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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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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Whole Grain Pancakes with Pecan Nuts and Grilled Bananas

The Food Pyramid esp for Vegetarians is little complicated. The need to maintain the essential balance is so crucial - instances like did you take the required amount of Dietery Fibre? what about whole grains? Did your meal the whole day today include sufficient servings of vegetables and fruits? and Oh yes! Proteins? Yes the Pyramid and its classification look simple enough - but in day to day hectic lifestyle, we tend to forget taking each and every thing into consideration and in long run we realise that we have missed out on lots of nutrition and adequate amount of balance much needed esp for Vegetarians.



So, in order to make sure of that aspect, I try to plan ahead all the meals during the week - right from breakfast, lunch, tea time to dinner; making sure to see that I have incorporated all the essential groups in the pyramid. Unless spaced out - its almost impossible to gobble down all the servings in one go - hence the process has to start right from breakfast. Hence this is one of those recipes I came up with - to start off our day on the right note.

Image taken from here

I bought a 10grain Bread Mix a while back. It has all the essential whole grains like wheat,rolled oats,Rye,Corn,triticale,millet etc).I also had Teff flour at hand and pancakes are so common in so many households - so made Pancakes out of them.I also wanted to add one fruit and some nuts- so grilled and toasted them resp for the topping. It was light, fluffy, hearty and filled with all the nature's best ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup 10 grain bread mix
  
• 1/4 cup Teff flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 egg
  
• pinch of salt
  
• 2 tbsp demerera sugar/ brown sugar
  
• 1 cup low fat milk
  
• 1-2 bananas, sliced vertically
  
• 2-3 tbsp maple syrup
  
• 1/4 cup lightly toasted pecans
  

Method

1.Mix the flours along with baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well and then add the eggs and milk and make a thick batter



Mix well and refriegrate for 10 min while you grill the fruit



2.Take the sliced bananas and with a brush lightly apply the maple syrup to the bananas. grill them for a min and set them aside.



3.Take the batter and drop a spoonful on a pan. cook for 2-3 min and turn.



4.Usually it gets done v fast - so make sure not to keep it for very long on the pan.



5.Serve it in a plate hot with a topping of bananas and some nuts - mm may be honey if needed.



Summary of health benefits

1) Whole grains benefits
2) Protein in eggs and milk
3) Fruit - banana brimming with potassium
4) Pecan Nuts - little goes a loong way.
5) Maple Syrup benefits

Can you think of more? I mean thats a good way to encompass lots of nutrition- dont you think :) This is my entry to Susan's Pancake Parade Event

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I have a penchant for..mm..lemme think...EVERYTHING! I am simply tooo *greedy* a person to leave out anything that one can possibly do. That being said - my journey in blog-o-sphere started for learning more about food - culture - ways of cooking ; to get inspired by all you talented ones and try to push my boundaries farther than the norm. That being such - when I am bestowed with awards , it makes me feel happy and appreciated.



Siri and LG have bestowed me with Blogging With a Purpose Award and Lg Esp has some v generous things to say about me. I am honoured Lg and thanks for thinking of me. I dont have to say anything about Siri - no not cos I have nothing to say - but cos if i start I wont stop. :) All the best dear for you-know-what dear.

Wholemeal Ricotta Pancakes with Berry Sauce and Grilled Pears

I am starting off my RSVP Series(Cheese) with Ricotta, since I am partial to it :). Although not technically a cheese, I am categorizing it in here for ease since it is mostly known as cheese ( Ricotta CHEESE! Duh! )

Ricotta Cheese is a soft, low-fat unsalted cheese which can be made from sheep,goat or cow milk. It has a slightly granular texture and is widely used in Italian cooking.Its mild, clean flavor means that it is incredibly versatile. It makes a wonderfulling filling for pasta where it is sometimes combined with spinach. Source @ Books and Internet

I have come across many families, where women usually keep their routine foods for weekdays and make something special on the weekends. That being the norm for obvious reasons( time to make something,family around to eat together etc), I seem to be made of something from outer unknown planet! A typical specimen who likes to make all sorts of foods during weekdays but absolutely nothing during weekends! Oh yeah! my reason is the same as mentioned earlier - lots of free time ( so utilize that for lazing around!), family around - so more reason to spend time with them than to slog out all alone in the kitchen :-)



But got to feed the family right! So thats when I thought of making more hearty breakfast! why? Dont have to make elaborate lunch and dinner cos usually a hearty and fulfilling breakfast cuts down the appetite for the rest of the day ( Oh well!I am Evil!) Anyways a balanced meal would include something from every food group in the pyramid. I have tried to include from almost all the groups resulting in a satisfying meal.

They cater to our taste, so do try variation around it, to suit your palate, cos this is one wonderful meal which is not to be missed.

Ingredients

• 1 cup wheat flour ( Usualy they are made with plain flour with baking powder. I have skipped them with the healthy wheat)
  
  
• approx. 1/4 cup Fat free/Low fat Ricotta Cheese
  
  
• 1 tsp ground ginger
  
  
• 1 tbsp brown sugar ( + or - as per your taste)
  
  
• 1 egg (optional, if not using egg increase the qty of milk)
  
  
• 1/2 cup fat free/low fat milk ( increase to 1 cup if cutting out egg)
  
  
• 1 pear
  
  
• 1/4 cup mixed berries, fresh/frozen
  
  
• about 2 spoons of butter,brown sugar and cinnamon mixed together to form a paste
  
  
• honey/malt syrup to taste
  

No, wait - dont go seeing the long list. Its simple really ! :)

Method

1.mix the wheat flour,sugar and ginger powder together.



2.Add the ricotta,milk and egg, if using and mix well till it becomes smooth without lumps. It should be of pourable consistancy.



3.Heat a non stick pan, coat with Pam spray ( Cuts out the unwanted butter) and pour down the batter to form round pancakes.



4.Meanwhile take the berries in a m/w bowl. If fresh, add few tbsp water , M/w for 2-3 min till there's liquid. Add some honey/Malt syrup to adjust the tartness and set aside.



5.Cut the pear lengthwise, remove the seeds and apply the butter,cinnamon and sugar mixture to it



and grill it skin side up in a grill pan greased with PAM butter spray.



Take them when done. We like the crunch of the fresh fruits so I dont grill for long.



6.Take the Pancakes, drizzle it with berry sauce and one half of grilled pear. This alongwith one cup of hot tea is so fulfilling and healthy.

This has wheat,fruits,protein from ricotta and milk and little bit of fat. You can also sprinkle it with oats. Or else sometimes cut out that tea and have some fresh vegetable juice to make it a total balanced meal :)

Related Ricotta Recipe

Berry Healthy Ricotta Dessert

This is my entry to

1. AFAM : Pears by Raaga

2.MM : Spring Fruits Sensations Event by Abby initiated by Meeta

3.WBB : Balanced Breakfast by Mansi