted with a dilemma. What to do with these rare gorgeous lemon specimens?! Since Meyer lemons have such a ridiculously short season, I wanted to do something with them that would stick around for awhile. But what?! Soooo many options. Thus it happened that while I was dutifully thesising this morning (which, by the way, is 54 pages and winding down, hooray!) that some devious part of my brain escaped to Meyer lemon land to ponder the myriad possibilities of four lemons and a relaxed Sunday at home. At which point it apparently decided that lemon curd was the way to go! Mmmm, good work, brain. (Though I must remember to chastise it for skipping out on me, and leaving me to thesis with only partial brain cells. Psh. If I have to concentrate, EVERY cell up there has to be involved, it’s only fair)
glowing lemon curd :)
So after I finished up writing for today, lemon curd happened. And oh man, am I glad it did… there was not a drop spilled that wasn’t immediately swiped up and eaten. And the food processor that was very thoroughly “cleaned”… and the spoons…. and the spatulas… Well. You get the idea. I’ve loved lemon curd since I went to high tea with my lovely Mutti, and we found ways to put it on everything! Now all I need is some clotted cream and scones… hmm.. next weekend’s project?!
BUT. Surprise, surprise! Lemon curd only used TWO of my lemons. Which meant that I had an unexpected bonus of TWO MORE! So I made Sunday muffins… with lemons! (and chia seeds, natch) I’m sure they’ll be fab with the lemon curd. And then, when I was done with these, I realized that I still have one lemon left! Wow. This is even better than dead banana surplus… What to do?? Something to ponder in the next few days :)
mmm, sunshine in food form!
Meyer Lemon Curd
Curd. Such a *ahem* LOVELY word. Like, move one letter and it spells crud. But hey, don’t knock it till you try it: this is good enough to eat with a spoon. Oh wait, I already did that… Your turn!
From the Pastry Affair, here! I got… half a peanut butter jar’s worth?! Sorry for the inexact measurements… I would guess between one cup and 1.5 cups.
1/2 c sugar (I used turbinado, which is why my lemon curd isn’t bright yellow)
zest of 2 Meyer lemons
1/2 c Meyer lemon juice (I used the juice of the 2 I zested)
2 eggs
4 tbsp butter (Mine was salted), softened and cut into chunks
spoons are a perfectly acceptable vehicle for lemon curd
In the bowl of a double boiler, combine sugar and lemon zest, and rub it together with your fingers until combined and smelling tasty. Whisk in lemon juice and eggs.
Over medium-high heat, whisk constantly as the curd cooks. (Think of it as your arm workout for today). It will begin to thicken: cook it until you see whisk-tracks, and then remove from the heat and let cool briefly. This took me probably about 15 minutes.
Scrape the curd into a food processor or blender (Strain first, if you want to eliminate zest pieces—I don’t mind the zest, and I don’t have a strainer… so I skipped this), and blend until smooth. Once smooth, add in butter chunks, a few at a time, blending after each addition, until all of it is fully incorporated.
Let chill in the refrigerator before using. Keep it in an airtight container (I use jars for EVERYTHING). Eat with anything, or just off a spoon!
muffins 'n curd
Meyer Lemon, Cardamom and Chia Muffins
I made 6, as per usual: double if you want a normal sized batch! This makes 6 huuuuge muffins. They’re not very sweet, which I like for snack muffins, but I’m sure the lemon curd would add just the right amount of sweetness :) Those who prefer sweeter muffins, make sure your bananas are super ripe, or else add a few tbsp of honey or brown sugar. *Update 3/14: These need lots of work—Kira and I aren’t super fans, we’ve decided. They need more flavor and more moistness… but that’s a project for another day! Adapted from Bright Eyed Baker, here!
1.5 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 c meyer lemon juice
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c yogurt (I used plain, lowfat)
judicious sprinkle of chocolate chippies and frozen huckleberries (or frozen berry of choice, blueberry would be good too)
the muffins are so BIG!
Preheat the oven to 375, and grease yo’ muffin tin.
In a largeish bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cardamom, and chia seeds. In a smaller bowl, mash bananas, and then vigorously whisk in (your second arm workout for today: your biceps can thank me later) egg, vanilla, lemon juice, and yogurt until thoroughly combined. Add wet ingredients to dry, and fold in chocolate chippies and huckleberries.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Mine went for 15 and came out perfectly.
Mmm. Enjoy your lemon-tastic day! My kitchen smells like sunshine now :) (And I have the added bonus of having sunshine in a jar in my fridge for later consumption, wheee!!)
Today, I worked so long that Pandora thought I had disappeared. Nope. I was still writing… but the funny part about it was that I was so into it, I didn’t notice the music had stopped! Whoops. Whatever, I’ve been insanely productive, huzzah!
Not only that, but I came up with a great idea. You see, today at work I was filling ‘testing cups’ for the kiddies. You know, like pencils and little pieces of candy to boost their testing potential. Gum, too, because apparently chewing gum while testing improves performance. Who knew?! And seriously, these testing cups are a genius idea! Added incentive for the little kiddos to do well on their tests. They should give these to college kids. Really. I would be sooo much more motivated if I got a fun treat cup with my name on it. Which is why I’ve decided to make my own! Hadihah. I think I’m going to take one of my mugs and puffy paint my name on it… and then fill it with things to motivate me to thesis. Like food. And sprinkles. And stickers (because I like to indulge my inner 5 year old, shhhh). I wonder if I could fit yoga pants into a mug? Hmm. Something to ponder.
See? Genius. With this system in place, there is absolutely no reason for me to procrastinate thesising. Not that I’ve been slacking in the slightest, as Pandora can attest: I have 20+ pages! YES. And still kicking… I’m nowhere near close to covering everything. But still. A thesis cup sounds like an excellent idea :]
ANYWAY. Sorry for the long ramble. Tired brain=rambly brain.
In honor of Marion Cunningham’s 90th birthday today, I made muffins! I don’t have a copy of the breakfast book here, but I thought I’d make something breakfasty (besides, Kira and I were out of snacks), since she is the breakfast queen! I am forever in her pancaking debt. Happy Birthday, Marion!
I made a half batch, as per usual, so I’ll list those measurements here. Makes 6!
These are BOMB muffins. Super moist and dense, but in a good way—the quinoa adds a nice texture. I LOVE cardamom, so I was happy to note that the flavor is pronounced in these little puppies. I know you’re not supposed to brag about what you make, but whatever. Totally violated that when I texted Kira that she must immediately eat one of these on account of their amazingness. Yes. They are. Make them, you must!
muffin floorplan? yeeesh, too much architecture on the brain! muffins > thesis.
Procure:
1 c cooked quinoa
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c brown sugar, not packed
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/4 + 1/8 c soymilk (or whatever milkish beverage you have handy)
a judicious sprinkle of chocolate chippies and frozen berries (I used huckleberries)
Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease a muffin tin. Combine all dry ingredients, including quinoa, and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together applesauce, egg, and milk. Add wet to dry, and stir until just incorporated, then add in berries and chippies. Avoid overstirring! Plop batter into tins and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
These are especially delicious with a smear of peanut butter (what isn’t?!). I see peanut butter+cardamom cookies in the very near future!
I really do love cooking long and complicated things. I mean, like Austrian pastry complicated status. Something that makes you feel ridiculously accomplished at its completion.
However.
I might, perhaps, love instant gratification just a little bit more. Wouldn’t you rather have a cookie NOW, instead of waiting for the dough to chill for 24 to 48 hours?! Pshhh, I don’t plan that far in advance. I don’t even plan far enough in advance to have the butter softening on the counter. That’s what the microwave is for, jeez. Call me lazy. And I am. But. I make up for it occasionally with really absurdly complicated things…
This is not one of those things. Because let’s be honest, yeast is annoying. I mean, yeast is great when I want to make bread or pizza and I have lots of time and I’ve been thinking about a recipe for a long time. When I want gooey delicious goodness RIGHTNOWINFRONTOFME, it’s not so awesome.
Which is why I turned to this no-rise, no-wait, (nearly) instant gratification recipe for cinnamon rolls. That and because Vacuum Vati LOOOVES cinnamon rolls (like, as much as I LOOOVE chocolate chip cookies. that’s how much). AND because I happened to have all the ingredients handily to hand. AND it [was] the holidays (sorry, this was supposed to be a post around Christmas, oops). But it’s not like it has to be the holidays for you to make these… in fact, so not. Cinnamon rolls never need an excuse. Just like cookies! Wait. Let me clarify. Good food that makes you happy NEVER needs an excuse. Especially when you eat it with people who make you happy. Especially when there is no waiting involved. Even better!
These are delicious, as a) they’re filled with gooey goodness, but also because b) they have an interesting mix of spices in the filling—cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice. It lends them an unusual taste, a nice change from standard cinnamon rolls.
For the dough:
3/4 c low fat cottage cheese
1/3 c low fat buttermilk
1/4 c sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
For the gooey delicious goodness:
2/3 c brown sugar
3/4 oz (1.5 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cardamom
such an adorable little spiral... soon to be decorating my stomach.
Preheat the oven to 400.
In a food processor, combine cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla, pulsing until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and pulse just until the dough clumps together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead several times. Roll it out into a faintly rectangular shape… mine was a bit lopsided, although that turned out fine, as it made for varying roll sizes (nice for my family, and for Vacuum Vati, who got the big ones).
Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl (brown sugar and spices). Brush the dough with the 1.5 tbsp of melted butter, leaving a small border. Press the sugar-spice filling into the dough, evenly covering the whole surface. Starting at the long edge, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the seam, but leave the ends open.
Using a sharp knife, cut the rolls into equal pieces. Mine fit perfectly into a standard loaf pan, but if you have fatter rolls, an 8″ square cake pan works just as well. They should fill the pan, but small gaps are okay. Bake for about 20-22 minutes (I took mine out at 20, and they had a perfectly gooey interior).
I frosted mine (because, seriously, cinnamon rolls are SO NOT complete without frosting) with the frosting/glaze that I use for Crazy Chocolate cake. I never measure, but it’s essentially powdered sugar, Earth Balance spread, and vanilla extract. Mix like crazy until you have the taste/consistency you want… and swipe over your cinna-rolls when they’re still slightly warm. The glaze will harden as it cools.
Drool. Eat. Gloat, since you only had to wait a little while for the oooewygooeydeliciousness to appear in front of you.
I do apologize for the glut of dessert recipes recently… I promise something healthy… soon! Ish. We’ll get there. Eventually…
So I really wasn’t planning on blogging about these pancakes. I mean, laziness and whatnot took over, and I was going to blow it off. BUT THEN. Semi-epic things happened, and I changed my mind.
As in, I have discovered that my cat is squash-powered. He prefers butternut.
There I was, casually opening the can of butternut squash, when Nosh (my Maine Coon goofball) comes sauntering over, looking decidedly interested in what I was doing. I looked down at him. He looked wide-eyed and cutely up at me. I said, “Surely you can’t be interested in eating this…”. He continued looking up at me, with a totally clear agenda. Whatever, I said. I let him sniff the can… and then went on with what I was doing. He kept watching. At which point I spasmodically dropped a spoon on the floor (the spoon covered in squash puree). I picked up the spoon and pointed out the squash on the floor to Nosh… who quickly trotted over and ATE. IT. ALL.
What?!
Since when do cats like squash?! But wait. It gets better.
Nosh is on the right. Jessie apparently wasn't interested in the squash...
Mom had gotten involved… and kept feeding him little bits of puree out of the bowl. (Which he ate. All of it) By this point, I’d finished at least a few pancakes, and since one was a total flip-fail (as in, it semi-splattered all over the pan…), we decided to feed it to him and see if he liked it (Keep in mind, my cats don’t normally get people food… excepting the odd bit of fish, they don’t eat much of what we do, which makes this SUPER WEIRD) (They did have a weird incident with refried beans, ages ago—perhaps they just like things in cans?!). Nosh proceeded to eat a pancake… and a half. Probably. I lost track, but what?! He’s obviously my cat, if he likes pancakes that much, hehehhe :]
Squash powered cat?!
Anyway, these pancakes were deeeelicious. They were originally supposed to be pumpkin, but the pumpkin we had wasn’t good anymore, so butternut happened. Much to the delight of Nosh, apparently. Who then proceeded to take a massive catnap (and by massive, I’m refering to the fact that when he sleeps, Nosh acts like one of those inflating sponges that you soak in water. Get up for two seconds, and good luck getting your spot back from the amazing expanding wonder!), and sleep off all he ate. And dream, too, with lots of chewing. I bet he was eating squash in his sleep! heeehe.
Pancake Cairn!
Butternut Squash Pancakes
Adapted from the Betty’s Diner Pumpkin Pancake recipe
1.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
3/4 c butternut squash puree
1 c 1% milk or your fave nondairy
2 eggs, separated
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Combine flour, spices, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, squash puree, sugar and egg yolks. Add liquid to dry all at once and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy or until your arm falls off. Fold into the batter. Do the pancake dance. Eat. Feed to your cat and watch him dream about them later :]
Cornbread is a hot commodity in this house. Like, better eat it while you can, before it gets sucked down into someone’s stomach (perhaps the resident vacuum cleaner, Vati?!). And by this house, I mean home home! As in, not Salem. Someoneeeee is home for the holidays, hoorayyy! Time for hopefully epic holiday eating, which translates to epic holiday blog fodder. Everyone wins :]
Anyway. Where I was going with this whole cornbread biz. Last night, to accompany tree-decorating, we decided on chili and cornbread (Because one without the other is clearly sacrilege). Cornbread is the first thing I remember learning to make, so I have rather a fondness for it…and besides. It’s delicious. So I got busily to work on the cornbready goodness…measuring here, whisking there… and into the oven it went. Simple pimple, right?
So not.
Twenty minutes later, I took it out. There appeared to be a number of things wrong with it. It was brown. This is a crime. Cornbread should not be brown on the bottom. Lightly golden, yes. Brown? NO. Borderline burnt? Absolutely NOT. Strike one. Second. It didn’t SMELL like cornbread. Which is not necessarily a deal breaker, but tipped me off there might be something funky with this particular batch. Strike two. Thirdly. I tasted it.
EW.
Blandest, most boring cornbread everrrr. Apparently I left something out?! Because I’ve made this same recipe with the SAME ingredients before, and it was mega tasty. Oops. Strike mega-three. After mutti and vati also tasted it and we all decided that it was not a fit partner for chili, I decided to make another batch (different recipe—I was too irritated at the last one). I really didn’t want to compost the last batch though—it felt wasteful, and I’m obviously not one to throw out food. So instead… I had a brilliant (if I do say so) idea to make it into a sort of cornbread-bread pudding, like for a breakfasty type dish! Huzzah, for frugality! AND. I winged it. But it was super tasty—Vati the Vacuum (hehhe) had two slices for breakfast. It’s lightly sweet but not overly so, and nice and corny—tasty with a drizzly of maple syrup.
Besides, I was quite proud of neatly averting a cornbread crisis… with the creation of some awkward cornbread pudding!
Natural light! Hooorayy, California!
Awkward Cornbread Pudding
Adapted from… the jungle of my brain. Makes one 8 by 8 pan.
For the cornbread: I used a failed version (obviously), but I’m sure normal cornbread would work too, you might just want to reduce the sugar. Mine was originally sweetened with a scant 1/4 c honey. Use your favorite, and adjust sweetness to taste. For a dessertier bread pudding-type, I would use cornbread that is already on the sweet side.
1 8 by 8 pan of cornbread, cut into 1/2″ chunks. Use mostly the soft middle, and some of the crust for texture
2 eggs
1.5 c 1% milk, or non-dairy sub of choice
a good slug of cinnamon
a few grinds of fresh nutmeg
brown sugar to taste (I used somewhere around a heaping tablespoon, perhaps a bit more)
1-2 tsp turbinado sugar
mmm, maple
Preheat the oven to 350.
Place chunks of cornbread into a lightly greased 8 by 8 pan. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour the liquid over the cornbread in the pan, making sure to even distribute it. Sprinkle your desired amount of brown sugar evenly over the surface of the cornbread, and then use a fork to turn it under, and completely saturate the cubes of bread in the milk mixture. Sprinkle turbinado over the top (creating a yummy crust-type thing). Bake for just about 25 minutes, until custard is set, and a tester comes out clean. You shouldn’t see too much really liquidy/mushy business in the pan, but it also shouldn’t be too dry (you don’t want dry custard, ewww). Keep in mind that it’ll set up a bit when it cools in the pan. Just about 25 minutes should do it.
Eat. Preferably for breakfast, with maple syrup. MMmmmm… And revel in your cleverly averted cornbread fail.
I apologize for the slight overexposure... I was way excited to have natural light in which to photograph. Thanks, Oregon. NOT.
I know, I know. Again, you say? YES. Again. For a number of reasons: a) I make them about once a week, but never the same kind two weeks in a row (so it keeps it interesting), b) they make a FAB dinner, c) Ian was coming over and I thought he might like them (which he did, YAY!), and d) I had a half a can (here we go again…) of coconut milk in the fridge (what a terrible problem, NOT. I LOVE having leftover coconut milk). Oh. and e) I LOVE THEM. Why NOT make them once a week, I ask you? You should try it… designate a day, like “Pancake Tuesday”, and make a new kind every week. Ask Harriet… or Ashley… they know I’m a big proponent of pancake day. Thursday oddly seems to be the day of choice at this point in time…
Wow. I just reread that paragraph and realized how many parenthetical comments I made… I must be a very parenthetical person. Or maybe I think in parentheses. Hmm. Something to think about (parenthetically) (hahah).
ANYway.
These coconut pancakes are perfect. Fluffy, symmetrical, and beeeeautiful. And delicious. Of course, I’m sure their fluffy, symmetrical beauty is largely due to my superior pancake pro abilities… but it also might have a teensy bit to do with the recipe… maybe. Or not… it’s all in the wrist flick. Become one with the spatula!
I love the pancakes because I get a nice coconutty flavor, without it being like BAM, in your FACE coconut! Which is good, in some situations, but I find that pancakes are not one of them (think along the lines of coconut cream pie, if you want BAM). These are light, fluffy, and perfect with bananas (and chocolate, I might add…AND almond butter, of course!). There’s just enough coconut flavor without being overwhelming. They made a lovely Thursday night din din :)
So! Here’s the recipe. It’s really simple… like most of my pancake recipes, I find the simpler, the better.
beeeautiful!
Coconut Pancakes
You know the drill…. mix dry, mix wet, mixy mix mix. Cook! Eat. Here are the particulars.
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1 egg
1.5 tbsp olive oil (or canola)
1 c light coconut milk (I was a bit short this time—you can make up the difference with soymilk or milk, whatever you have)
These are really good with sliced bananas and chocolate chips thrown in :)
I just have to say, in my defense… I don’t normally make green food.
I mean… I EAT green food. You know, like that color produced by chlorophyll. Like plants. Mmmmm, plants. I do love them. Especially the green ones! Like broccoli, bok choy, celery, lettuces. Um. I could go on, but in the interest of holding your attention.. *ahem* Let’s move ahead!
So.
Since I’m currently roomie-less (but NOT FOR LONG, YAYYYY!!!), I’m purchasing and consuming for one stomach (and its resident gremlins). I’m discovering this to be an exceptionally fun challenge, not only to eat all the stuff in the fridge before it goes traveling southward, but also to eat a varied, balanced, and nutritionally sound diet. BUT. This diet also has to be interesting. Why would I EVER eat boring food? Boring food is, well…BORING. Life is too short and my stomach is too small (sadly I’m not a cow with five stomachs, why weren’t humans invented like that, I ask you?!) to eat lame food.
Right. Sorry, that was rather tangential. ANYway. As I was saying, before I so rudely interrupted myself about boring food… In my travels through the recesses of my fridge, I happened upon some spinach. I knew it was in there, of course, but I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to use it. I also have three lonely mushrooms, just in case anyone cares. And NO, they are NOT going into pancakes, ewwy ew ew.
As I was staring down the spinach, I had a BRILLIANT PLAN! (Because anything involving your adorable and tiny *PURPLE* food processor is a brilliant idea) I decided to make spinach puree and… wait… ADD IT TO PANCAKES! Can you say nutritional value, all in one tidy little yummy package? Because I can. And there’s more, ooohhhh yes. They were DELICIOUS! Spinach is so totally going into my pancakes from now on (except with a certain Pancake Friday buddy–you know who you are!)
So. Without any further babble, here is the recipe! You’ve seen it before in other forms, although the base for this is the most basic.
down at pancake level
Spinach-Oat-Buttermilk Pancakes (Serves one with a cow stomach, or one normal human plus leftover breakfast!)
Hugely adapted from Marion Cunningham’s Breakfast Book
Do the pancake shtick! Mix dry:
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
very scant 1/2 tsp salt
*Tasty add-in: I chucked in about 1/4-1/3 c rolled oats. I highly recommend this! It gives them a bit more body and lovely chewiness.
Mix wet in a separate bowl:
1 c buttermilk
1 egg
some melted something (I used Earth Balance… the original recipe calls for 3 tbsp, I usually put in a spoonful or so… or not. Sometimes I leave it out. Butter or olive oil are fine too)
*To the wet ingredient bowl: ADD YOUR SPINACH! I’m not sure how much I actually used, probably about 2 c? I had about 2/3 or so of a bag left, and I used mostly all of it. It’s not very exact, but however much you want is probably fine.
You see? Healthy and delicious.BABY PURPLE FOOD PROCESSOR!!
Mix wet into dry! I threw in a finely chopped banana, as per usual, which I also highly recommend. I may have even added a few frozen huckleberries and choc chippies to one or two but shhhhh don’t tell!
Pour. Cook. Drool. Photograph. Discover, whilst on the phone with a bestie, that you have GREEN SPRINKLES that match your pancakes. Freak out just a little bit and pour them on a wee bit over enthusiastically… then find out that the sprinkles have soaked into the pancakes while photographing, and that you now have sprinkles on your dinner. Secretly do a happy dance for sprinkles.
Watch Voyager. Eat and LOVE your green food. And NO, it did NOT come out of a replicator (though I wish it had!).
“At ease, Ensign Kim, before you sprain something” -Kathryn Janeway.
Do it.
…
oh. and ps: I just wanted to share this too!! I tested out my personal cake pans (size 6.5″) by making a half batch of Crazy Chocolate cake! It was EXCELLENT. I just made a few changes to the posted recipe, namely brown sugar instead of white or turbinado. Yummy! And sooo cute.
Wait...are those...cookies?! 