Pancakes

Entries Tagged as 'pancakes'

Cornbread Waffles with Roasted Vegetables & Chimichurri Ramps

5.01.2013

My daily posts have turned more into weekly posts as thing have become a bit hectic around here. There are so many things I’ve wanted to share without over sharing on a food blog…which then usually just turn into not sharing them at all. So, instead, I’m just going to give off a short list of excuses that have been both tearing me from this blog and keeping me occupied in my “real” life:

1. I got a new day job / promotion. I was promoted from indie-rock-princess to indie-rock-queen. Hah, no. But I did go from a glorified secretary to being in charge of over 200 of our music client accounts. So, needless to say, I’ve been working 9+ hours a day trying to figure out everything that goes along with this new job.

2. It’s spring! And I’ve been putting most of my free time energy into prepping my garden. What good is a food blogger who can’t even grow her own produce to write recipes with?

3. My grandma passed away. I realize that this is a normal occurrence for people over the age of 80 but that does not make it any less unsettling. I don’t care how old you are – it’s very upsetting to watch a wonderful person have everything ripped away from them.

4. My boyfriend is obsessed with the X-Files. And not only is he obsessed but he is determined to watch EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. So starting at season one in Februaray, he has constantly had that on the TV…which has been…very distracting. Do you know how many episodes of the X-Files there are? HUNDREDS. There are NINE seasons. Do you realize how many hours have been wasting getting sucked in by that when I could have been cleaning my stove-top or seasoning my cast iron or making butterscotch cookies?!

5. Remember that Lemon Thyme Butter I posted about last week? OH MY! I’ve discovered that it’s pretty much amazing on everything. Melt it over pasta or spaetzle and thank me later. You’re welcome.

Okay, enough about me. Let’s talk about YOU! I have an ice cream recipe for YOU. Yup, that is right – homemade ice cream. And it’s filled with the most delicious…well I can’t tell you. But it’s sweet and savory and creamy and Middle Eastern. And it’s going to be posted on VV soon…how soon? I can’t tell you that either (can’t ruin the fun now!) – you’ll just have to check back.

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Now back to ramps. Yes, that is right. I am posting ANOTHER ramps recipes. Two in a row, really? Well if we compare it to how many pizza or tofu recipes I’ve posted then it’s really not that bad. Ramps are new to me…and I’m pretty obsessed. I know they are going to start disappearing from the Farmer’s Market just as quickly as they appeared. This means, I’ve been cooking them up like crazy while I can!

Cornbread Waffles with Roasted Veggies & Chimichurri Ramps

Makes 2 generous servings

Cheddar Cornbread Waffles:

3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups cornmeal
1 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cups milk
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Roasted Vegetables:

An assortment of your favorite vegetables to roast (I used 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, 1 diced onion, 1/2 diced small sweet potato, 2 chopped carrots)
2 springs of fresh thyme, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt/Pepper

Chimichurri:

1 bunch of ramps (about 10 stalks)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 red pepper flakes
dash of pepper

To roast the vegetables: Preheat oven to 400 and toss the veggies with olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Lay in a even layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until the vegetables have softened and just started to brown.

To make the chimichurri: Rinse the ramps and cut off the roots and any rough tips. Slice into big chunks. Blend all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) until a smooth paste forms.

To make the waffles: Preheat your waffle maker. Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yokes, milk, and butter. Fold the dried ingredients into the liquid until incorporated. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with a mixer until stiff but not dry peaks form. Fold the egg whites and grated cheese into the batter.

Ladle 1/2 cup (more or less depending on how big your waffle maker is) of the batter onto your preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacture’s instructions (mine usually takes around 3 minutes).

Pile high with roasted veggies and chimichurri.

Chai Latte Pancakes + A Giveaway

10.26.2012

Okay, so I have a confession. I don’t really like water…I know that sounds weird and maybe it’s because the water in my town is HEAVILY polluted but it just does not do it for me. Soo…bland. I’ll drink it if it’s boiled and has tea steeped in it..or if it’s gone through the process of being brewed into coffee. Other than that, I stick to sparkling water. The heat wave that struck the Midwest this July really got me addicted to canned seltzer water…and to flavored fizzy water. And here I am, 3 months later in a bit of a rut with my 4 cans of flavored sparkling water a day. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my sparkling water but, for a change of pace, I was very excited to try out this new all natural bubbly “soft drink” that Cascal approached me about it.

Cascal All Natural soft drinks are crafted with natural juices (no added sugar except from the juices) and fermented for fuller flavor. At first, I was a little put off by the word ‘soft drink’ because sugary pop comes to mind and I do not usually drink soda. However, this stuff is not the average soda you are used to getting at McDonalds. It reminds me of a mix between my beloved seltzer water and a sparkling juice. The end results are just terrific.

A few of my favorite parts about this soda? Well, they have AWESOME and intriguing flavors. My favorite was the Crisp White which had notes of Pear, Apricot, and Magnolia. Even the one with a chocolate note (Ripe Rough with notes of Chocolate, Rose, and cherry) had a refreshing and not overly sweet flavor to it. And if I have not convinced you already, each can is only 60-80 calories. 60-80 calories for a soda? Ohh yeah!

Anyhow, if you are into trying these out, head to your nearest Whole Foods to pick up your favorite flavor or enter my giveaway for a chance to win a sample pack! The sample pack will have the following five sodas in it:

Crisp White – With notes of pear, apricot and magnolia

Ripe Rouge – With notes of cherry, rose and chocolate

Fresh Tropical – With notes of mango, jasmine and kaffir lime

Bright Citrus – With notes of lemongrass, tangerine and pineapple

Berry Cassis – With notes of black currant, tangerine and lemon

And now for the fine details…

How To Enter:

Leave a comment below telling me your favorite fall soup recipe.

For Extra entries:

Like Cacal or Vegetarian Ventures on Facebook and leave a comment below saying you did

follow Cascal (@CheersCascal) or Vegetarian Ventures (@shellywester) on Twitter and leave a comment below saying you did!
***Make sure to include your email in the comment below so I know how to get a hold of you! This giveaway will be closed on Friday, November 2nd at 10 PM Eastern time and is (sorry!) open to US residents only.***

This is now closed!

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Oh, also, shifting topics…I have a recipe for you! Here is a recipe for some vegan chai latte pancakes that I created using a combination of Isa Chandra’s Chai Latte Cupcakes and Perfect Pancakes recipes!

Perfect way to brighten up your morning on these gloomy fall days!

Chai Latte Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 Tablespoons canola/vegetable/coconut oil
1 cup almond milk
2 black tea bag or 2 teaspoons loose leaf tea
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
dash of vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, heat the milk until just boiling. Remove from heat, add in tea bags, and cover. Let steap for 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Make a well in the center of the dried ingredients and add the oil, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until everything is well combined.

Heat a large skillet over medium and pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet (you should be able to make 2-3 at a time depending on the skillet size). Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Serve warm with cocoa powder and syrup.

Zucchini Fritters with Dill Dipping Sauce

7.27.2012

Happy Friday! Does anyone have any big plans for the weekend? Wyatt’s band is playing tonight and my Ma is stopping by to see our new house later but I feel that my schedule is pretty open for Saturday and Sunday. I really would love to adventure in the form of canoeing, hiking, picnicing, and camping but I fear that the temperatures are not supposed to drop below 100 again this weekend. This means that I will most likely need to start planning ways to hide indoors during the day (I really have become a wuss when it comes to the heat). Perhaps make a few macrame plant holders or some homemade billy buds?

Or maybe it’s FINALLY time to make that homemade cheese that has been on my summer to-do list forever now! Who knows…but honestly, this heat makes me not want to eat anything lately…the only thing my body has craved for the past month has been coconut flavored La Croix and green smoothies. This would be great if I was the type of girl who wanted to be on a diet…but let’s be real here…I own a food blog! I LOVE to eat! This wasn’t brought up as a complaint…I’ve learned to adjust to the heat. We have been waiting to eat until about 9 or so every night so that it’s cool enough to tolerate cooked food (tolerate is such a terrible word for my recipes…they deserve so much more!). And on a good note – we have been eating a lot less so this has given me a chance to try out all those recipes that many would consider starters/appetizers as light meals for us to enjoy (like those yummy Corn and Feta Empanadas).

Speaking of light meals…I whipped up these zucchini fritters with what was left of CSA box from last week (remember…I didn’t get one this week because of the drought! Such a bummer. And as a warning: it’s not going to just be us Midwesterners who will be affected by this drought! Ek!). Anyhow, these were delicious as a light dinner but feel free to also feel these to your guests as a starter at your next dinner party.

Zucchini Fritters with Dill Dipping Sauce

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons fresh dill
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of a small lime
Salt/Pepper, to taste

For the Fritters:

4 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Vegetable or Coconut Oil for Frying

To make the dipping sauce: Combine everything together in a small dish and stick in the fridge until ready to eat (this will give it some time to let the flavors mend together).

To make the Fritters: Cut off the top and bottoms of the zucchini. Grate them using the largest setting on your grater (AKA side with the biggest holes). Sprinkle with salt and stick in a bowl. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Move the zucchini to a clean dish towel (or SEVERAL layers of paper towel so they are strong) and ring out any excess juice.

Next, combine the zucchini, dill, flour, garlic, eggs, and baking powder. Stir until everything is mixed and a thick batter has formed.

In a medium skillet, put just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil over medium and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter onto the pan. My pan was big enough to cook 3 at a time but this may depend on the size of your pan..make sure they have enough room to not collide. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side (time will depend on how hot your oil gets…usually will take less time as you go on).

Place cooked fritters on a paper towel lined tray and repeat with the rest of your batter.

Enjoy with that yummy dipping sauce and your favorite people/puppies.

DIY Delicious: DIY Buttermilk /// Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

5.22.2012

This was originally posted on www.chivesgonewild.wordpress.com this morning. It’s a new blog that my good friend, Kristin, and I are collaborating on. Don’t worry – I’m not cheating on you, VV. It’s just a new outlet for me to express my thoughts on things outside of food…like DIY projects, shopping lists, decor suggestions, etc.

It’s still very new and in the experimental stage (we still don’t even have a bio made yet!) but feel free to go check it out if you have a few minutes!

Enjoy!

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Oddly enough, I’ve been using this trick for years for vegan baking but never really caught onto what I was actually doing. My introduction to vegan baking was in high school when I picked up Isa’s Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. Almost all of the cupcake recipes start with mixing a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a cup of almond milk and end with amazingly moist, flavorful cupcakes.

Anyhow, I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve bought the smallest possible carton of buttermilk, used half a cup, and then let it go bad in my fridge swearing to myself, I’ll use it up next time. It’s just one of those staples that I never go through in my house (and I bet a lot of you are the same way).

This led me to research about buttermilk substitutes…and discover great news from it! You can actually make buttermilk with 2 simple pantry (fridge) staples in less than 10 minutes! Wah? I almost feel upset about discovering this because of all the times I’ve wasted soooo. much. buttermilk.

Here’s how it goes:

DIY Buttermillk

1 cup of milk (any kind you like – whole will give you a closer texture but use soy if you like it vegan!)
1 Tablespoon vinegar

Mix together in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes [this will cause the milk to "curdle"]. Mix into all your favorite buttermilk recipes and that’s it!

And…by favorite…I mean recipes like the following:

Perfect to 2

1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
dash of vanilla
1 cup flour (+ more if the batter is too runny)
`1/2 cup oats
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Sliced strawberries

1/2 cup pecans, crushed
2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. In a large bowl, add in all the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet into it. Fold the dry into the wet until a thick batter forms. If the batter is too thin for your liking, add a bit more flour.

In a large skillet, melt a dollop of butter or oil over medium heat. Use a 1/2 cup measure as a scooper. Scoop batter onto the skillet and put two to three pancakes on at a time. Cook for two to three minutes on each side (will depend on how hot your skillet is). Repeat with the rest of the batter.

In a small saucepan, place the pecans and saute for 5 minutes on low. Next, add in 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup. Cook on low until all the syrup has stuck to the pecans.

Enjoy the pancakes lathered with maple pecans, sliced strawberries, butter, and lots of maple syrup!

Eat while sipping on your favorite coffee and watching some morning cartoon classics.

Moody Mondays

1.23.2012

So I came up with this idea from Much Love Monday where she posts pictures of hearts to keep moral up on gloomy Mondays. I am going to try to post a picture every monday of something that keeps me happy so that I can stay positive through the week.

Yup.

1. Playing with my food. I love that adding neon food coloring to everyday foods make it extra fun and extroadinary

2. My vintage vinyl player creates the best “crackle” to complement my more abstract 7″

3. My brat of a cat, Sophia Marvelous. She’s cute and snobby and I love her.

4. Fresh produce from our garden! It’s not the season for it right now but having my massive garden to look forward to this summer is what is keeping me through this winter.

Yup. That’s all for now.

Samosa Patties

1.14.2012

Here in Bloomington, we have an entire street dedicated to ethnic restaurants. It’s really an amazing experience…it’s like walking into another country and it’s just down the street. They’ve got Thai, Indian, Turkish, Mediterranean, and so much more. I had never even had good Indian food before I moved to this town four years ago but this street has certainly allowed me to make up for lost time. My boyfriend use to work at one of the Indian places so he can make a mean curry and I myself have become pretty addicted to this cuisine.

We’ve gone through phases of making curries every weekend and homemade naan and homemade hummus. However, we’ve never managed to master samosas which is suuuuch a shame because they are so dayuuum good. It’s just such a tedious process that it’s fun for a special occasion but not something you’d wanna whip up every weekend. Anyways, so I came across this recipe in my Vegan Brunch cookbook and this solved all of our samosa problems.

These patties literally taste like the inside of a samosa and are half the hassle of making real ones. These are great to serve as a side with some curry or eat as a main with some sweet sauce. They are chocked full of veggies and spices that will fill you’re palette with amazing Indian aromas.

Samosa Patties

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1/8 cup canola oil + 2 Tablespoons
dash of turmeric
dash of salt
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cumin
dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/8 cup flour
extra oil for pan frying

First, add the potatoes to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until you can stick a fork through the cubes and they are soft. Drain and return to pot. Mash well and add the 1/8 cup canola oil, turmeric, and dash of salt.

Preheat a large skillet (with a lid) over medium heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of canola oil and the mustard seeds. Cover with the lid and let the seeds pop for about a minute. Once the popping has settled, add the carrots and onions. Saute for about ten minutes and then add the garlic, ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Cook for another few minutes and add water if it’s dry.

Back to the potatoes, add the onions, peas, and veggie mixture. Lastly, add in the flour and season with salt.

Now for the disappointing part (the waiting game- one of the worst games ever). You’ve gotta let the mixture cool completely or else it will fall apart. So I reccommend sticking it in the freezer for 20 minutes but feel free to pop it in the fridge for hours (if you prepare it in advance).

Once cooled, take chunks of the batter, roll them into golf ball size balls, and then flatten slightly. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat and saute the patties on each side for three minutes or until they have browned. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Serve warm and with other yummy Indian dishes.

Oh and these are my roommates trying to tell me what they have in their hands is much more interesting than taking photos of my pancakes.

Sweet Potato Pancakes with Whiskey Glazed Pecans

11.08.2011

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve bought into the shop local and cook seasonally fad (mmmm fresh produce!) so if for some odd reason my love for seasonal cooking mated with my favorite meal [breakfast-duh!] then I’m pretty sure the product would be something along the lines of these sweet potato pancakes!

I know the main part of this recipe is the pancakes but damn the pecans are what shine! Yummy glazed nuts with a hint of maple syrup and whiskey means this pancakes are just an excuse for you to make these pecans anyways!

Also, [total side note] BUT if you have an leftover mashed sweet potatoes after Thanksgiving then feel free to skip over the pancake recipe part of this post and fry them up like pancakes with these yummy pecans.

Sweet Potato Pancakes with Whiskey Glazed Pecans

For the pecans:

1 cup pecans
2 tsp. canola oil
dash of salt
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons whiskey

For the Sweet Potato:

1 large sweet potato
2 Tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup almond milk
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
dash of nutmeg
dash of cloves
cooking spray

You have three options for when you want to make the mashed sweet potato part. You could either make it the night before so that you can get right down to business when you wake up or assign the task to whomever is the early bird in the house or just do it when you get up (but keep in mind this is gonna add another 45 minutes to your prep time!)

Anyways, so preparing the sweet potato is the first step. What you are going to do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the sweet potato on the middle rack (no wrapping in foil or poking it). Cook for 45 minutes (this is the part where you go back to bed or watch cartoons with your morning coffee while you wait!)

Once done, take out and prepare the pecans while it cools. Place a square of parchment paper on the counter and heat a skillet over medium low. Add pecans and saute constantly for about five minutes. Add oil and dash of salt; stir for another minute. Then add the maple syrup and stir so that the pecans absorb it (about 30 seconds). Finally, add the whiskey and stir for 30 seconds more. Place hot pecans in a single layer on the parchment paper and let cool while you prepare the rest of the pancakes (dont pick at them! They will be yummy!)

Peel the sweet potato and mash in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, milk, vinegar, sugar and vanilla and stir until well incorporated. Next, add the dry ingredients (Flour, baking powder, salt, and spices) and mix until all the big clumps are gone.

Prepare a large skillet over medium heat. Liberally spray with cooking spray and, when heated, add by the heaping 1/2 cup fulls to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side and flip.

Eat with pecans on top and gallonss of warm maple syrup (unless you’re on a diet in which case I’d reccomend you scratch this recipe all together and find some yogurt in the fridge or something).

Quick Vegan Pancakes with Simple Strawberry Topping

9.17.2011

Vegan baking is different from regular baking in the fact that the end product is denser but much more moist (I know that seems like an odd combination but really the best way for you to get what I’m saying is to just trying some vegan baking!). It’s funny because people just assume vegan baking is so much harder than regular but it’s all just about substituting the right ingredients. (I mean we can make it more challenging by adding expensive chickpea flour, arrowroot starch, and xantham gum but why bother when it turns out just as good with a few of these cheap substitutions?) .

This is my “go to” breakfast recipe when I’m looking for something sweet or needing to feed a big crowd (there’s a reason we have 5 beds and 2 pull out couches in this house- there are always plenty of people sleeping over).

I would suggest just using fresh fruit and maple syrup on this guys. However, if you’re fresh out of syrup or have some sad looking fruit, feel free to cook them with a few tablespoons of sugar on the stove (on low!) for a few minutes to create a simple syrup that will make the fruit extra sweet and create a melt in your mouth texture.

Perfect Vegan Pancakes

(Adapted from Isa Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch)

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup water
1 cups almond milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spray the skillet with cooking spray (or use a little olive oil) and heat skillet over medium heat while you prepare the batter.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Once mixed, make a hole in the middle of the bowl by pushing all the dry ingredients to the edge. Put oil, milk, syrup, and vanilla in the center and fold dry ingredients in to mix.

Pour batter in the middle of the pan and cook one at a time for about 2 minutes on each side. They are ready to flip when bubbles have formed almost all the way around the edges.

Lather with maple syrup and fruit. Or peanut butter and jam. Or Nutella. Or ice cream and chocolate. Or what[Evs]