Breakfast

Submitted by Patrick Black
Danville, VT

If you’ve ever thought that making pancakes from scratch was too difficult, hopefully this easy, nutritious, and delicious recipe will convince you otherwise.

Oatmeal Banana Blueberry Pancakes
Wet works:
1 medium banana, peeled
1 large egg
1 cup water
3/4 rolled oats

Dry works:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 tbsp powdered buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup blueberries, more or less to taste (fresh or frozen work equally well)

Makes eight pancakes about 4 inches in diameter

1. Preheat your griddle or heavy frying pan over medium-high.
2. In a large bowl, smash the peeled banana. It does not need to be liquid but it should be thoroughly smashed.
3. Add the remaining wet works ingredients an mix well.
4. In a small bowl combine all the dry works. You can either sift them together or use a whisk to make sure everything is thorougly mixed.
5. Dump the mixed dry works into the bowl with the wet works.
6. Stir gently by hand (I use a silicone spatula) until the dry works are fully incorporated into the wet works.
   Very important: DO NOT OVERMIX. The goal is to completely mix the ingredients in as light and gentle a manner as possible. I t hink of it more as “folding” the mix over and over until no more dry clumps appear. Overmixing can cause more gluten to form which in turn can cause the pancakes to not be as fluffy.
7. Turn down the heat to just under medium and apply a bit of cooking spray to the griddle or frying pan to limit sticking.
8. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, place dollops of batter on the griddle or frying pan. Try to keep a little space between them so they do not stick together.
9. Add blueberries to taste. Just place the blueberries in each pancake.
10. Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for about 4 more minutes.
11. Enjoy with your favorite topping.

Nutrition Information (per pancake)
90 calories
4g protein
17 carbohydrates
1g fat

courtesy Florence Fabricant, NY Times Cooking
Submitted by Rachel Hadas

Ingredients:

3 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar, & nutmeg in blender and blend under smooth and foamy.

Place butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet or baking dish and place in the oven. As soon as the butter has melted (watch it so it doesn’t burn), add the batter to the pan, return pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake 5 minutes longer (note: I have often skipped this last step). Remove from oven, cut into wedges, and serve hot with maple syrup, honey, jam, confectioners sugar, or cinnamon sugar.

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour
1 cup corn meal
1-2 tablespoons almond flour (optional)
2 tsp. baking powder
About 2 tablespoons sugar
Dash of salt
1 egg
1 cup milk or buttermilk or yogurt mixed with water to a milky consistency
About ¼ cup of vegetable oil, melted butter, or ghee (recommended!)

NOTE: Ghee is Indian clarified butter, sold in jars and stored at room temperature; or if you refrigerate, let it reach room temperature before using in this recipe.

Heat oven to 420. Mix dry ingredients; mix wet ingredients together, pour into dry, and mix thoroughly by hand. Bake in greased muffin tin for about 20 min.

The yogurt and ghee give extra moistness and flavor, and the almond flour provides a bit of crunch. If you like, you can toss in some blueberries or cranberries or mash in a banana. Easy, healthy, delicious.

A different spin on a breakfast staple. Possibilities are endless. This version is topped with an over easy egg drizzled with chili oil and chopped scallion.

Servings: 1 Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (not instant)
1 cup water
1-2 Tbs light soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1 large egg
Chili oil to taste
Chopped scallion

Instructions:

1. Combine oats and water and microwave on high for 3 minutes (based on 700 watts. Adjust accordingly for more powerful microwaves.
2. While oats are cooking prepare over over easy or fried egg.
3. Drizzle cooked oats with soy, tamari or coconut aminos and top with cooked egg.
4. Top with a drizzle of chili oil to taste and chopped scallion.

Ingredients:
12 eggs
1/2 medium onion or 1/4 large onion
1 cup cottage cheese
1 package shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Splash of milk
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place all ingredients except cheddar cheese in a blender. Blend until smooth. Sprinkle half the cheddar cheese into the mixture (1 cup–save the other half). Poor egg mixture into greased casserole. Place in oven for 40 minutes or until golden. Add the remaining cheese during the last 10 minutes.

You can also sauté vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc), bacon, or sausage for the casserole. Place in the casserole similar to the first half of cheddar. Also make sure sauté mixture is at room temperature so it doesn’t scramble the eggs.

Ingredients:
2 cups of boiling water
1 cup of rolled oats
1 tablespoon of melted shortening
2 tablespoons of melted butter
2 ¼ teaspoons or 1 package of yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon of sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups of flour

Pour the boiling water over the oats. Add the melted butter and shortening. Let stand until lukewarm. Add the yeast to the ⅓ cup of lukewarm water, add one tsp of sugar and let stand for 15 minutes. Add to the oats, along with the brown sugar and salt. Add flour, beating to mix. Knead until the dough comes together and then place in a greased bowl. Cover, and let rise until doubled in size. Place the dough on a floured surface and roll out to desired form. Place rolls in pan, cover, and let rise again till doubled in size. Bake rolls at 350F for 20 minutes.

These pancakes use bananas to give them moisture, rather than milk. Play around with the spices, the amount of syrup, and the toppings, to tailor them to your preferences.

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, to taste

Wet Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
A splash of maple syrup, or more, if desired
A squeeze of lemon

To cook, and serve:
Unsalted butter
Maple syrup
Jam (optional)
Peanut butter (optional)

In a blender or food processor, process one cup of oats into a coarse flour. In a mixing bowl, combine the oat flour with the remaining rolled oats, and all other dry ingredients.

Again using the blender or food processor, combine the wet ingredients, and process until uniform.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring as little as possible. If you are comfortable eating raw egg, you can taste the batter to see if you want more syrup, salt, or spices.

Depending on the moisture content of the oats and flour, and the size of the eggs and bananas, the batter may be wetter, or dryer, than you would like. If you make a lot of pancakes, you may be able to adjust this by feel. If not, make a test pancake — I like to cook them in butter — and then decide what you’d like to change to make the result what you most desire!

Want gluten-free pancakes? Substitute another ¼ c. homemade oat flour for the wheat flour. Want to change the spices? Clove is also a great match for bananas. Nuts would be excellent as an addition to this recipe, especially walnuts.