I have a number of pancake recipes that we like, but this is the staple one that everyone has enjoyed for a long time.  They always turn out great, and a number of my kids friends have also enjoyed them on Sunday mornings with us when they’ve slept over.  This doesn’t soak the flour in advance which is preferable nutritionally; when I do that, I use a different recipe, though this would probably work fine soaked, too.

Perfect Pancakes

• 2 c. flour (we use freshly ground whole wheat)
• 2 T. sugar (I use sucanat)
• 2 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• milk to make pourable batter (you can also use water if you don’t want to make it dairy)

 Combine all of the dry ingredients.  Stir in the egg and milk, and stir lightly.  Use enough milk so that the batter is pourable – if you use less, the batter will be heavy and the pancakes won’t cook through.  If you make it too thin, the pancakes will be flat and not very substantial.  Cook on a lightly greased griddle (my mom was generous enough to buy me one a couple of years ago when she saw how long it took me in a standard skillet because of the number of pancakes I make!).  You can also use a regular frying pan or skillet.  When the top is bubbly with air bubbles, that’s the sign that they’re ready to be turned.  Flip them over, and cook a little longer until done.

We like to eat these fresh from the griddle with butter, plain yogurt, agave nectar, and some sliced fruit like strawberries if we have them.  If you have any leftovers, they are great as rollups for a snack or a quick lunch the next day – spread them with peanut butter and banana or shredded carrot, and then roll them.   

Avivah

Cauliflower popcorn isn’t as exciting as it sounds, but I think a fun name makes it more fun to eat, don’t you?  Especially for kids.  I didn’t make up the recipe title, though; that’s what it was called when I found it online.

We made this today for the first time, and since I had to leave just when everyone was having dinner, I asked them to set some aside for me.  It was a good thing I did, because they gobbled all the rest of it up!  And we used 6 small heads of cauliflower just for this one meal – now you know why I like buying food at great prices (if you remember, I spent .39 for head each last week) – with our family, we’d either have to eat a lot less or spend a lot more!  My husband reminded me when I commented with surprise that it was all gone that our kids like veggies, and they usually finish off whatever I put out, which is good, so I’m not complaining!

Here’s the very easy recipe.

Cauliflower Popcorn:

• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (about the size of popped popcorn)
• 4 T. olive oil
• 1 t. sea salt

Combine the olive oil and salt, then add the cauliflower pieces to the bowl you have the oil mix in, and toss thoroughly.  Put it on a baking sheet and roast it at 425 degrees for an hour, turning 3 – 4 times while it cooks, until each piece is golden brown.

If you decide to double this recipe (or make even more than that!), you won’t need to use increase the amount of oil proportionately, because you’ll end up with most of it at the bottom of the pan if you do.  I can’t give a definite rule for this, but I’d think that for the recipe we made tonight, about a third the amount of oil called for was necessary.

Avivah

French toast is a great way to use up challah leftover from Shabbos, so we often have it on Sunday mornings.  We discovered this recipe last week from my new cookbook, The Joy of Cooking, a Chanuka gift from my mother.  My kids loved it, and this is now their preferred way to make it.  You’ll need a waffle iron for it, and if you don’t have one, I don’t suggest running out to get one.  I have one thanks to a friend, who mentioned when I was visiting that she had an extra one for dairy, and offered it to me.

Waffle French Toast

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 T. melted butter
• 1/8 t. salt

Mix this all up.  Then take six pieces of bread (if it’s a little stale it’s better than very fresh), and dip each one in the egg mixture.  Put it in the waffle iron, close the lid, and cook until the bread is golden brown.  This makes six pieces of French toast.

As you can see, this is basically just regular French toast but made in a waffle iron, but the kids think it’s so much tastier and fun to eat!  It has no sugar, which is a plus, and they didn’t feel like they wanted to add any syrup or sweetener to eat it with.

Avivah

I made this yesterday and it was so quick and simple that I had to share it with you!

We had an excess of seasoned tomato sauce taking up room in the fridge, and since it was used for dairy, I didn’t want to can it for later use, and I didn’t want to freeze it because then I’d have to remember it was in the freezer so it wouldn’t take up room for ages, forgotten!  When I was thinking about what to do with it, I remembered an idea I read somewhere.  I’m sorry I don’t have an exact recipe, but it was more of a concept than a recipe.

Basically, you take a can of tomato paste, and then fill the can with milk two or three times to thin it.  If you use a tiny can, you’ll end up with enough soup for one person.  I had maybe 10 cups of sauce (?) that was already thinned out so it wasn’t paste-like.  (If you have tomato sauce, that’s fine, too, you just won’t need to dilute it with milk as much.)  I added a half gallon of milk (I don’t know what came over me last month, because I bought two half gallons of fat free milk, which I never do – but it came in handy today), a little salt and pepper, and heated it up.  So easy!  And so fast!  And – the kids loved it! 

Usually I would use regular milk, but this was a good way to get rid of the flavorless fat free stuff.  You can also add cream, or a mixture of cream and milk, according to your preference.  If you do add cream, be sure to add it at the very end, and only heat it gently once the cream has been added, or the high heat will curdle it. 

Avivah

This morning I had biscuits scheduled for breakfast, but was feeling under the weather and ended up sleeping in (I kept waking up and saying I would be right down, and falling soundly asleep three minutes later 🙂 – I ended up waking up at 1:15 pm, and felt a lot better when I did!  Fortunately for me, this is the one day my dh is home in the mornings, so he was able to supervise everyone – otherwised, I would have dragged myself out of bed).  I didn’t prepare the dough last night before I went to bed, and when my dd14 checked my menu plan, saw what was scheduled, and didn’t find the dough in the fridge, she decided to make a different biscuit recipe so that breakfast would be on time in spite of me not being involved.  I asked her later on what recipe she chose, and she told me this one, the only other biscuit recipe that I have in  my notebook except for the one I already shared with you.  The reason I keep this is because it’s quick, and that’s just what was needed this morning!

Nearly Instant Biscuits

• 6 c. flour
• 3 T. baking powder
• 1 T. salt
• 1 c. shortening (I use butter or coconut oil)
• 2 c. sour milk (or 2 c. regular milk with 4 t. vinegar added, or 2 c. of plain yogurt thinned to milk-like consistency)

Mix the dry ingredients.  Then cut in shortening.  Stir in liquid until dough is soft. You can roll the dough out about a half inch thick or so, and cut it into circles with a biscuit cutter (or a glass, which you’re more likely to have around).  Or you can do what I do, which is take small amounts of dough, roll it between my palms into a ball, and then slightly flatten it.  Put the biscuits on a greased pan, and bake at 425 – 450 degrees for ten minutes or until golden brown.

This makes a nice amount – a recipe like this was enough for our family breakfast with just a couple left over.  It makes about 30 – 35 medium sized biscuits, or 20 large biscuits.

Avivah

This is a recipe for spinach calzones that I’m planning to adapt to make into broccoli since I have a lot of broccoli around this week, but I’ll include the measurements for spinach, as well.

• 1 – 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I’ll use the broccoli stems, shredded and sauteed with onions – I save the stems for things like this, and measure it after it’s cooked)
• 1 1/4 c. ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 lb pizza dough (I’ll include my recipe for this further down)
• 2 T. milk
• 2 c. marinara sauce

Mix spinach, ricotta, egg, cheese, and spices.

Roll dough into a large square, cut into four equal pieces.  Roll thin so each square is 10 x 10 inches.  Cut square on diagonal to form triangles.  Place scoop of filling to left of center of triangle.  Fold in half to form small triangle.  Seal edges. 

Transfer to baking sheet (I cover a pan with parchment paper).  Cut two slits on top of each, brush top with milk.  Bake at 425 degrees until golden, about 15 – 18 minutes.  Serve with marinara sauce.  I think you can easily adapt this to whatever flavor calzone you like by switching the ingredients you want to use for the spinach. 

Pizza Dough – I have two recipes I use – I’ll share this one now since it’s the one I plan to use when I make the calzones

• 2 c. warm water
• 2 t. honey/sucanat
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 t. salt
• 4 c. flour – I use all whole wheat, but you can mix the proportions according to your taste
• 2 1/2 t. yeast

Mix all ingredients, and let dough rise.  You can make this early in the day when your child is napping or you have time and energy to spare, and put it all together later on in the day.  This can be rolled into eight individual pizzas or 1 – 2 regular sized pizzas.  If you’re making pizza, spread sauce on top, add toppings.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, until crust is golden. 

Avivah

Last night we had these oat walnut burgers for dinner; my kids always enjoy them.  My oldest son asked me what it is that makes them taste like they have meat in them, though they’re vegetarian (vegan, actually).  I think it’s the combination of flavors more than one particular ingredient that does it, but I’ll give you the recipe and you can make your own guesses.

Avivah’s Oat Walnut Burgers

• 4 c. water
• 1/2 c. Bragg’s amino acids (available at health food stores)
• 1 c. finely chopped walnuts (I buy the halves or pieces and whiz them in the food processor)
• 1/4 c. nutritional yeast (I usually don’t have this around so I leave it out)
• 1 T. dried basil
• 1 t. onion powder
• 1 t. sage
• 4 c. rolled oats

Combine all ingredients except for oats and boil.  Stir in oats once mix boils.  Remove from heat, let cool.  Make patties – I use a 1/4 c. mixture for each burger, and flatten it slightly once it’s on the baking pan.  Bake on oiled sheet (I used parchment paper instead) and bake for 12- 15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until browned.

Avivah

I’ve made a number of biscuit recipes in the past, but this is hands down my favorite, and I got rid of all the other recipes I had written down once I made this one a few times. I got it from someone on an online discussion board, and she called them Grander Biscuits.  That’s what I call them too, but they’re really good, and worth the extra step of refrigerating overnight (which most biscuit recipes don’t call for).  I make the dough before I go to sleep, and put them in the oven when I get up, and they’re ready in time for breakfast. 

• 1 c. warm water
• 4 1/2 t. yeast
• 2 c. buttermilk (or 2 c. regular milk, with a tablespoon of vinegar for each cup of milk, or you can thin plain yogurt with water until it’s the consistency of buttermilk)
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 4 t. baking powder
• 1/2 c. sugar (I use sucanat)
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 6 1/2 c. flour (I use all whole wheat)

Mix in the above order.  Refrigerate overnight.  Flour hands, shape into rolls.  Put into greased pan (can be pretty close together, they’ll rise into each other but that’s okay), and bake at 375 – 400 degrees until golden. 

Eat fresh from the oven with butter.  Mmm!

Avivah

I love polenta, and so do my kids.  It’s a quick and easy dish that lends itself to different variations for any meal of the day – I make it for breakfast or sometimes lunch. If you buy it in the ready made rolls in the store, it’s expensive, especially since it’s considered a specialty Italian food, but it’s cheap and simple to make on your own. 

• 1 c. coarse cornmeal (the texture is important, otherwise you’ll end up with cornmeal mush – you can get it in the bulk section of health food stores or in regular grocery stores in the Spanish food section – I buy the 2 lb package from Goya)
• 1 c. cold water
• 1 t. salt
• 3 c. hot water

 Combine the cornmeal and cold water in a bowl – this is to keep it from clumping up in the next step (though my kids were disappointed when I learned this and there weren’t any clumps in the polenta – “but we liked the lumps!”).  In a pot, combine the salt and hot water, and bring to a boil.  Stir in the cornmeal mix and bring to a boil. Continue stirring; after it boils, reduce heat to low.  Simmer ten minutes, then serve. 

I add butter to this after it’s done – not while it’s cooking, because the boiling cornmeal bubbles furiously (I once heard it described as ‘volcanically’ :)) and if there was oil in it, it would be a painful burn if any ended up splattering your hand.  I also like to do things the fastest way possible, so I boil the salt and water, and cook the cornmeal at a high temperature until it’s finished, stirring all the time.  Oh, the best spoon to use when stirring this would be a long handled wooden spoon.  I don’t lower the heat or simmer it at all. 

The way I serve this for breakfast is in bowls, with some butter, and sometimes shredded cheese.  I used to sometimes have grits for breakfast as a kid which was similar to this; I loved it then, and I still like it!  You can also put it in a pan to cool.  It will congeal into the shape of the pan.  This is how the ready made polenta is sold, in congealed round rolls (the shape of sausage).  Once it’s cold, you slice it, and can fry it, bake it with toppings, roast it – there are lots of options.  You can use it as a base for a lot of things, like a tomato sauce with cheese or browned ground meat or roasted veggies on top.  I once was out of lasagna noodles, so I made poured a thin layer of hot polenta into two pans, and let them cool.  Then I used each layer in place of noodles.  It didn’t taste like typical lasagna, but it was tasty and showed me how flexible and creative you can be with polenta. 

I have yet to successfully adapt this to the traditional foods approach I usually use when cooking – cornmeal should really be soaked ahead of time with lime (necessary to release the niconitinamide – vitamin B3, which otherwise stays bound up with the corn), similar to how grains like oats should be soaked in an acidic medium like whey.  If I have time before I go to bed tonight I’ll try it and see how it works tomorrow – the lime will definitely affect the flavor, so I’ll have to see how the kids like it.  I haven’t made doing this a priority since we don’t have a corn based diet, so avoiding pellagra (disease of vitamin B3 deficiency) hasn’t been a major concern. 

The recipe above makes about four cups of polenta; we usually triple or quadruple it for a meal. 

Avivah