Archive for the ‘Breakfast and Brunch’ Category

Mystery Apple Pancakes

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

The sleepy child can barely manage to pour syrup on his pancakes.

In my continuing celebration of apple season I decided yesterday to try putting apples into pancakes. My nephew Michael was sleepy when he got up for school but endorsed the idea as well as a drowsy child could. 

Michael’s mother Leigh had to go run an errand as I was preparing to throw the pancakes together. I found most of the ingredients in her kitchen, but the flour was a mystery. I had NO IDEA what Leigh had in her flour bin.
 
It looked like plain old flour—but Leigh has been known to use white whole wheat flour and even gluten-free flour in her cooking. The child was stirring in his bed so I decided to take a chance and use whatever it was.
 
When Leigh returned home she informed me that I had in fact made the pancakes with King Arthur Flour’s gluten-free multi-purpose flour blend. This blend worked like a charm. I’m a little fussy about consistency, and I had nothing to fuss about here.
 
Young Michael—and everyone else—pronounced the apple pancakes a roaring success. He even finished the meal looking much more perky than he does in the photo above.
 
The Pancakes
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup gluten-free flour (or the flour of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 medium apple, finely chopped
butter as needed for heating
 
Instructions:
 
Using a whisk combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and sugar.
 
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter.
 
Gently stir the wet ingreidents into the apple mixture. Do not overmix. Stir in the apple pieces.
 
Heat a frying pan or skillet to medium heat (375 on an electric skillet), and melt a small amount of butter into it.
 
Dollop a generous serving spoon of batter onto the pan for each pancake. Do not crowd the cakes in your pan.
 
Turn the pancakes after a minute or two, when they are nice and bubbly on the surface and easy to lift. Add a bit more butter as needed to prevent sticking. Remove and serve with butter and warm maple syrup. 

Makes about 12 pancakes.

Easier Than Pie Apple Fritters

Friday, November 5th, 2010

 
The first weekend in November in our corner of western Massachusetts is reserved for Cider Days, our annual celebration of the end of the apple harvest.
 
Events are scheduled all over Franklin County this year. They will include a special tribute to the late Terry Maloney of West County Cider, who started this festival in 1994 with his wife and business partner Judith.
 
Local food lovers should plan on attending some of the events on Saturday and Sunday, which include orchard tours, cider-based meals, and (my personal favorite) a cider salon.
 
I am lining up some cider and apple recipes for the West County Independent. They will doubtless find their way onto these pages eventually.
 
Meanwhile, here is a preview to get you in the mood.
 
These apple fritters are the brainchild of Sheila Velazquez of Pen and Plow Farm in Hawley, Massachusetts.
 
The recipe couldn’t be simpler. If you slice the apples quite thin and make sure the batter is spread throughout the apple pieces, you get a lovely combination of sweet and tart, crispy and slightly soft. The fritters can be used as an accompaniment for pork or stew—or as a simple dessert or breakfast treat.
 
Sheila says she omits the sugar and uses this same recipe for corn and zucchini fritters. I can’t wait until next summer to try those. The apple version is absolutely addictive.
 
Sheila’s Apple Fritters
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar (I actually couldn’t find confectioner’s sugar and used regular sugar, which worked just fine!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional–Tinky’s addition!)
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups thinly sliced apples (try for a relatively crispy apple; I used galas)
canola or vegetable oil as needed for frying
 
Instructions:
 
In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, the sugar, and the cinnamon (if you are using it; I loved it). In a smaller bowl whisk together the milk and egg.
 
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir just until they are blended. If your batter is a little too wet, add a tiny bit of flour; if it’s dry, add a small amount of milk.
 
Toss in the apples, trying to coat them lightly but thoroughly.
 
Cover the bottom of a nonstick frying pan with oil and heat it until the oil shimmers. Pop in a few apple pieces at a time and reduce the heat so that the fritters won’t cook too quickly. Fry the apple fritters on one side; then the other.
 
Keep the fritters in a warm oven until their relatives are ready to serve. Or just dole them out to those waiting eagerly at the table as they are ready. 

Serves 4 to 6.

Corn Waffles

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

cornboy2web

 
Today is Shrove Tuesday, a.k.a. Mardi Gras, a.k.a. Pancake Tuesday.
 
Pancakes are a traditional food on the day before Ash Wednesday since they contain several substances Christians traditionally gave up for Lent—milk, eggs, and butter.
 
My family has rechristened the day Waffle Tuesday so that we can eat our newest breakfast creation, Corn Waffles. We first made them last week to help my nephew Michael study for a test.
 
Michael lives in Virginia. Recently in school he has been studying Virginia’s past—specifically, the state’s part in the Revolutionary War.
 
The other day we were quizzing him on material he had been asked to learn.
 
He did a great job mimicking John Paul Jones and declaring, “I have not yet begun to fight.”
 
He knew where Thomas Jefferson lived even though we have yet to visit Monticello. (I hope we’ll get there in the spring!)
 
For some reason, however, he had trouble remembering details about the Battle of Yorktown—specifically, the name of the British General who surrendered at Yorktown to George Washington, Lord Cornwallis.
 
In order to make Cornwallis’s name more memorable we started calling him Lord Corn Waffles.
 
Soon we decided to reinforce the lesson by allowing Michael to taste the general’s namesake.
 
The rest, as they say, is history……
 
cornwafflesweb
 
Corn Waffles
 
Ingredients:
 
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) sweet butter
1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons sugar
 
Instructions:
 
Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly while you assemble the other ingredients.
 
In a medium bowl use a whisk to combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda.
 
In a larger bowl combine the buttermilk, milk, and egg yolks. Stir in the dry ingredients.
 
In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in the sugar. Gently fold the sugared egg whites into the milk combination.
 
Cover the batter and place it in the refrigerator overnight. (You may just let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes, but your waffles will be fluffier if the batter can stand overnight, and the cornmeal will be better blended.)
 
The next morning take the batter out of the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
 
Brush your waffle iron with butter and preheat it. Cook the waffles as needed (usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your waffle iron).
 
Serves 4 to 6.
 
 
The Surrender of Cornwallis by John Trumbull (Architect of the Capitol)

The Surrender of Cornwallis by John Trumbull (Photo Credit: Architect of the Capitol)

 

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I’m Honored

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Kreativ Blogger Award2

 
Bloggers love a little recognition. So I was thrilled yesterday to learn that Mattenylou of the charming blog On Larch Lane has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Mattenylou!
 
This award is designed to share news of fun blogs. Each recipient is asked to post seven interesting things about herself (or himself, of course) and to pass the award on to seven other bloggers.
 
Mattenylou very sweetly wrote to me saying that if I didn’t have time to post seven things about myself she would understand. Naturally, I responded that for an egotist like me the problem would be finding ONLY seven things to write about!
 
Things about Tinky (they may be of interest only to me, but here they are!):
 
1. Let’s start with guilty pleasures: I read category fiction. This means I love mysteries and even the occasional romance novel. (I have also been known to TiVo “Ghost Whisperer” on television; I can’t figure out why, but it’s there in my queue every week.)
 
2. I have had crushes on a number of movie stars, including the following (not in order): Matthew Broderick, Fred Astaire, and Walter Pidgeon. Also Walter Cronkite (maybe there’s something about the name Walter?)
 
3. There are days on which I would kill for a truffle.
 
4. I talk to my pets constantly. I am certain that they talk back.
 
5. When I’m really frazzled I take a walk in the woods.
 
6. I love my friends and my family. I wish more of them played bridge with me, however; I haven’t played bridge in years! And it’s my favorite team sport.
 
7. I would love to be better organized. Also rich and famous, but better organized actually comes first!
 
Seven of My Favorite Blogs
 
These were really hard to narrow down. I read and enjoy a LOT of blogs.
 
1. Commonweeder, which muses year round on gardens and community.
 
2. Food & Think from the Smithsonian, which mixes science, food, culture, and fun.
 
3. Walking Off the Big Apple, the thinking woman’s (and man’s) guide to New York.
 
4. History Hoydens, in which historical-romance writers talk about their research and their writing with wit and passion.
 
5. Sugar Apple, which blends Southern American and island cuisines to maximize color and flavor.
 
6. How Does Your Garden Grow, which concentrates on local eating and doable recipes in my native New England.
 
7. Today at Mary’s Farm, in which journalist Edie Clark shares insightful essays on country life.
 
Please take a look at them—and, if you like, leave a comment to tell me about some of YOUR favorite blogs. I’m always looking for new reading material.
 
Before I go I have to post a recipe since National Oatmeal Month is almost over and I HAVEN’T POSTED A SINGLE AVENACEOUS RECIPE this January!
 
This recipe comes from Jody Cothey. I’ll tell you more about her in my next post, which will feature another of her favorite foods.
 
For now I’ll just let you know that she and her husband Edward own Tregellys Fiber Farm in my hometown of Hawley, Massachusetts. They have a longstanding interest in Tibetan and Nepalese people and culture.
 
The Cotheys learned to make this oatmeal dish from Nepalese friends and eat it frequently at this time of year. In Nepal it’s sweetened with honey, but in Massachusetts the Cotheys (and I!) tweak it with a little maple syrup.
 
If you like bananas and oatmeal, try this combination. It is surprisingly silky in taste and texture.
 
Porridgeweb
 
Nepalese Porridge
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup milk
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 pinch salt
2/3 banana, cut into small pieces
maple syrup to taste
 
Instructions:
 
In a small saucepan combine the milk, oats, salt, and banana pieces. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the porridge reaches the consistency you like (for me this is about five minutes).
 
Serve with maple syrup. Serves 1 to 2, depending on appetite.
 
por2web

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Am I Blue?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Blueberry Snap cut web

 
Nationally, July is blueberry month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Here in the hills of western Massachusetts, however, blueberry month falls in August.
 
I know that blueberries are a super food–all those antioxidants!–so I grudgingly eat the big ones in July. I bide my time, however, until the tiny, low-bush berries make their appearance a month later. Locally we find most of these in Heath. This town near my own Hawley is high in elevation and rich in good cooks.
 
Heath’s little blue pearls look prettier, taste sweeter, and freeze better than their jumbo counterparts.
 
For years neighbors just ate them, preserved them, and enjoyed them. Lately local food producers have been using Heath’s blueberries to make tasty, useful products. The Benson Place, a Heath grower, makes something called Wonderfully Wild (and it is!) Blueberry Spread.
 
Bart’s Homemade Ice Cream in Greenfield recently began a limited run of a new flavor called CISA Berry Local Blueberry Ice Cream. The company gets its berries from three Heath farms–the Benson Place, Tripp’s, and Burnt Hill. I asked Bart’s president Barbara Fingold about the origins of the project.
 
She reported that her husband and business partner, Gary Schaefer, is on the board of CISA, the Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture. The organization is interested in making more durable products that use local crops, according to Barbara. In fact, she noted, the blueberry ice cream is “a prototype for future products made by Bart’s Homemade, as well as other local producers.”
 
CISA’s workers helped come up with the name of the ice cream and have assisted in publicizing it. A portion of all sales goes toward CISA’s work promoting local farms and farmers.
 
Barbara informed me that the company hopes to try making local peach ice cream soon. I can’t wait! Meanwhile, my family is savoring the current flavor. According to Barbara, its limited run will end in mid-September–or when the company runs out of the ice cream; she called the response “overwhelmingly positive.”
 
We can’t eat ice cream ALL the time, although some of us would like to–so here’s a simple coffee cake to add to your blueberry repertoire. Make it with large berries if you must, but the tiny ones will make it more delicious. It’s easy to bake and serve when you don’t have a lot of time or energy.  
 
Seasonal Heaven: CISA Berry Local Blueberry Ice Cream (with a few peaches!)

Seasonal Heaven: CISA Berry Local Blueberry Ice Cream (with a few peaches!)

 
 
 
Blueberry Snap
 
Ingredients:
 
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 to 2 cups tiny blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
 
Instructions:
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by9-inch baking pan. Cream together the butter and white sugar. Beat the eggs together and then beat them into the butter-sugar combination. Beat in the extract; then add the baking powder and salt.
 
Add the flour and the milk, alternately, to the butter-sugar-egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in the berries.
 
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and top it with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if you are using them). Bake for 50 minutes. Serves 9 (with big pieces) to 12 (with tiny pieces).
 
 
snap in pan web