Buttermilk Pancakes - One of the yummiest pancakes there is

There is nothing like starting a morning with the aroma of pancakes wafting around the house. Among quite a few other breakfast dishes, pancakes also form a substantial part in my house. Check out my other Pancakes, one with multigrain including Teff flour and wholemeal Ricotta pancakes . I forgot to post this basic pancake which is one of the most popular of all pancakes and recently only when my friend wanted me to post this, that I even realised that I dint have it here in my blog! Really...How could I have forgotten!


Since this includes all purpose flour, I make this version say once a month. I dont want to leave out the good things in life :) I have tweaked the basic buttermilk pancake recipe to suit my pantry and nutrition. Instead of whole egg, I add two egg whites - leaving out the cholesterol. Instead of refined white sugar, I usually add Demerera sugar which is unrefined and is better for health. I reduced 3 tbsp butter to one - the egg white takes care of the absent butter.


Making it this way, my taste buds dont decipher the "lack" of anything and yet the favourite recipe remains almost the same except for little enhance in nutrition. Here goes.

Ingredients


• 1 cup All purpose flour
  
  
• 3 tbsp Demerera sugar (or white sugar)
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  
  
• 1/2 tsp salt (or as per taste)
  
  
• 1-1/2 cups thick buttermilk
  
  
• 2 egg whites (or 1 egg)
  
  
• 1 tbsp butter (optional)
  
  
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  

Method

Add all the dry ingredients together and stir until blended.



Mix the wet ingredients together seperately and stir well.



Add the two (dry and wet) ingredients together v v gently and slowly blend it together. Let them rest for 5-10minutes. Though it is not neccessary, I find that the pancakes turn out to be airer than without.



In a non stick pan, lightly drizzle some vegetable oil (like PAM spray) or use a paper towel to wipe the surface with oil. Make sure the pan is not too hot or too low. Medium heat is perfect for pancakes. Take a 1/4 cup of the batter and drop it in the pan.



You know you are doing it right, when you see the holes/bubbles appearing on the surface and also that it is time to turn. It takes approx 50 second to a minute.



Turn the pancakes when golden brown and let it cook for another few seconds or until done.



Keep them in kitchen towel to make sure that they are warm until you serve them. They are perfect as soon as they are prepared. Hence serve them pronto :) Drizzle maple syrup (a must! Dont even think of skipping it) and feel heaven coming down :)



I am sure that like me, you will enjoy these pancakes...But I am also sure that unlike me, you will not have to stop and take photos instead of relishing them :)


I was out of town for last few days, hence I have not been able to reply to your A.W.E.D entries and I will surely come and check out your entries soon. Will do the round up of A.W.E.D France soon.

A.W.E.D now travels into hands of other creative bloggers and the first such is taken over by fellow blogger PJ of Seduce your tastebuds who has come up with a fabulous theme : Korean. She has given excellent intro to the cuisine along with links for your perusal. Deadline is April 4th.

Lets start thinking and cooking Korean, shall we :)?

Orange Loaf Cake - Love at first Bite

Like any apprehensive girl, when the time for finding a suitable partner came, I approched my parents with a "million dollar" question.

Me: How will I know if *He* is suitable for me?

Dad: You will just know!

Me: (scratching my head) what do you mean by that? Comeon dad - dont make this cinematic!!

Mum: It would be cinematic, if we said "Bells will starts ringing", "Butterflies will start fluttering in your stomach", "World will suddenly transform into a rose based aromatic field with you singing duets", "thunderboldts zigzagging",...

Me: Ok Ok stop! Forget that I ever said that...but but, How do I know that he is Mr.Right!

Dad: You will of course not know that *He* is Mr.Right - But the minute you speak to him, you will know! Know that there wont be any major compromises in life - But even if there are, you wouldn't mind doing them. That you would be seeing the world through two eyes instead of 4 - but if you do, you won't mind to see the world through *his* too. That you would struggle, be happy, be sad,in short, live as one instead of two.

Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What! Really!!! How!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad: You will know! (sly smile and a mysterious silence!)

Well, I do know now. I know what it is "to know". It happens for many things in life for me now. I don't need the reason..I just know, exactly like what happened with this recipe for Orange Loaf Cake. The minute I saw it, I knew I would love it. I knew that I wouldnt have to tear apart the recipe to enhance it, knew that it would be almost perfect as it and I would love the sensation that it would impart with my first bite.



I first saw this recipe in a Eye doctor's place!(Really!). Went for my regular annual checkup and they had these plethora of mags lying around among which was this Taste of Home edition. I was flipping through it when I saw this recipe. It clicked immedietely and since I had no paper or pen to note it down, I used my phone camera to copy the same. The only changes I made to it(and thats only cos I wanted to use all my oranges and nothing else!) was to increase the Orange juice and decrease the no. of eggs whites from 4 to 2 to accomodate more Orange juice. I also added Orange zest for that extra zing.The rest was just right for me.

Ingredients


• 1-3/4 cup Cake flour
  
  
• 1 cup Sugar
  
  
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
  
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
  
• 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
  
  
• 1 cup Orange juice
  
  
• Zest of one orange
  
  
• 2 egg whites
  
  
• 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar for dusting
  

Method

In a mixing bowl, conbine the dry ingredients



Add oil and orange juice, beat until smooth.



In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.



Fold it into the Orange mixture.



Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.



Bake for about 1 hour in a pre-heated 350F oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out neat.



Cool for 10 minutes, dust the loaf with confestionaer's sugar and enjoy! :)



I loved every slice of it..Make it and tell me..Did you fall in love at first bite just like me?:)

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This Loaf is packed for a picnic held by Trupti at recipe center

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Ricotta Cheese Fritters or Eggs in a nest?

Remember the two angels from this post? Everytime they come to my place, something special always seem to happen and this time was no exception. It was rainy, day was gloomy and the kids got hungry. They asked me to make some thing with cheese - "I luv jeeze - lotta jeez" said the little one. Her mother informed me that although she has just started making sentences, she can ask for cheese (jeez, i.e) very well and thats the first thing she ever said!:) Adorable! I had some Ricotta cheese waiting to be used, a little slab of Parmesan and was wondering what I could make for them when it happened!!!



Last time they had visited us, there was a bird's nest right outside our house, on the porch light where we could see all the eggs. It was right where we could sit in our living room and check them out. It had 4 eggs, brown and cute. The kids spent hours last time (I had to lift them every 5 minutes to let them check if they have hatched or not! My hands were paining like crazy at the end of the day! Oh well that's a topic for another day!) The eggs dint hatch that day although they did 2 days later and I went on to see little ones being hatched, open their sweet beaks to get food from mama bird, take their first flight and then leave the nest for ever! Capturing them in photo was really hard given that they were so close. The smart mama bird seemed to have tought them well..the minute the little ones see us watching, they will lie down subdued but the minute we hide or go away from their line of sight they will start chirping like crazy :) It was funny indeed!



So when the little ones came this time and found the nest empty with only Bird droppings inside, the little one started crying. She wanted to see the eggs. I was amazed how she rememberd this after all this while. Thats when I told them that we would make our own eggs and put them in our own nest - clean one and not filled with droppings.

I also told them, these will be delicious looking ones and which they can eat too :) :) So here are my eggs and nests

Ingredients


• Approx 2 cups of Part skim ricotta cheese
  
  
• About 4 whole grain stale bread slices
  
  
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (optional. You can use the whole grain bread crumbs instead)
  
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan grated
  
  
• few sprigs of cilnatro/parsley
  
  
• salt to taste
  
  
• few tbsp of italian seasoned Bread crumbs for coating
  

Method

Grind the bread slices to make fresh bread crumbs. This should make approximately 2 cups.



Add all the ingredients together.



It will come together into one dough



Make small balls out of it and then coat it with bread crumbs



Drop them in a hot oil



and fry them until golden brown



Serve warm, as they are or with ketchup.



I used cilantro leaves to make the nest and placed these goodies in the middle.



Which of these final photos should I send to Click ? One of the two in the top of this page or one of the two at the bottom? Can you help me decide?

Update: Thanks Guyz. I have decided to send the second last snap for the event.

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Sending these over to Trupti's MBP : Kids event. This recipe has been inspired by Amy Savoury Ricotta Fritters post

Sending the snap to Jugalbandi's Click : Tofu/Cheese Event

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Cranberry Oat Bars - Can it get more simple than this?

If my blog is all about step-by-step pictures with instructions then recipes such as this cranberry oat bars will put me out of business. Why? Cos there arent enough steps to show!! This recipe is as simple as boiling water! Mix, toss, place, bake, cut and the only work you probably end up doing is eat them - which is never work for ppl like me anyways! umm..probably scrub the baking pan would be work but then what are dishwashers for anyways! One gotto use them at some time or the other. I usually use my dishwasher to store my extra dishes! I thought that was o.k until one fine day, I really had to use the dishwasher for its real purpose and it wouldnt work!!! The maintanance guy was shocked when I said that this was the first time I ever used it and he was like, if you dont use it, then its bad for the dishwasher! Now do I need more excuse than that for being lazy ;-)



Anyways dried cranberries and oats are super duper health snacks. While clearing out my pantry, I saw half used dried cranberries and was wondering what to do when I remembered this recipe which I made like an year ago and liked it. I dont recall from where I took the recipe though but its tastes yum. Although I remember the quantity of margaraine in the original recipe a little too much for my tastes and have reduced the amount. I am providing the original recipe along with the change I made. Make your pick :)

Ingredients


• 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
  
  
• 2/3 cup raw sugar ( I used demerera sugar )
  
  
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  
  
• 1/2 cup polyunsaturated margarine, melted (I used 1/4 cup)
  

Method

Stir the ingredients together until well combined. Press this misture in a greased baking pan. Bake it for 20-25 at 375F oven, until golden. As soon as you remove it, score the mixture into squares or any shape you like and leave it to cool for 10-15min.



You can store these in air tight container for 5 days. They are delicious, healthy and filling. They are a ideal snack in the evenings.



Wasnt that simple?

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This is my entry to Pallavi's Event: Sunday Snacks - Grab and Go

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Blueberry Scones with Sour Cream

What could be more enticing than fresh smelling scones in the morning? Featherlight with a suddden burst of blueberry now and then with each bite - now is there a better way to start a day? Especially if it's a monday? Or how about starting a special day , say like a Valentine day (like today) with something special made by your own hands. I made these in the morning for our breakfast and they dissappeared pretty fast.



I used a pretty basic scone recipe,customized to add in sour cream for the richness and made sure to include a generous helping of blueberries. I love to use blueberry in my cakes and muffins. Shows my luv for them, doesn't it? Next of course I had to post scones. We don't prefer anything too sweet, hence I have added very minimal amount. If you like your scones sweet - add more.

Ingredients


• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
  
• 3 tbsp sugar ( you have sweet tooth? Increase to say, 6tbsp)
  
  
• 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
  
  
• 2/3 cup sour cream
  
  
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (can use frozen too. Dont thaw them)
  
  
• 1 egg
  
  
• 5 tbsp cold butter
  
  
• pinch of salt
  

Method

Add the dry ingredients together.



Grate the cold butter into it. I do it since it helps me to mix in the butter better and convert into a bread crumb like texture.



Add rest of the ingrediants.It will little sticky, its fine - slowly add in the blueberries.



Place the dough on a floured surface and knead gently until you can roll it out easily



Using a rolling pin, spread it into medium thickness flatbread - expanding about 9-10 inches



Cut it into wedges



Place them on a greased baking sheet



and bake them at 375F for 20-30min until golden brown.Cool them and store in a air tight container.



You can even freeze them and defrost them in m/w when needed.

Wholemeal Banana (Wal)Nut Muffins

I Love using Bananas for Baking as evident from my Low Sugar Banana Muffins and Banana Walnut Bread. I like ti even more with walnuts. For me nothing tastes better than a combination of Banana and Walnuts. That being said, I was amazed to see that I dint have Banana Walnut Muffin posted when I have been making one quite a lot. I find having such treats around help me to avoid reaching for junk foods at the danger time - you know, the time between lunch and dinner. I read somewhere that if this period is not handled right, then thats where one goes bersek with their dieting strategies!



Anyways I have made these Banana Muffins with wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and it has healthy ingredients for a guilt free gluttony :) It is immensely moist with a crunch of generous walnut pieces. I have used minimal fat.

Ingredients


• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  
  
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  
  
• 2 large bananas
  
  
• 1/8th cup of wheat germ
  
  
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
  
  
• 1 egg (you can skip this to make it eggless.)
  
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
  
• 1/4 cup milk
  
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  
  
• 1-1/2 tbsp butter
  

Method

Add the flour,salt,baking powder, wheat germ together.



Add the wet ingredients together . Mash the bananas with a fork. I do this to get little chunks of banana in my muffin. If you dont prefer that, mash it in a food processor until smooth.



Mix both of them until well incorporated. Blend in some nuts.



Drop spoonfuls of the batter into lined muffin pans.



Top it off with some nuts and bake in a preheated oven 350F for approximately 30-40 min or until done.



Serve warm. Some tea with this muffin would make you feel all the more good about yourself :), the way it does to me.

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This is my entry to Roma's JFI event:Wheat

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