Saturday, September 3, 2011

Better for you flap-jacks

Who says you can't have your [pan]cake and eat it too?


Oat flour takes the place of all-purpose to provide a fiberful, whole grain breakfast alternative for those of us who would like to indulge but hate to waste the calories. Finally, a sweet & satisfying breakfast that will leave you feeling full for hours without feeling like you've started your day on the wrong foot.

Ingredients:
1.25 Cups Oat Flour
2 Tbsp ground Flax Seed
2.5 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tbsp Sugar [or 1 tsp Honey. If using honey, incorporate with the wet ingredients first.]
1 Cup 1% Milk
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp melted, salted Butter

Butter, for cooking. [you may use pan spray or grapeseed oil, or whichever medium you prefer, I just think the best pancakes are cooked in butter].

Process:
1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl [it is important to whisk the dry ingredients together before adding the wet; this will ensure that there are no large clumps of anything.  I will never forget the pancakes my mother made for us one morning... I took a bite and ended up with a nice pocket of baking powder in my mouth. Aside for that incident, the rest of my breakfast was delicious.]
2. Stir the wet ingredients into the oat flour, baking powder, sugar, and flax until combined.
3. Heat a non-stick pan on medium-high heat.
4. Once the pan is hot, melt 1 Tbsp of butter. It should sizzle once it hits the pan.
5. Pour batter into desired size pancakes [I measure mine by the ladle-ful]. Lower the heat just a little bit.
6. When the edges of the pancake look mostly cooked and the batter has set they are ready to flip [about   
2.5 - 3 minutes]. Add a touch more butter if necessary.
7. Cook for another 1-2 minutes and serve with real maple syrup or your desired topping, but pleeease
do not top these delicious, healthy pancakes with anything containing high-fructose corn syrup;
respect your family, your waist-line, and your breakfast and boycott that crap!

Friday, September 2, 2011

sigh. September, already??

Classes have started up again, and I am scurrying to get acquainted.  I have some great recipes lined up for this week- including shrimp & scallop dumplings, grilled hanger steak with arugula salad & caramelized onions as well as oat-flour pancakes [you should love me for these, I have transformed oatmeal into pancakes!].  I'll be waiting until the end of the weekend to start posting again, I wouldn't want anyone to sacrifice the last weekend of summer in the name of lil ol' me ;o)

Enjoy your weekends and be safe, everyone!

littleneck clams. spicy heirloom broth. crostini.

Cheers!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

a tiny taste of Georgia

Let me make one thing certain- I said Georgia, not Alma. For a taste of Alma, take a drive to your local Wendy's and pull on up to the drive-thru. Yesterday we went to Savannah for a nice birthday lunch on the river; we wandered up and down the cobblestone streets and decided upon Vic's on the River.  I wanted to order a taste of everything [as per usual], but Lisa had stayed in Alma to make meatballs for my birthday dinner so I had to save room. It was a solid meal, at fair prices, with a beautiful view [the view will be uploaded soon]. Here is a small sample of some of the lunch offerings at Vic's:

any restaurant that begins a meal with complimentary biscuits, pictured here with house-whipped honey butter, wins my vote. Red Lobster included... did I just openly admit that on the world-wide-web?? mmhmmm

Fried calamari with pickled peppers, citrus chili glaze & Feta chunks

Fried Oyster Po' Boy with Old Bay Fries
Don't let those fries dwarf the sandwich- there were about 8 or 9 Fatty McFat, plump & juicy, briny, perfectly fried oysters lined up on that lightly buttered baguette, complimented with a tangy remoulade along with lettuce & tomato to cut the richness. 

"Award Winning" Crawfish Beignets with Tabasco Syrup, which happens to be the second most delightful fried food condiment- following Frank's Red Hot aioli [what can I say, I'm a classy broad.].

Yes, nearly everything pictured above is fried, aside for the biscuits which are baked with enough butter that they may be worse than fried, but "when in Rome..."