Powerhouse Pancakes

My kids love pancakes. My three year old asks for them, like, everyday. And did you know Bisquick has trans fat in it? It's found in the partially hydrogenated oils in the mix. Know where those end up? In your arteries. Fortunately, homemade pancake mix is super easy to make, stores well in the freezer, and is as quick to whip up as Bisquick pancakes on any morning of the week, which my makes my kids their hero for at least five minutes. And it's SO MUCH HEALTHIER. Best of all... they taste amazing. Seriously, I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but these are the best pancakes I've ever had. 

I've been working on the ratios for awhile, but I've finally got it nailed. And I've incorporated a bunch of powerhouse ingredients into it — oats, whole wheat flour, almonds, flax, and coconut oil. You're welcome.

POWERHOUSE PANCAKES

Ingredients: (makes 10 cups of dry mix)
3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup almond meal
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tb ground flax
4 Tb brown sugar
1 Tb baking soda
3 Tb baking powder
1 Tb salt
1 Tb vanilla extract
1 cup coconut oil

To make mix:

Put first nine ingredients (oats through salt) in your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix on low until well-blended (or gently mix by hand). With motor running, slowly pour in vanilla extract and coconut oil. Store in the freezer in a gallon-sized freezer bag or freezer-safe container.

To make pancakes:

Put 1 cup pancake mix, 3/4 cup milk (don't use almond milk), and 1 egg into a bowl. Whisk well and let stand for five minutes. Heat a griddle to 325º (or a pan on the oven to medium). Once it's very hot, drop your wet pancake mix onto the griddle in small rounds. Flip when bubbles begin to form and the edges start to look cooked. Remove from the griddle after they cook through and brown on the other side. This amount will make about ten pancakes (or more if making silver dollars).

Serve with real maple syrup. The kind that was tapped from an actual maple tree. Please, whatever you do, don't serve your kids that maple-flavored corn syrup monstrosity that Big Agro tries to pass off as food (I'm looking at you, Butterworth). Happy pancake mornings!

Basics: Guacamole

I call guacamole a basic because it's one of the five food groups. Did you know? Fruits & veggies, meats, grains, dairy, guac.

I mean, it should be. It is in my house.

My three year old calls it whack-a-mole-y. He says whack-a-mole-y makes his belly smile.

I throw this together on a weekly basis, and it doesn't even make it to the fridge. I have never seen avocados disappear so fast. Even my parents who don't care for guac gobble this up.

GUACAMOLE

Ingredients:

3 ripe Hass avocados, peeled & pitted

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2-4 Tb key lime juice

1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro

salt to taste

Optional add-ins:

minced red onion

seeded & minced jalapeño

seeded & diced tomatoes

To make:

Put avocados in a medium bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. I like the potato masher because it's bigger and gets the job done faster. Incidentally, I use my potato masher for everything BUT mashing potatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Start with 2 Tb of lime juice and taste. Add more if needed. My favorite juice to use is Nellie & Joe's key lime juice. It's on the juice aisle near the Real Lemon. My husband's stepmom lived in Key West for awhile and actually knows Nellie and Joe personally, but I'm not holding my breath for free lime juice anytime soon.

As far as add-ins go, throw in with whatever your family likes. Or what YOU like. You're the one who made it, for crying out loud. Don't let those people dictate your life like that. You want red onion? Add red onion. You want flaked salmon? Add flaked sal... no wait, don't. That's gross. 

Serve with tortilla chips and wine. Or drink your wine in the other room while your family is devouring the guacamole so you can have a few minutes' peace. Either way works just fine.

Basics: Mayonnaise

Lots of people don't like mayonnaise. I hope you're not one of them.

Actually, tons of people DO like mayo. Beaucoup dollars are spent on it every year. As in, $2 billion in the U.S. alone. It's the #1 condiment (and you thought it was ketchup, didn't you?).

That's a lot of moola to spend on whipped oil & eggs.

But fortunately, you can make your own. And it doesn't look (or taste!) like the white glop you find in a jar. It's really, REALLY good. Once you make your own, you won't go back. I'm telling you. It's good with a little Sriracha mixed in (I like to dip sweet potato fries in that mess) or with pesto stirred in and spread on sandwiches. Or mixed with a mashed avocado. Or stirred into tuna with some Lawry's. Seriously, the possibilities are endless.

MAYONNAISE
Ingredients:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 whole egg*
2 egg yolks*
1 Tb grainy mustard
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups oil (I usually use 1 cup of light olive oil + 1 cup of another coking oil. DON'T use extra virgin olive oil, it will NOT taste good and the color will be a weird yellow)

To make:
Put the first 5 ingredients in your food processor and turn on to blend. Add oil in a steady, very slow stream so it emulsifies as it's pouring in. This process usually takes about 5 minutes. I'd tell you to drink wine here but I almost always make mayo in the morning, and it's generally not advised to hit the bottle quite so early in the day, but you be the judge.

After all the oil is added, you're done. It will be lusciously whipped into yummy mayo. Taste it to check the seasoning, but I don't recommend putting a giant spoonful into your mouth, because... ew. It's mayo. Never eat mayo with a spoon. That honor is reserved for Nutella and Trader Joe's Cookie Butter.

*It's important to note that this recipe utilizes raw eggs. They are not nearly the threat that they're made out to be. We buy local eggs from a farmers market or from people we know. To further reduce contamination, you can wash the eggshells before you crack your eggs.

Basics: Pesto

Pesto is one of those things that sound scary to make yourself but it's actually as easy as dumping things into a food processor. Can you dump ingredients into a food processor? Then you're set. I mean, you also need to be able to turn it on, and handle a spatula, but I have faith in you.

PESTO
Ingredients:
2-3 cups of fresh basil*
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup walnuts, pine nuts, or sunflower seeds
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated romano cheese (or parmesan)
salt & pepper to taste

To make:
Dump the first three ingredients into your food processor. Turn it on and let it pulverize the ingredients. This is a good time to take a sip of that wine I know you're pretending you're not drinking.

With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow & steady stream until it's all incorporated. You will need to stop it and scrape the pesto down the sides with a spatula a couple of times.

Turn it off and add your cheese, salt and pepper. Pulse it until combined and then taste and check the seasoning. It might need more salt, unless you're like me and just pour tons of salt into everything. If you're not like me, then you'll probably need more salt.

Enjoy, refrigerate, or freeze. Note that it will turn brownish in the freezer. It helps to put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pesto before refrigerating or freezing to help with this.

*Sometimes when I'm feeling sneaky, I substitute bagged baby spinach for all or most of the basil. Sometimes I even use arugula. The kids won't notice. Your husband might, but your kids won't. Just make sure the spinach is really dry before starting this recipe.