Pancakes! Pancakes!

We always read before bed, and last week at the library, boy-o picked out Eric Carle's Pancakes! Pancakes! for the 3rd time this year. It really is a charming story of a boy who has to help his mother gather all the ingredients for pancakes since she is "already up and busy". I may not send my boy to the miller with a donkey full of wheat to thresh, but I will take the time to make pancakes whenever he asks.

I usually make pancakes once a week, since it is a food my (now picky) son likes and I happen to love them. I used to store half the batter for the next morning's breakfast, but discovered that if I just make them all, he will eat a "giant pancake" for a snack. If I can pack as much nutrition in as possible, it's really not a bad deal.

For the first half of the year, I used a variation of Alton Brown's recipe, then around June switched to a variant on Dorie Greenspan's. But this morning, because I had 2 leftover egg whites from last night's supper, I came up with my own healthy recipe, loosely based on Dorie's but really entirely my own. Here it is:

OATMEAL PANCAKES:
(makes about 9 4-5 inch pancakes)

1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oat flour (I grind rolled oats in a spice mill - it works!)
1 T. sugar
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. kosher salt
1 c. buttermilk
2 egg whites
1 T. veg or canola oil (I don't really measure, just pour a little in. The Dorie and Alton approach is to use 3 T. of melted butter, which you certainly could do as well.)

I like to sift all my dry ingredients together, but you would not really have to. Then mix buttermilk, egg whites and oil in a 2 c. measure (add buttermilk to the 1 c. mark first...)to minimize need for washing dishes. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a mixer beater by hand (you can not really over mix this way) until the batter is just mixed.

Heat 12 in. skillet to medium (medium high) heat, brush with a little butter and portion out the pancakes. Be patient in flipping, the oat flour causes the batter to be somewhat delicate. When you see the bubbles just breaking the surface, gently flip the pancakes and cook on the other side, maybe 3-4 minutes total depending on the heat.

These are very nice whole grain pancakes, and I'm sure they will remain in my breakfast repertoire for many months to come. I'd venture to say that you could vary the flours in any way imaginable. I think I'll try buckwheat flour sometime soon - but probably will offset the heaviness with ap flour instead of whole wheat.

Any way you try them, I'm sure you will have success with these pancakes.

The Julia Dinner

When I started my dinner last night (comprised entirely of Juila Child recipes), I didn't think I could go through with browning a whole chicken in one whole stick of butter. I gingerly started with about 3 T., then casually threw in another 2 T., and I'm not sure, but I think by the end of the browning stage an actual 8 T. of butter actually made it into the pot to result in some of the best chicken ever.

And when the time came to build the sauce for said butter browned chicken, I certainly didn't add the additional 3 T. of butter to the end result, but at least it was optional. I whisked like lightening, and was amazing myself at the lemon yellow yolks that result from even a minor hand beating effort. The whole time I was in the kitchen, I kept thinking how butter truly smells phenomenal. If you want to make a memorable dinner, by all means, use a whole stick of butter.

A good indication that the chicken was well received...

I was glad that I invited my in-laws over, or we would have been eating a buttery chicken for 2 days. The original recipe calls for a 3 to 3 1/2 lb. chicken, but the chickens that we get are usually much larger. Mine was 4 1/2 lbs. When my Mother was still raising chickens, she would have some as large as small turkeys. I don't know, maybe it's in the water out there. This was also the first time I cut up a chicken into 8 pieces. Considering I was consulting a book, I think I did OK. Note to self: watch someone who knows what they are doing, so I don't have to second guess myself again.

I think that handling a whole animal causes you to think more about where your food is coming from. I know that this chicken had a good life, and was killed in a humane way by small farmers who cared. Not only does it taste better then, but I don't feel the pangs of guilt that I know a movie like Food Inc. would cause me to feel. In no way do I support the mass farming of animals, that in the end results in company owners talking about "product"... in fact that really makes me angry.

The Ratatouille that is front and center on my plate (I think my company may have thought I was a bit crazy to be taking pictures of my food, so I didn't take too many...) was also delicious. Because I didn't have a smaller covered saucepan, I actually had to use my tagine, which worked out perfectly. After the dishes were done and about to be put away, I left it out on the stove thinking that it may be time for a tagine this week.

And the cake! I almost forgot about the cake! It was so good, I could not help myself from talking about it after every bite. Normally I wait a couple of hours after dinner to have my dessert, but we ate this right away. Boy-O ate his up in record time, and I made mine last so long, I could see my company growing restless.

All in all, I think it was a good idea to have a theme dinner, even one that had to revolve around a recent obsession. I hope to host some more dinners before the end of the year, and pledge to find a better way to take pics in a darkish kitchen after the sun goes down.

And because I had 2 egg whites left over from the sauce, I concocted a new pancake recipe which I will post after this one. Aces!

Julia and Jalepenos

Yesterday was Julia Child's birthday, it would have been her 97th. Bon Appetit challenged their readers to host a dinner party in her honor, cooking things from her books - and even included several recipes in their August issue. I was excited to try some of her recipes, especially after my recent movie viewing inspiration/obsession, but found myself completely alone for dinner last night, so that just wouldn't do. I couldn't justify eating a whole chicken, and side dish, salad, bread and dessert all alone while toasting the queen of dinner parties. So I did the next best thing and made a cake, Julia's cake, Reine de Saba.

But that was after I tackled some jalapenos.

R1 and I were planning to have a canning party to make delicious candied jalapenos, but alas, the jalapeno crop this year is just not very good. My parents planted a whole row of plants for me, and when I harvested, I got just about a quart and a half. Even the farm markets seem to be curiously absent of my favorite green pepper. So while our party plans were foiled (at least for now - perhaps we can locate some more peppers somewhere), I decided to try and candy can what few I had.

My mouth was watering as I sliced a bowlful of the crispy, dragon green peppers, but I just wasn't sure how they were going to turn out. The solution to fill the jars with was 3 parts sugar and 1 part vinegar brought to a syrupy boil. Boiling vinegar is fast becoming one of the pungent smells that I rather love, due to all the pickling canning I've been doing lately. After the syrup cooled in a pool on my stove, I tasted it, and concurred with myself that they indeed were going to taste somewhat like the peppers I had purchased, and have purchased for others, from West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shop which sells at the Milwaukee Public Market. They are so addicting and delicious, and you can add them to just about anything if you love spicy food. I think they are especially good on sandwiches and with eggs.

I was a little disappointed that even though I packed my jars as tightly as I could, the peppers shrunk down so much after their 10 minute hot water bath that jars only appeared 2/3 full. This morning, however, I gently turned them onto their sides and let the syrup make its way around and they did seem to appear a little more full. The proof will most definitely come in the tasting, which I think I'll make myself wait a couple of weeks for. Unless I happen to find more peppers, then I'll have to crack one open right away to make sure the recipe is sound.

Julia's cake was beautiful. Like I've said before, I'm a batter eater - so I knew this was going to be good before it even hit the oven. It had two of my favorite chocolate companions in it too: ground almonds and rum. I really kind of detest rum, even after keeping an open mind and trying it again after watching something on Puerto Rican rums and the whole distillation process... but still, unless it is baked up in some kind of chocolate, I really can do without it. The other exciting thing is that the only leavening in the cake comes from the eggs, not a pinch of baking soda or powder.

It was baked until slightly underdone in a petite 8 inch cake pan - which I love, because it instantly looks so very 50's. And just a hint of frosting, since I think it's going to have a pudding like interior. But since I was dining alone (and really, I have other desserts that I'm still working on eating - like the Pastel Helado that is still taking up residence in my fridge...) I saved it for tonight without even tasting the finished product. Oh, I stood by with my knife ready, but since I'm the only daily dessert eater in my house, I thought I had better wait.

So this evening after I make Julia's chicken, ratatouille, a salad and loaf of bread, I'll finally cut into it and take another picture. I'm very excited to try these recipes, all of which are posted at Bon Appetit, and hopefully the light will be good in the kitchen so I can get some nice photos of my efforts. And I'm even more excited to finally enter the world of Julia Child because really, I don't know what was taking me so long.

Obsessing over Lunch

So last night I saw Julie & Julia... Ordinarily, I don't easily hop on the bandwagon of blockbuster Hollywood movies (that aren't in the Marvel or DC Comics world, anyway...but that's another post). I certainly didn't rush off to see No Reservations, I can tell you that. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting to love this movie. I can also tell you I wasn't anticipating inspiration, and definitely not Obsession, but that IS what happened.

The movie ended around 10, and my boys were both asleep when I got home. Had I been even the slightest bit hungry, I would have joyfully cooked up something to eat - but I just wasn't. I had to settle for knitting my new mitered mitten pattern from the Loop class on Wednesday, and was content to drift off to a slumber that included dreams of drinking many martinis thanks to all the imbibing going on in the movie.

This morning, however, I knew that for lunch I had no leftovers, and was going to have to make something. I haven't poached an egg in a while, and moviegoing did pique my appetite for them.

Yes, yes, I know hardly a day is going by when I don't mention Marisa at foodinjars, and today is no exception since when I printed out her dilly bean recipe, she prefaced by saying that "lightly steamed green beans dressed with salt, pepper and butter, scrambled eggs and a sliced tomato" was one of her favorite suppers. I picked a nice big handful of fresh beans from my own garden behind the garage yesterday, and also had a nice ripe tomato from my father-in-law. So, poaching an egg it was instead of scrambling.

Thanks to Julia inspiration, I used maybe a whole 1/2 T. of butter on the green beans, but then couldn't quite make myself 2 eggs, so I did one egg, and one egg white. But don't you know poached egg yolks are The King of the egg world? WHY did I talk myself out of the cholesterol? After I stabbed that baby with a couple of green beans, I would have taken a bath in the yolk if it were at all possible. I guess that's what is nice about not making something for awhile: you get to appreciate it all over again.

True to my Latin love, I had to add avocado and much hot sauce - Cholula is my preferred hot sauce.

I'd dare you not to lick your plate - especially when omitting bread from this meal...

Poaching

Poaching eggs really is insanely easy. I follow the Cook's Illustrated approach which is this:

Fill an 8 or 10 inch nonstick skillet almost to the top with water and bring to a boil.

Then add 1 t. salt and 2 T. white vinegar.

Crack your eggs into little cups, one egg per cup, and ease them into the water. Immediately cover and remove from heat. Poach for exactly 4 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry with a paper towel or regular lint free towels. And then eat those babies straight away.

Beautiful, cavernous egg center: Where have you been all my life? This actually is a different shot than the one above, the egg so nice I shot it twice...

Prior to this recipe, I did have trouble poaching eggs. The closest to perfection I came was following a Saveur recipe for Eggs Hussar, in which you used a tremendous amount of vinegar, causing your eggs to be unbelievably beautiful and cloud like - if not a tad on the vinegary side. While I love vinegar, this didn't bother me, but may have bothered some recipes not friends with such a strong flavor as vinegar. The link for the related recipe at Saveur is here: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Poached-Eggs-with-Tasso-and-Hollandaise-Sauce

I promise you unbelievable amazement when you pluck these puffs of egg out of their bath, but stick with the tried and true less vinegar approach above if you have an aversion to vinegared eggs...

I must admit, that I have not read Julia Child's cookbooks. I'm not sure how she poached her eggs. I will thank Julie Powell and Nora Ephron for doing a wonderful job convincing me to click over to Amazon to find out what I've been missing out on. And many happy winter months, I predict, will be spent getting to know her recipes. For now, I'll be content to have a listen to the soundtrack I just downloaded...and planning a Julia's birthday meal on the 15th, like Bon Appetit suggested in their magazine this month.

All things green for the beginning of August...

I was out of town for a week, and got to spend some time at my parent's house about 3 hours west of here. They pared down the garden this year, but I was still amazed at the quantity and size of the plants... I originally was only going to take the jalapenos and green beans, jalapenos for a candied jalapeno project that R1 and I are going to tackle, and green beans for dilly beans thanks to Marisa at Food in Jars. But of course the call of the wild was overwhelming, and when I had picked the beans clean, I grabbed a bunch of green peppers and an armful of carrots. Then I couldn't stop, and also took some onions. But my car had only limited space, since I made no effort to pack lightly for a week long stay...so I had to curb my enthusiasm.

As you may have already surmised, I do run greatly in the vein of obsessions. Notably this year, I've been obsessed with mangoes, knitting, tart cherries and canning in general. I forgot how amazing it is to preserve food in jars. Already, my basement storage of preserved food is nearing its capacity, and more room will need to be made. When I planted some green beans that a neighbor had given me in spring, I immediately thought of dilly beans. The first and last time I had one was with Gina (of Square Pie fame: http://thesquarepie.com/) and I forget who gave them to her. Of course, after discovering foodinjars.com, I knew I had to try the spicy variety she showcased there.

It's surprisingly easy to can in hot water baths, i.e, pickling and jamming. I always thought that I never had the time, but I guess you make the time for the things obsessions are made of. I hardly have any time left over to think now with the knitting and the flickr and then this canning. At least I am being as productive as I can, for the shortening of summer days begins to remind me now that winter is a long and lonely time for the stay at home types. (Truth be told though, I'm never really lonely, and there is ALWAYS something that has to be made: a bed, a cake, you know.)

cayenne spiced dilly beans, courtesy of Marissa at foodinjars.com

When I returned to Milwaukee, I had a scorched yard and lots of basil to contend with: so the first of the pesto preserve was on. Monday, I made the first batch. I like to freeze it in little scoops on wax paper and then transfer to deep frozen storage. Mine stayed nice and green thanks to Michael Chiarello. He recommends blanching the basil, plunging it into the ice bath, then drying it well before proceeding. But I can't be bothered with that - I skipped right to his trick of adding a pinch of ascorbic acid, and it stayed bright green even after its preliminary freeze.

Of course there is no way to make a ton of pesto and not have some for dinner. This was the fastest tastiest way: a Martha Stewart recipe. First, boil a waxy potato or two cut into 1 inch chunks for 2 minutes. Then add pasta and green beans and continue cooking until pasta is done, about 10 additional minutes for the fusilli I used above. Then simply drain and toss with a little pesto. You may think I was going to be in a marathon the next day what with the potatoes, pasta AND bread all on my plate at one time...but sometimes a huge helping of carbohydrates is just what the doctors order.

All of this just since Monday! And tonight is my much anticipated knitting class on mitered mittens. I've been psyched for weeks thinking of the mittens I will make for everyone. On my week gone, I purposefully left all knitting at home so I could rest my carpal tunneled arms, but have still managed to almost finish another hat since I got home as well. Like I said, they don't call them Obsessions for nothing.