Breakfast: Oatmeal Pancakes and Buttermilk Syrup

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I start my day everyday with a cup of coffee.  It is important ritually and physically.  I love a dark roast with nutty flavors and a good amount of milk.  Perfection.  Sometimes I actually think about the morning cup of Joe the night before and look forward to it.  Is that going too far?  Maybe.  We all have our routines that keep life right!  This one is particularly important for me because I am not a morning person without it.  I am not really sure I am a morning person with it.  Coffee and the morning paper.  Yes, I actually hold a newspaper in my hands and read it.  No e-reader yet but I know it is coming.  Then there is breakfast!

Everyday breakfast is usually a light affair for me.  Something whole grain and nutritious such as yogurt topped with granola and/or fruit or whole grain toast with a smear of jam are among my favorites.  There are couple of breakfasts that I have made for years when the family is around or we have guests and this recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes tops the list.  They are packed with delicious rolled oats and are simple to make.  I like to serve them with maple syrup or golden syrup. For an extra special touch, I make buttermilk syrup which can easily be found in various recipe sites on the net.  I wonder who really is responsible for this buttermilk syrup recipe because it is really, really good.  I have never seen it in a cookbook.  I would love to know who came up with this incredible sweet concoction because I would have never thought of putting this combination of ingredients together.  I do know, it is delicious and complements these pancakes nicely.

Sweet Corn Pancakes

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Corn pancakes made with fresh corn. Doesn't that sound like the perfect summer breakfast dish?  Where I live people are poised and ready for that first plump, sweet ear of corn and if the weather permits, we have fresh corn through September.  I grew up preferring white corn and white cornmeal and felt yellow corn was inferior.  When I was younger I was told that white corn was for people and yellow corn was for the animals.  Now I know that is just silly.  They taste very different and it is really just a matter of preference.  White corn such as silver king is sweet and delicate whereas yellow corn varieties such as the hybrid mirai  are firmer, sweet and has more of a corn taste.  There is also bi-colored corn that is a bit of both worlds.   These days I enjoy them all.  The only animals I need to feed are my family and they readily line up for fresh corn any way they can get it, grilled, boiled or creamed.

French Toast stuffed with blueberry goat cheese filling

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It was a spontaneous moment. It will be Sunday morning tomorrow and what better time to have something indulgent.  I had a few fresh blueberries leftover and about 3 to 4 ounces of Chevre goat cheese and I was standing in front of fresh bread at the farmers market.  The raisin studded Challah just called out to me.  It had been a while since I indulged in making French toast so it was time.

Lemon Ricotta Souffle Pancakes with Berries

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Pancakes are a food that transcends cultures.  There are too many versions that vary from culture to culture to name them all.  In North America, it is a classic breakfast food.  Pancakes can grace special occasions or a cozy weekend breakfast.  It is comfort food at its best and for many there are memories associated with them.  My family has spent many a Sunday making our favorite pancake recipes, consuming them with maple syrup and bacon or sausages.  Each person can be accommodated easily for likes and dislikes which can be rather important in families with picky eaters. Additions to a favorite pancake batter is a simple as sprinkling fresh or frozen berries, bananas, grated apples, nuts, granola, chocolate chips, or dried fruit over the top of the pancake.  Or just leave it plain, simple and completely delicious.  The options are almost endless! It can be quite a family event to make pancakes while those hungry mouths are waiting to be fed.

Fresh Strawberry Scones

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Strawberries are everywhere.  They hit the markets somewhere around February 14, Valentines Day, and continue to increase in volume and drop in price.  The first strawberries that are available sadly are usually flavorless.  So I wait.  Fruit in season is undeniably the best.  That can't be argued with.  In season on the northeastern coast is June and the season is short.  That is depressing.  There is not too much that is in season right now but maybe celery and asparagus.  So Plant City, Florida is not too bad.  It's still in the US and on the east coast.  The weather south is warmer than here, and right now - I am jealous.

Morning Glory Muffins

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Muffins.  Most muffins are too much like cake for me.  They seem more like a treat than breakfast.  I like hearty for breakfast.  Nutritious helps.  Foods like homemade granola with plain yogurt, oatmeal made with steel cut oats,  hot cereals made with a multi-grain cereal or a whole grain slice of toast with some delicious jam or fruit spread on it.  These are the types of breakfast foods that make me feel good and gets me going.  Of all the muffins I have made and tried, Morning Glory Muffins are presently my favorite.  How can you really go wrong with a name like that?!

I searched for the healthiest Morning Glory Muffin recipe I could find and then started tweaking. I am very happy with the results and am sad to say not one made it to the freezer.  Nutrient dense recipes that taste good become staples in my recipe files.  I like the phrase "nutrient dense".  It is a concept we can all live by, literally. 

Chunky, Healthy and Delicious.

Even though I love hearty, healthy recipes, I do want to be true to what foods are suppose to be.  Cookies are supposed to taste like cookies,  cakes taste like cakes and so on.  Healthy only goes so far and then the recipe is nothing like it is supposed to be or something else entirely.  I am  not willing to give up all purpose flour or white sugar because they have their place in baking when you are trying to achieve a certain texture and/or taste which for me is also important.

Coconut Bread

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This post was my first post on HonestCooking.com March 15, 2011.  I am very proud and honored to be contributing to this food magazine site that is headed by Kalle Bergman.  It has a flavor I have not seen before.  Go see for yourself and check it out.

On March 1, I was reading a New York Times article on coconut oils, Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World, which was stating how vegans and persons with specific dietary needs  had been using virgin coconut oil to make cakes and cake frosting, pie crusts, baked goods and sautes to achieve better quality and flavor.  It also mentioned that coconut oil is not the villain that it has been made out to be.  It was the hydrogenated version, along with all the other hydrogenated oils that have been produced, that was really bad for you.  Coconut oil got really picked on and tossed out of the party. There are other sources that suggest virgin coconut oil is a healthy oil and that societies that use them heavily in their diets do not have higher levels of heart disease than areas that consume a western diet like in the US, they are actually lower.  There have been some long term studies in the US that concluded coconut oil does not increase heart disease.  There is a lot of interesting science behind these results.  I think this is all fascinating since we have been told to stay away from these foods because they are evil and they will kill you. I should be enthralled, but instead of pondering this interesting nutritional information (info on saturated fats not being so bad for you has been coming out slowly for several years now), I had an epiphany, OK just an aha moment. Maybe coconut oil is exactly what that coconut bread that I made 7 to 10 years ago needed.  It was very lackluster in taste and I was soooo disappointed.  Would coconut oil add that extra level of flavor so the bread would taste like coconut, because why make a coconut bread that doesn't really taste like coconut?  That seems like wasted calories to me.

Amazingly. I knew exactly which cookbook of mine had the recipe (I have a few cookbooks!) and went right to it and then to the store for unrefined, virgin coconut oil.  It is now apparent that I never really gave up on this bread recipe, even though I should have after the first try.  It was really not good.  Maybe coconut has a "special place in my heart" and it was meant to be!

Breakfast Sandwich

Tweet So that time of the year is here.  The start of the school year.  The kids are excited.  Summer seems to have ended even though September weather is usually quite promising.  Still warm, sunny and cooler nights (at least on the Eastern seaboard) and fall doesn't truly start until the Autumnal Equinox which is September 22 at 11:09 pm.  I have always enjoyed beach trips in September.  More nature, bluer waters, fewer people and really nice weather . . . lower prices.  I am starting to get lost in a fantasy and missing my point which is starting the day off with breakfast.  It is important to "break fast" which simply refers to eating after "fasting" overnight since your last meal and for many would be roughly 12 hours.  Many studies indicate that having breakfast helps control weight and effects metabolism.  It is also believed that it increases the ability to concentrate.  And I do believe that, but for me has to be with a cup of morning joe.  In fact, coffee should come before breakfast especially if I am having anything to do with preparing it.  Lord knows what the Mom-before-she's-had-a-cup-of-coffee would actually make.

 It seems everyone is always in a hurry and if you can carry breakfast on the morning commute to school or even work, why not a breakfast sandwich.  Fold it up in a napkin or wax paper and take it with you.  I had a hankering for eggs one morning and I was on the run.  I love scrambled eggs with buttered toast because they just belong together.  I had some bacon, some end of season sun golds, left over goat cheese, basil and if I had some baby spinach that would have gone in there, too.  I really just used what I had on hand and lets face it, in the real world a toast and scrambled egg sandwich would work fine.  Oh, and don't forget to butter the toast like I did.  Silly me.  I think this is a great "to go" breakfast sandwich, especially if it was in a pita or in a tortilla as a wrap.