Kitchen Comforts

Super Smoothie

Plain homemade yogurt
coconut milk
frozen peaches
frozen pineapple

All in the blender and whir it around. Yum.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 TBS oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Whir all ingredients in a blender for 2 minutes and fry on a buttered skillet. Serve with Eggnogg n Tea with a splash of eggnog:-)

Buttermilk Blender Pancakes

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These are based on the Breakfast cookbook from Sue Gregg. Usually, I make them with oats. Happy, happy me--pancakes with no wheat!
              AMOUNT: 3 - 4 Servings ( 8--6" pancakes or 3 to 4--7"  waffles )
             
              1. Place in blender; blend at highest speed 3 minutes (less in a Vita-Mix or  Bosch), while adding enough liquid to maintain a vortex:
                

· 1 cup buttermilk or yogurt thinned with water to same consistency or 1 1/4+ cups for waffles--a thinner batter is best  (or non-dairy alternative + 1 Tbsp. vinegar

· 1  tablespoon oil (optional, but recommended)

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  (optional )

· 1 cup uncooked rolled oats or whole oats or 1 cup brown rice (or go half and half) (These  are raw whole uncooked grains, not flour!)             

              2. Cover blender and let stand at room temperature several hours or overnight for  improved nutrition. (Optional but recommended.)
  3. Preheat griddle on medium-high (until water drops sizzle on surface), or waffle iron at highest   temperature.
              4. Just before baking, add and reblend  for 1 to 3 or more minutes until smooth:

· 1 egg

· 1 tablespoon flax seed (Optional for added nutritional value)

· additional liquid (as  needed to keep batter churning)             
    5. Blend in thoroughly, but briefly, "sifting" these through a small strainer (assist with rubber spatula, if needed):

· 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste (Believe it or not, a little salt enhances a  sense of sweetness in whole grain baking It overcomes the "flat" taste feeling.)

1 teaspoon baking  powder (Optional:With the Two Stage Process the baking  powder can be omitted and the baking soda increased to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon as needed).              Technique tip: If you can successfully drop the soda & salt  into the spinning blades at the  bottom of the vortex, you can omit  sifting.
              6. Bake on hot griddle or in waffle  iron (3 to 5 minutes until crisp), lightly buttered as needed.

Pumpkin Bread

                                                                

• 2 (15 ounce) can organic pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup melted butter
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups white sugar  ((I use unbleached)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I combine unbleached flour and whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

                                                                                         

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
2. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
3. Usually, we make muffins. This recipe makes two dozen normal-sized muffins.

Printer Friendly PDF: Download Pumpkinbread

Birthday Breakfast

Favorite Family Granola

Granola is great fun to make; the variations are endless and there's much scooping and dumping.  It bakes slowly and fills the air with a heavenly aroma.  Then, the soft grains magically cool to crisp, crunchy yumminess.  This is a much healthier and much less expensive alternative to packaged breakfast cereal, a great take-along snack, and a vital component to an elegant tea time yogurt parfait (just layer in a pretty glass with fresh fruit and yogurt). Play with the recipe several times to come up with your family's ultimate favorite granola.

Favorite Family Granola

6 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped almonds or pecans
3/4 cup coconut or canola oil
1/2 cup real or maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
½ cup flax seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
Up to 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Spray a 13 X 18-inch baking tray or a big roasting pan with nonstick spray.

1. Place the oats, sunflower seeds, and almonds or pecans, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and coconut in a large bowl.
2. Combine the oil, syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, and pour this in. Mix thoroughly. This is truly a great recipe for thorough toddler participate: scoop, dump, mix with clean hands!
3. Stir in the salt, and mix throughly with your hands.
4. Bake for 40 or 50 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.
5. Crumble in sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven. Dump onto a tray to cool. Add any post-baking variations before it cools. The granola will get crunchy as it cools!
6. If there's any left (there never is in my house), store it in a tightly closed jar in the freezer.

Variations to add before baking. This list really could be endless.:

1 cup barley flakes
1 cup oat bran

1 cup raw wheat germ

1 cup millet

Up to 1 cup other kinds of nuts, chopped

(You might have to adjust the wet ingredients depending on the quantity of dry. Just play with this.

Variations to add after baking:

1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup roasted soy nuts

Dried fruit
Toasted wheat germ

Breakfast in Bed

As a child, I detested breakfast.  I could not choke down eggs if my life depended on it.  I was known to pour orange juice down the drain when no one was looking.  When I was first pregnant, I learned what it was to need breakfast.  So I developed quite a repertoire of smoothies, the only thing I could bring myself to eat (drink?) in the morning (food for another day's blog).  After my last baby was born, several of my friends introduced me to hearty breakfasts with plenty of protein. They were all under the influence of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions and they all had remarkably healthy large families.  I began to see breakfast in a whole new light.

Now, every morning that my husband is home, he gets breakfast in bed. Yep, it's a well-established routine.

Lest you think this a purely altruistic act, let me share some of my motives. He's not a morning person.  Waking up is hard to do.  I'm totally a morning person (but don't try to talk to me after 9:30 at night).  When I began to cook hearty breakfasts, I also began to make great messes in the kitchen first thing in the morning.  Seven children and their morning chaos, great messes in the kitchen, and morning in general:  not a good combination for someone who is not a morning person.  Better to bring Daddy a pretty tray in his bed.  That way, he must sit up (no snooze alarm when you can smell breakfast beside you) and he can re-enter the world in relative peace. 

Breakfast is usually some kind of eggs, hashed browns or a whole grain bread, juice and tea (Irish Breakfast is his preference) or coffee.  On this morning, I timed the endeavor.  I made my sweetheart a ham and egg omelette, with some leftover Baklava that our friend Barbara had delivered especially for him, whipped orange juice, and a cinnamon coffee latte.  The whole process took nine minutes from the first crack of the egg to the climb upstairs with a steaming tray.  Not a bad investment in morning harmony!

Rainy Day Breakfast

It's a cold, rainy Saturday morning and I know a seven-year-old boy who will be so sorry to learn that the beginning of the soccer season has been delayed yet again.  Stephen's favorite breakfast is a comforting pumpkin pudding that fills the house with a heavenly aroma.  Hopefully, it will take the chill off a dreary morning for my sad little boy.

Pumpkin Pudding

makes 12 servings

2 16 oz. cans organic pumpkin
scant tsp. salt
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
6 free range organic eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups milk or 3 cups coconut milk
2 tsp. vanilla

Fresh whipped cream for topping and freshly grated nutmeg.

Half-fill a 11"x14" pan with water and place it on a rack in the center of the oven. You'll probably need two pans, depending on your ramekins.  I've doubled this recipe to feed my crowd. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat ramekins with coconut oil or spray with nonstick spray. I don't have ramekins so I use oven-proof stoneware mugs.

Combine pumpkin, salt, sugar, and spices and blend until well mixed. Slowly pour in the eggs and blend. Pour in the milk and vanilla and mix well.

Spoon the pudding into the prepared ramekins. Gently place the ramekins in the pan of hot water in the oven.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the pudding comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and place the ramekins on a rack to cool. This pudding is really best at room temperature.

Top with freshly whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg.

--adapted from Sunlight Cafe