Mom’s Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I grew up on these, and now I make them all the time when I have company for brunch.  I’ve also served them, with lots of teachers flipping and serving, to the kids at my school for Bike to School Week.  Anybody who rides to school that week gets a free pancake breakfast!  The incentive works well, and we have tons of kids riding.

This recipe is really easy, and sooo much better than a box of pancake mix!  They are also amazing with raspberries in place of the blueberries.  Serve them with a little butter and real maple syrup and they’ll be perfect.

What you need:

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 teaspoons vegetable oil or melted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

butter for frying

What you do:

1. Beat the egg up a little with a fork, then add the other liquid ingredients.

2.  Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir it until there are no lumps.  If it seems a little thick, thin it down with a bit more buttermilk.

3.  Stir in the berries.  If you are using frozen, don’t thaw them, just mix them in straight out of the freezer.  They’ll maintain their shape better that way.

4.  Heat a frying pan to medium high and put a little butter in the pan.  I usually do one tester pancake because the first ones never seem to turn out right.  Scoop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot pan, turning it down if it starts to smoke.  When you see bubbles rising to the surface of the pancake it is time to flip it.  Cook on the other side until they are nicely browned.

I like to serve them fresh out of the pan because they taste the best then, but I suppose you could put some into a warm oven if you needed to.

Grilled Chicken Salad

Here’s another Mother’s Day recipe – I made this grilled chicken salad with a vinaigrette dressing, mango, and pita and tzatziki on the side.  The salad makes a nice light and tasty meal.

I watched this TED talk by a young girl named Lauren Hodge who speaks about her research on reducing the carcinogenic effects of grilling.  She says that you can reduce the carcinogens by up to 90% in grilled chicken simply by marinating it in lemon juice.  Great information, and inspiring to hear someone so young being so dedicated to research.  A helpful and tasty tip – thanks Lauren!

What you need:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon sumac (available in middle eastern shops)

2 tablespoons olive oil

What you do:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pan or ziplock bag.  Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour to a few hours.

2.  Grill the chicken for about 4-5 minutes per side, until no longer pink.  Be careful not to cook it too long.  This will not only dry it out, but also increases the carcinogens in the meat.

3.  While the chicken is grilling, prepare the salad with vinaigrette and mango on the side.

4.  Slice the chicken and arrange it on the salad.

Easy Homemade Tzatziki

Easy and delicious, that’s what this homemade tzatziki is!  I use my homemade yogurt for it, and strain it to make a Greek yogurt.  It’s great for dipping lightly grilled pita, and for souvelaki.  You just have to plan a few hours ahead so you can strain the yogurt, unless you’ve bought some already thick Greek yogurt.

What you need:

2 cups yogurt, not low-fat

cheesecloth for straining

1 clove garlic, minced (or more if you like it really garlicky)

1/2 english cucumber, grated

salt and pepper to taste

fresh mint, optional

What you do:

1.  Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place the yogurt into the cheesecloth.  Refrigerate for a few hours or over night to and allow it to drain.  Pour off the liquid that is drained.

2.  Grate the cucumber and squeeze it so you get as much liquid out of it as you can.

3.  Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and optional mint.  Mix it all up.

I like it best when it’s not served straight out of the fridge, so if you keep it in the fridge, you might want to take it out a little while before serving.

French Rhubarb Cake

Last year I planted rhubarb in my garden, so this spring I harvested the first stalks.  For Mother’s Day I made this cake, and my mom really liked it-she even asked for the recipe!  She likes a simple cake that’s not too gooey or sweet.  Perfect fit for her!

This recipe comes from the website My Kitchen in the Rockies.  There are helpful tips on this site for high altitude baking.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 & 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, room temperature

1 & 2/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

4-5 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1cm chunks

1/2 cup slivered almonds

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Grease a 10 inch springform pan.

2.  Beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla.

3.  Stir in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

4.  Fold in the rhubarb, making sure you don’t mix it too much.

5.  Pour the batter into the springform pan and smooth the top.  Sprinkle the almonds on top.

6.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let it cool on a wire rack.

Cilantro Pesto

Often, when I don’t know what to cook, I open up my Rebar cookbook.  I’ve tried a lot of the recipes, loved a lot of them, but only blogged a few.  This pesto is a nice change from the usual, with cilantro, pumpkin seeds, lime juice and jalapeno peppers.  I served it tossed with some baked spaghetti squash, but it would also be great on regular pasta. This recipe is half the original, and makes about 2/3 cup of pesto, plenty for a few people.

What you need:

1 bunch clean cilantro, stems chopped off

1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

1/4 jalapeno pepper, chopped with seeds

1 garlic clove

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons grated parmesan or asiago cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

What you do:

1.  Toast the pumpkin seeds slightly in a dry frying pan.  They toast really fast, so just turn the heat to medium-low and shake them around every half a minute or so.

2.  Put all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor.  I just have a little handheld one, and that works fine. Puree until everything is chopped to little bits.

3.  Pour in the olive oil, a little at a time, until it is combined.

Ready to go!

Fig & Anise Crisps

Terra Breads makes this fabulous fig and anise bread.  I just made up a mixture of olive oil and maple syrup, brushed it on and toasted it to makes these darlings.  They were delicious with some salty olive tapenade on top to play off the sweetness of the figs and maple syrup.

What you need:

part of a loaf of fig & anise bread, thinly sliced

olive oil

maple syrup

What you do:

1.  As thinly as you can, slice the bread.  Place the slices onto a baking sheet.

2.  Mix some olive oil with some maple syrup, less syrup than oil.

3.  Brush a little of the mixture onto each piece of bread.

4.  Toast them in the oven on about 250-300F, watching closely so they don’t burn.

They were great with the olive tapenade, but I would imagine a sharp cheese or some cream cheese would be fantastic.

Addictive Chocolate Sea-Salt Cookies

I’ve been enjoying Lindt’s sea salt chocolate bars lately, so when I found this recipe for yogurt-cocoa cookies I knew I needed to mimic those chocolate bars with this recipe.  I did this by adding a little sea salt to the tops of the cookies.  They are definitely addictive, being chewy inside and crispy outside, super chocolatey, and then there’s the little hit of salt on top.  Not too sweet, and a definite must for chocolate lovers!

What you need:

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons butter

7 tablespoons cocoa

2/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup plain yogurt (not low-fat!)

1 teaspoon vanilla

sea salt for sprinkling

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Melt the butter and remove from the heat.  Stir in the cocoa and sugars.  Stir in the vanilla and yogurt.

3.  Add the flour, baking soda and salt all at once and stir it in.

4.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, then drop the cookie batter on by tablespoonfuls, or use a small ice cream scoop.  Leave space between the cookies.

5.  Bake for about 8 minutes, then remove the pans from the oven and let the cookies sit for a few minutes.  Then let them cool on a rack… but you’re going to want to eat some right away.

Corey’s Amazing Mango Salsa

I was treated to an amazing feast recently!  This salsa was so fresh and tasty, brought to us by guest blogger Corey Knott.  He served it with tilapia, which paired perfectly with it.  Corey started with fabulous fresh ingredients, highlighted by the best mango I’ve ever tasted, and the most beautiful.

What you need:

1 ripe mango, diced

1/2 red onion, diced finely

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

juice of 3 limes

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped

What you do:

1.  Combine all the ingredients and… it’s ready to go!

Homemade Olive Bread Croutons

I bought a loaf of bread from the fabulous Terra Breads the other day, and since I couldn’t use the whole thing, I threw it in my freezer.  Later I pulled out a couple of slices to make these yummy croutons.  They were fabulous on top of a caesar salad.

What you need:

a few slices of olive bread

1-2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1.  Cut the bread into cubes.

2.  Heat a frying pan to medium-low and drizzle in some olive oil, then throw in the garlic, sage and bread.  Toss the bread around so it gets coated in oil.  Add a little more oil if you need it and toss it again.

3.  Toss the bread from time to time until it gets a little browned and crusty.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Throw them on your favourite salad!

Rustic Apple Nectarine Galette

Wanting to use up some extra apples I had in my fruit bowl, I pulled out my friend Maureen’s pie pastry recipe and went to work on creating this galette.  It’s simple, and I added a little ground almond just to try something new.  Maureen’s pie pastry recipe is guaranteed to be flaky and tasty!

What you need for the crust: (enough for 2 galettes – you can keep half in the freezer)

2 & 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cold lard

1 &1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 & 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

9o mL ice-cold water

What you need for the filling:

2 apples

1 nectarine – unripe is fine

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary plus a sprig for the top

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons ground almonds

2 teaspoons sugar

What you do for the crust:

1.  Cut the lard into the dry ingredients(flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt).  I get in there with my hands, working the lard in until it is in pea-sized pieces.

2.  Beat the egg, then pour about half of it into another small bowl – this will be reserved for brushing on top of the pastry.  Add the 1/2 egg, vinegar and some of the cold water.  Mix with a wooden spoon until there are no more crumbly bits.  You can turn it out onto the counter the work the flour in a bit.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.  You can keep it in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for a few weeks.  Just make sure it comes out early enough to be workable.

What you do for the filling:

1  Peel the fruit, then slice it thinly.  Combine in a bowl with the flour, brown sugar and rosemary.  Add the vanilla extract and mix it in.

2.  Take the dough out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you need to roll it.  Sprinkle some flour on the counter before placing the dough on the counter.  Roll it out into a rough circle until it is about 1 cm thick, working the edges with your fingers if they become jagged.  Transfer the dough round to a baking pan.

3.  Sprinkle the crust with the almond and sugar.  You don’t need to sprinkle near the edges, as these will be folded up.

4.  Arrange the fruit on top of the crust, then fold the edges over the top.  Brush the crust with the reserved egg. Place a sprig of rosemary on top.

5.  Bake at 450F for 40-45 minutes.  Check in half was through to see if it is browning too fast.  If so, just throw a piece of foil over the top.

I served mine with a little vanilla-caramel ice cream, but whipping cream would be great too, or just on its own.