Oatmeal Apple Yoghurt Pancakes

Pancakes are a breakfast classic and this recipe gives the most worthy spin around the breakfast table. They satisfy in both flavour and taste and are also very filling. The do not stick to your ribs or sit like a stone in your stomach however you do know you have ate something substantial. I used applesauce to cut down on the amount of fat. Oatmeal to boost fibre and yoghurt for more protein. The ingredients are simple and may be found in your refrigerator or pantry. These are so delicious and disappear fast that you will want to make them often.  

Oatmeal Apple Yoghurt Pancakes

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2 eggs

1 2/3 cups milk

8 ounces of plain yoghurt

1/4 cup apple sauce

1 cup oats (quick cooking or rolled)

1 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 apples, peeled, cored and grated 

Notes: If you do not have plain yoghurt on hand then used whatever you have. Banana, strawberry, or blueberry will work, it just adds a bit of flavour. You may pre-grate the apples or grate them when it is required.

Method: 

1. First combine all the dry ingredients (oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) together in a medium bowl. Set that aside.

2. Then in a large bowl combine all the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, yoghurt, and applesauce). Whisk until well blended. 

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (milk mixture) and blend with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth. 

4. Fold in the grated apple. 

5. Cook! 

Serve warm with maple syrup or table syrup, fresh apple compote, thick apple jelly or butter and cinnamon sugar. 

Perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch. 

Leftovers #13 ~ Pasta Salad

Seems like I always cook either too much pasta or too much rice. Regardless, I always make use of either. This time I had leftover pasta. And decided to make a pasta salad. 

Poking around the refrigerator to see what veggies I had on hand... I sliced cucumbers, diced yellow peppers, chopped green onions, used some remaining sliced olives, from the pizzas we made, and crumbled some feta cheese onto the leftover pasta in a large bowl. Gently gave it a toss and since I had some homemade salad dressing on hand, I drizzled that over everything, tossed again and transferred the pasta salad to a serving dish. I also chopped some lovely hothouse tomatoes that were placed on just before serving or according to individual taste. Very simple and easy! 

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! - JW  

My Week in Food

As you know I made cornbread yesterday. I used a different recipe this time and it turned out fine. I replaced the flour with cornflour and still used the amount of cornmeal the recipe asked for. The texture was soft and smooth which in turn made it crumbly... too crumbly. Since the recipe called for a 1/2 cup sugar the cornbread was a bit on the sweet side. I like a bit of sweetness however not major sweetness when it comes to cornbread. 

This chili had a nice level of spiciness which gave an even heat. Which in turn helped my cold a bit. There are leftovers and as this chili ages... or sits it will get more spicier. I am planning on doing Chili Dogs for dinner on Friday with the leftovers. Hopefully by that time this cold will be gone and I will be able to enjoy the spiciness for pure spiciness sake!

When one has an overabundance of apples then an apple pie is definitely going in the oven. Making it in a flan pan completely turned this classic dessert into more of a substantial deep dish apple pie.  

This morning I made a simple spaghetti meat sauce and if any leftovers are to be had, it will be going on the pizza's I am making for dinner on Saturday night. 


As more comfort... food is being dished out from the kitchen I am feeling a bit better today although this cold is lingering. Hope your week has been good so far! - JW    

Supermarket Finds

My father-in-law must have been psychic because look what I found at the local shop... So Juicy! He will be pleased, my son will be pleased.     

Four O'Clock tea - Cucumber Mint Green tea sounded refreshing and soothing. Also I thought it would make a nice iced tea and a lovely iced tea with gin. It did.

I have been battling a wicked cold since the weekend. Chili Con Carne and Cornbread is what I am making for dinner tonight. Hoping that something as comforting and spicy as chili will help. Hope everyone had a good weekend. - JW   

Quiche

I did make the quiche from Tony Singh's cookbook, Tasty. The pastry turned out fine considering I am used to making a more simpler recipe. Not that his recipe was overly complicated. I suppose I look at pastry as being a bit fussy. Perhaps my attitude towards the flaky crust should change. He gave 4 quiche fillings, Stilton and Celery with chilli jam, Smoked salmon and crowdie cheese, The classic - Lorraine and Smoky Chorizo. I opted to make a broccoli, cheese... 3 cheese to be exact, aged cheddar, mozzarella, feta, and red onion. The quiche turned out beautifully and was enjoyed by all. 

It is a very fall day today, rain. Have a good weekend everyone. - JW  

Sumac, Mixed Spice, Edible Flowers and So Juicy

The label on the side said new and that is all I needed to buy this jar of Sumac at Marks & Spencer. Not really sure what to use this spice for or with had me pondering my way through the rest of the aisles and the rest of my trip. Until I came home and placed it on the spice shelf in the pantry and pondered some more... well... I actually forgot about it until now. I searched a few cookbooks however none mention this particular spice. Turning my search to the internet proved positive. As I found out that it is used in Middle Eastern cuisine to add a lemony flavour to salads or meats. It can also be used as a garnish on hummus. 

Since I was down to the last little bit of Mixed Spice I decided to pick up a replacement at Marks & Spencer. Considerably larger than the one I already have, I was pleased to find a bigger size. I do use it quite a bit in baking. It just adds that bit of comfort. 

Edible flowers from Scotland. This reminded me of Herbs de Provence, although it has more flowers and some what less herbs. With 45% of ingredients being Flowers such as safflower, cornflower, and purple heather; 30% being Herbs such as thyme, bay, ransom, rosemary, basil, marjoram, oregano, parley, and tarragon; 12% being Fruits such as juniper berries, and rosehip and 7% being Spices such as black pepper, all spice and salt (6%). Still I could not pass this small 10g bottle up and look forward to using some when I cook or bake.  

So Juicy! My father-in-law was not going to have me leave England without bringing a packet of this back. He easily baked us up some chicken using this bake the chicken in the  bag provided seasoning mix. It was tasty and the chicken was so tender. It is like what North Americans call Shake'n'Bake however there is no shaking just massaging the raw chicken with seasonings and cooking it in the oven proof bag.  I was very happy my father-in-law was so insist! 

Funny story. I used the packet of Garlic Chicken, So Juicy one night for dinner. Not telling the kidlets what I had used or more importantly the name, So Juicy. When I served the cooked chicken soon after his first bite my son exclaimed "This chicken is so juicy!" So... juicy...! I laughed and he got all concerned and had this why are you laughing look on his face. When I stopped laughing I told him the name of the product and he laughed too. Actually we all had a good laugh around the dinner table that night. 

- JW      

Tasty

"The point I am making is that tasty cooking, tasty food doesn't have to mean spending hours over a stove. It can be had from opening a tin of beans, cooking them with a simple Holy Trinity of garlic, chilli and ginger, then serving them with some toast." - Tony Singh (from The Incredible Spice Men) I agree with Tony Singh and his outlook on cooking and food in general. Once in awhile I do get my inner chef on and want to spend loads of time in the kitchen however most days I do not.

This cookbook is divided into 6 delectable chapters with such titles as Munchies, Meat, Fish Suppers, Veggie, Short and Sweet and Pandora's Box. He knows how I... how most of us think about the food we consume. How we prepare, cook, bake, and eat. The importance of not stressing out in the kitchen and having fun. Like the front of the book says "Food that gives you a hug and makes you smile." I will gladly take that hug.

The Goat's Cheese and Beetroot Tacos sounds exotic, Hot Tofu Caesar Salad is a welcoming change on a popular salad, Easy Baked Sweet Potato Curry... fabulous and the Chickpea Burger with Smoked Aubergine and Grilled Ciabatta very comforting. There are recipes to satisfy the meat eater however I seem to be stuck on the Veggie chapter. The majority of the ingredients for the recipes can be found in ones well stocked pantry. And the photography in this cookbook is mouthwatering! Since I decided on making a quiche this week I will use the quiche recipe from this book. 

I highly recommend this book for anyone and everyone who appreciates new surges into culinary delights. I have the English edition because I bought it during my visit to the UK this summer.

Finally getting all school issues sorted out. Also we woke up to cooler temperatures and a bit of wet snowfall. - JW 

Zucchini Parmesan

Nothing says Fall quite like a zucchini parmesan. It is one of those comfort dishes that can stand alone or be a lovely side dish. It is the pasta-less lasagne. Simple as it is there are some steps involved however at the delicious end there lies the reward. I have made this dish with a combination of zucchini and eggplant. Which is the absolute tastiest Parmesan you will ever have. If you do decide to venture and add eggplant all you do is prepare the eggplant in the same way as you would the zucchini. For this dish you will need the following:

2-3 large zucchini, sliced

salt

flour to coat the zucchini slices

vegetable oil for frying the zucchini slices

tomato sauce, pre-made or homemade

grated parmesan cheese

grated mozzarella cheese

1 x baking dish

   

First you want to wash and then slice the zucchini. The thickness of the slices all depends on your preference. Thicker slices gives you a meaty sort of texture. Whereas thinner gives you a more melt in your mouth texture. Sprinkle the slices of zucchini with salt. This prevents them from sweating too much. Switch the oven on and let it preheat to 350º.

Coat each slice in flour. Everyday all purpose flour will do however you may have a preference and want to use that.  

Once all the slices are floured you will want to pour some vegetable oil in a large pan/skillet and heat. Once the oil is hot place as many of the floured slices of zucchini as possible. Be careful the oil is hot! You may have to add more oil as you go. I did because I try to get away with using as little oil as possible. 

Once the slices are nicely browned on each side remove them from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper/kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. You may have to replace the towels with fresh ones along the way. Repeat this until all the slices are browned and drained. 

Then get a baking dish. How many zucchini slices you have will determine the size. My zucchini slices were quite large therefore I used a 9x13 dish. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with some tomato sauce. Your sauce can be a pre-made one or a homemade one. I whipped up an easy sauce by taking a large tin of crushed tomatoes adding some herbs and seasonings. Done.  

Start to arrange the zucchini slices on top of the tomato sauce. Then add some grated parmesan cheese and grated mozzarella cheese over the zucchini slices. Place more tomato sauce over the cheese covered zucchini slices and repeat, by arranging more zucchini slices then cheese and then sauce. Until all the zucchini slices are used and the dish is layered fully. Like a lasagne. Ending with tomato sauce on top covered with the grated cheeses. 

If eggplant is being added to this dish simply alternate the layers with the prepared eggplant slices. 

Once everything is layered and nestled in the baking dish. Place the dish in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until all the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Everything is melted and bubbled nicely after 30 minutes of baking. Remove the baked Zucchini Parmesan from the oven. Let stand for a few minutes and serve.

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. - JW