Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #21: Fave Food

It is amazingly appropriate that the challenge keyword "fave food" coincided with John's birthday. I'm sorry I didn't bake you a cake, dear, but I feel confident that the pancakes and bacon that I made for your birthday breakfast were an obvious indication of my love for you. I'm sorry that this morning at the Merc while the girls were telling the cashier it was your birthday, they also told her you were 40. Totally my fault and I corrected the mistake immediately. After I giggled. But even when you are 40, I'll still shower you with pancakes for your birthday. Happy Birthday and we love you!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! 

From Elise:

"Happy birthday to you,

I love you because,

You're sooooo schweet...

Because you look like a banana!"

May 2009, Elise

From Abby:

"Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

You are so schweet...

Happy birthday to you, I love more than anyone!"

December 2009, Abby

P is for Pancakes!

Okay, so P is actually for Pinterest. Which is where I found this pancake recipe. I made these one morning last week and Abby requested them again a couple of days ago. We've now had them 3 times in the past week - made fresh twice and reheated from frozen once. They are delicious and super easy to modify, depending on what you have or what you like. Here are two versions we've enjoyed so far:

Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 C "flour"
• The original recipe uses  1/3 of 3 different types: almond meal, quinoa flour, and oat flour. I've used a combination of: organic ground flax seed, oat bran, oat flour, and whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 local, antibiotic-free eggs
• 1 C buttermilk
• I've made this 2 ways: 
• 1/2 C organic plain yogurt + 1/2 C buttermilk
• 1/2 C buttermilk + 1/4 C organic plain yogurt + 1 mashed organic banana
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 T fresh organic lemon juice
• Zest of one organic lemon
• 1 T melted coconut oil
• Combine dry ingredients
• Separate eggs
• Combine wet ingredients and egg yolks
• Mix wet and dry (omitting egg whites)
• Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form
• Fold in egg whites
• Use extra coconut oil to grease nonstick pan for cooking

I omitted the sugar from the original recipe - the syrup took care of the necessary sweetness as did the mashed banana in one version. I did make a yogurt sauce as suggested - organic plain yogurt, squeeze of fresh lemon juice, squeeze of fresh orange juice, and some local honey. The girls are looking over my shoulder at this very moment - looks like it might be pancakes again today!

Whole grain pancakes (and a plug for consignment sales!)

We are no stranger to pancakes in this house - made with pumpkin or yogurt, topped with berries or syrup. I found this recipe in one of my favorite tiny magazines, Everyday Food, and we mixed up a double batch this morning (remember: extra pancakes or waffles are perfect for freezing instead of a store-bought frozen breakfast option).

Basic Pancakes (adapted from Everyday Food, September 2010)

• 1/2 C organic whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C wheat germ
• 1/4 C local cornmeal
• 2 T organic pure cane sugar
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 C buttermilk
• 2 T organic unsalted butter (or oil)
• 1 organic egg
• I also added a mashed banana this morning since we had an over-ripe one begging to be used
• Combine dry ingredients
• Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl
• Mix all together and cook on a lightly oiled griddle

And my consignment sale plug is this: GO TO THEM! SHOP THEM! BUY YOUR CHILDREN'S CLOTHES THERE! :) I only wish I had discovered these sales when the girls were tiny infants (not that we had the time or energy to go to them at that point in our life) but, especially baby clothes, are in such good shape since they are so quickly outgrown. I have completely outfitted the girls for multiple seasons now in second-hand, good quality, inexpensive clothes. Yesterday, Gran and I shopped and spent $50. We bought 13 different items (which averages $4 a piece) and the majority of our purchases were Gap, Gymboree, and Janie and Jack. As we are now buying a lot of 3T clothes, the selection is less and the clothes have had more wear and tear, but the amount of money that we've saved and the quality of clothes that have been worn is well worth it. Not to mention the cuteness factor - I mean, you've seen the pictures... Here's the link to the sales we've shopped both in Lawrence and in Overland Park: Kid's Closet Connection. And here are yesterday's finds:

Peace, Love, and...

PANCAKES!

Like I said: Peace, Love, and Pancakes

Hmmm... wonder who inspired these flapjacks?

Topped with PB, flaxseed, and bananas

We started the holiday weekend off right - with a "stay home" day for Daddy and pancakes for us all! John makes the best pancakes - he uses a modified recipe from Cooks Illustrated (fabulous resource!):

Pancakes

• 1 C. flour (John does 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 C. buttermilk
• 1/4 C. milk, plus 1 T. or so if batter is too thick (John typically adds a bit extra because of the whole wheat flour)
• 1 large egg, separated (recipe says to whisk egg white in with buttermilk and milk; mix yolk with melted butter and then stir into milk mixture)
• 2 T. unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil for brushing griddle

Here's hoping your holiday weekend is off our kind of start! May your days be filled with peace, love, and ___________ (you fill in the blank - while we place breakfast foods on a pedestal, we certainly don't expect everyone to do the same!). Goodnight...

Pancakes. Pancakes. Pancakes.

John is the pancake master in our house. Cornmeal pancakes. Buttermilk pancakes. Whole wheat pancakes. Heart-shaped pancakes. Turtle-shaped pancakes. But John just doesn't really do pumpkin. Friday mornings are always experimental breakfast days - we bid Daddy a fond farewell as he heads to work and then we take over the kitchen in a flurry of flour. This morning, pumpkin was thrown into the mix. The original recipe can be found here, however my creation is listed below:

• 1 1/2 C. organic whole wheat flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t. ground ginger
• 1 container organic Oikos blueberry Greek yogurt plus enough milk to equal 1 C.
• 1 C. organic pumpkin
• 2 organic free-range eggs
• 1 T. oil
• 2 T. organic applesauce
• 3 T. apple butter
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 T. brown sugar

Oh my. These were so good. The girls and I ate 6 of them: 2 each. And Elise asked for more! Topped with a little Minnesota pure maple syrup and a smidge more Virginia apple butter (Thank you, Auntie Sar-ie!)... Yes, please! As with all of our pancake/waffle successes, we froze the remaining 6 pancakes. This makes for a quick and easy (and homemade) toaster-oven meal in the morning. Alternate pancakes with wax paper to prevent freezing together, wrap with a bit of saran wrap, and finish with a layer of aluminum foil (I've heard this helps prevent freezer-burn, however typically items like this don't hang around long enough for that to be a concern) and then place the whole bundle in a ziplock freezer bag.

Recipe #8: Oikos Yogurt Pancakes

My quest to find recipes is never-ending. It goes on... and on... and on.... (hint-hint! Please pass recipes my way that you find delish and nutrish). I love to make breakfast and the girls love to eat breakfast. Perfect. Yesterday morning, I tested out a pancake recipe from Carrots 'N' Cake. It goes something like this:

Ingredients (with my modifications in red,

as usual):

• 1 cup Old Fashion oats
• 6 oz. Oikos honey yogurt I used plain Oikos and added 1 1/2 T. honey
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour instead
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Blueberries

The result was good - definitely a keeper, with the fresh blueberries sealing the deal! John is actually the pancake master in this house, but someone has to keep the troops fed during the week, right???