Soaked Buttermilk Waffles

These waffles were nice and light and lacked the graininess typical of baked goods made with whole wheat flour.  I'm not sure if it was the soaking or the fact that I used whole wheat pastry flour.  I'm really becoming a fan of buttermilk -- it adds such a nice flavor.

The batter was a pretty typical texture-wise when I used whole wheat pastry flour.  Using regular whole wheat flour, the batter was much goopier than I expected.  The waffles still baked up fine though.

Soaked Buttermilk Waffles
Adapted from Simply Real

2 c whole wheat flour
2 c cultured buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 T melted butter

1) In a large bowl, combine flour and buttermilk; allow to sit at room temperature for 12 - 24 hours.
2) Preheat waffle iron; preheat oven to 200 degrees.
3) Whisk remaining ingredients into batter.
4) Prepare waffles according to waffle maker instructions.
5) As waffles finish, transfer to preheated oven (place directly on rack).
6) Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Tacos

This is a simple dish but such a great flavor combo that I feel compelled to post it.  We usually have these for dinner instead of breakfast :-)

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Tacos

4-5 eggs
splash of milk or cream
2-3 T chopped green onion
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1-2 T clarified butter
6 corn tortillas
1/4 c crumbled feta
hot sauce

1) In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs and cream; mix in green onion, cilantro, salt and pepper.
2) Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add eggs and scramble.
3) Place two tortillas at a time between wet paper towels and microwave for 30-40 seconds, until soft.
4) Spoon eggs onto tortillas; top with feta and a dash of hot sauce.

Soaked Buttermilk Pancakes

Soaking grains prior to using them in recipes is supposed to aid in digestion, and I decided that this recipe would be a good starting point for my experiments.  Regardless of the potential health benefits, these are mighty tasty pancakes, especially given that I did not use any white flour or sugar. 

Soaked Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c whole wheat flour
1 - 1 1/2 c cultured buttermilk
1 egg
3 T butter, melted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
blueberries, if desired

1) Combine flour and 1 c buttermilk in a medium-sized bowl; cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.
2) Add remaining ingredients (except blueberries) and mix well.
3) If necessary, add additional buttermilk to achieve desired consistency.
4) Melt butter in a hot skillet; cook pancakes until golden brown on each side (if using, add blueberries immediately after pouring the batter into the skillet).
5) Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting

Perfection. 

Recipes courtesy of AllRecipes and the Organic Valley cream cheese box (both slightly modified, of course!)

Cinnamon Rolls

4 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 c warm water
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 c butter, melted, divided
4 1/2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1) In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water; let stand until creamy (about 10 mins).
2) In a small saucepan, heat the buttermilk until warm to the touch.
3) Pour the buttermilk and 1/2 c butter into the yeast mixture; mix well.
4) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.
5) Add the flour to the yeast mixture in four parts until a soft dough forms.
6) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 20 strokes.
7) Cover dough and let rest for 15 mins.
8) In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 c butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
9) On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a large rectangle.
10) Spread with butter/sugar mixture over the dough, all the way to the edges.
11) Roll dough into a log; slice into 1 inch pieces.
12) Place pieces on a lightly greased baking pan; allow some space between the rolls.
13) Cover and let rise for 30 mins.
14) Preheat oven to 400 degrees; bake rolls for 20-25 mins, until golden brown.
15) Let cool 2-3 mins before frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting

5 oz cream cheese, softened
6 T butter, softened
1/4 c sugar
1 T maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 - 1 c powdered sugar, to taste and desired consistency (optional - I used 1/4 c)

1) In an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
2) Add granulated sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract; beat until well blended.
3) Add powdered sugar in 1/4 c intervals, beating well after each addition.
4) If necessary, chill until desired consistency is reached.

Oatmeal Cookie Muffins

I was perusing food blogs this morning looking for dinner recipes for this week when I got distracted by this muffin recipe from How Sweet It Is.  I made muffins immediately.  They turned out great and I definitely plan to make them again.  I would have preferred chocolate chips to raisins but Jason has some strange aversion to chocolate in breakfast food.

Oatmeal Cookie Muffins

1 c oats
1 c milk, divided
1 egg
1/3 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c butter, room temperature
1 c whole wheat pastry flour (I substituted 1/2 c whole wheat and 1/2 c all-purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c raisins (or chocolate chips!)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a small bowl, combine oats and 1/2 c milk; set aside.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar.
4) Whisk in vanilla extract and butter; small lumps may remain.
5) Mix in oat mixture, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
6) Add remaining 1/2 c milk and stir until smooth; fold in raisins.
7) Spoon batter into greased muffin tin (makes 12); bake for 15-18 minutes.

Granola

We've been enjoying this granola on top of our yogurt recently.  I've had some trouble figuring out the correct cooking temp and time, so use the below as a guideline but keep a close eye on your granola so it doesn't burn.  I accidentally bought salted sunflower seeds, so I've been leaving out the additional salt.

Granola

1 1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c chopped nuts
1/4 c unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 T wheat germ
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 T unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c pure maple syrup (honey would probably work too)
1/2 c dried fruits


1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2) Butter a cookie sheet.
3) In a medium bowl, combine oats, almonds, seeds, wheat germ, cinnamon and salt.
4) In a small bowl, combine butter and maple syrup.
5) Pour the butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
6) Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
7) Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8) Break up any clumps while still warm.
9) Let cool; stir in dried fruits.
10) Store in airtight container.

Banana Nut Bread

This is one of our breakfast stand-bys. We've started experimenting with the recipe to make it not quite so unhealthy :-)

Banana Nut Bread

1 c butter (slightly softened)
2 c sugar
2 c overripe bananas, mashed
4 eggs
2 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 c walnuts, chopped

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease two 9" x 5" bread pans.
2) Cream the butter and sugar in the mixer.
3) Add the bananas and eggs; mix until smooth.
4) In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
5) Add the flour to the banana mixture; mix until combined.
6) Stir in walnuts.
7) Divide batter evenly between loaf pans.
8) Bake for 60-70 minutes.
9) Wrap cooled loaves in foil to store.

Healthier Alternative: Substitute 1/2 c applesauce for 1/2 c butter; reduce sugar to 1 c; substitute 1 c whole wheat flour for 1 c all-purpose flour.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I had buttermilk left over from making Buttermilk Biscuits and this pancake recipe seemed to be a good way to use it all up.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or slightly less if using table salt)
3 T sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 c buttermilk
4 T unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the skillet
blueberries or chocolate chips (optional)

1) Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2) Add the eggs, buttermilk and butter; whisk until just combined. The batter should have small to medium lumps.
3) Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Pour in 1/4 c for each pancake.
4) While batter is still wet, sprinkle on blueberries or chocolate chips, if desired.
5) Flip; serve.

Light and Crispy Waffles

These waffles definitely lived up to their claim of light and crispy, but I think the crispiness really came from putting them in the oven. As this recipe is a bit time intensive, I might try the oven thing with an easier recipe to see if I can achieve the same crispiness. The recipe below is as written. I had to make a few subs based on what I had on hand. I had no buttermilk and only 3/4 c whole milk, so I supplemented it with 1/4 c water. I replaced 1 T milk/water with 1 T white vinegar.

Waffles

3/4 c flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 c buttermilk
1/4 c milk
6 T oil
1 egg, separated
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees; preheat waffle iron.
2) Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
3) Combine the milk, buttermilk, oil and egg yolk in a liquid measuring cup; whisk with a fork.
4) In a small bowl, beat the egg white with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
5) Gradually add the sugar to the egg white; beat until thick and glossy.
6) Stir the vanilla into the egg white.
7) Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk just until blended.
8) Fold in the egg white mixture with a spatula.
9) Pour batter into a hot waffle iron in the recommended amount (2/3 c in my case).
10) Keep finished waffles in the warm oven directly on the rack. Do not stack the waffles, or they will become soggy.
9)

Apple Pancakes with Apple Topping

We had four apples (3 macintoshs and 1 mystery apple) from the farmer's market that I wanted to use up before we go on vacation tomorrow, so I made apple pancakes for breakfast this morning. The pancakes were a bit bland by themselves; however, they were fantastic with real maple syrup and the apple topping.

Apple Pancakes

1/4 c butter, melted
1 egg
1 c milk
1 c shredded apple
1 1/4 c flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 T sugar
butter for the skillet

1. Combine butter, egg, milk and apple.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar.
3. Stir flour mixture into the apple mixture, just until combined.
4. Fry pancakes in a hot, buttered skillet.

Apple Topping

2 small-medium apples, peeled and chopped
2 T butter
2 tsp lemon juice
pinch of sugar, to taste
pinch of brown sugar, to taste

1. Mix apples with lemon juice.
2. In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
3. Add apples and sugars.
4. Simmer over med-low heat until apples are soft.

Baked Oatmeal

We make this recipe all. the. time. J likes to eat his breakfast at work, and since this reheats well, it fits the bill. The first time I made this I followed the recipe to a tee. It was very good but a bit too sweet for my tastes. I've reduced the brown sugar and usually just add a handful of the various mix-ins. I've also experimented with different proportions of milk/applesauce, depending on what I had on hand. It's always turned out fine. I even supplemented with water one time.

Baked Oatmeal

2 c rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 c applesauce
1 egg, beaten
walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries, etc.

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Combine oats, baking powder and brown sugar in a baking dish (roughly 8x8).
3) Stir in a handful of each of the mix-ins.
4) Add the milk, applesauce and egg; mix well.
5) Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown.

Crockpot Yogurt

So I made yogurt for the second time today, and I'm sad that it didn't work out. The first time I used a quart of whole, regular (non-organic) milk from Wegmans because I couldn't find organic in that size. This time I used Homestead Creamery milk from Whole Foods. I bought it because it comes in a glass bottle which really appealed to me. Even though the milk is labeled "pasteurized" (vs. "ultra-pasteurized"), I found through subsequent research that they heat their milk to higher than required temperatures (170 deg vs 145 deg). I'm thinking that's why my yogurt didn't turn out this time. It makes me mad because it was a waste of expensive milk. Anyways, I will try again in a few weeks with a different brand.

The first time I made this, I didn't plan properly, and I let the yogurt sit for 12.5 hours (instead of 8). It turned out fine. I saved about 1/4 c from my first batch and froze it to use in my next batch. I read here that freezing does not destroy the cultures.

Here's a way to make yogurt without the crockpot. I think I'll give it a try next time. This crockpot recipe turned out great the first time, but I haven't been able to replicate that success for some reason.

Crockpot Yogurt

1 qt (4 c) milk (not ultra-pasteurized!)
2-3 T plain yogurt with live active cultures

1) Put milk in the crockpot and heat on low for 2.5 hours.
2) Turn crockpot off, wrap the crockpot in a few towels and let sit for 3 hours.
3) Ladle 1-2 scoops of milk from the crockpot into a bowl and whisk in the yogurt.
4) Stir the mixture back into the milk in the crockpot.
5) Wrap the crockpot in towels and let sit for 8 hours.
6) For greek-style yogurt, strain the finished yogurt through cheese cloth.