Saturday, August 21, 2010

Peachy Pancakes

I wanted waffles, but the recipe I needed was online and I wasn't. So, I made pancakes instead from the recipe below. However, I was not yet fully awake thus somewhat bumbling in the kitchen. This is probably how many delightful dishes are created...

Pancakes
(from Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife, ND)
2 eggs
2 T coconut oil
2 T coconut milk (I used fermented)
1 tsp. sugar 
1/8 tsp. Kosher salt
2 T sifted coconut flour
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Blend together eggs, oil, coconut milk, sugar and salt. Combine coconut flour and baking poweder and thoroughly mix into batter. Heat 1 T coconut oil in a skillet. Spoon batter onto hot skillet making pancakes about 2.5 - 3 inches in diameter. Batter will be thick but will flatten out when cooking. Makes 6-8 small pancakes.

Seeing the small amount of batter in the bowl had me a little worried, but I figured if the pancakes didn't satisfy our hunger, we could have some eggs later. Or something. I followed the directions and had some of the pancakes cooking when I realized I had maple syrup in the refrigerator, which meant that when I put it on the pancakes they would turn instantly cold. Yuk. So, I poured some syrup into a small pan, set it on the back burner and turned it on. Then promptly forgot about it. :(

I thought about the pecans and decided they would be good, so I chopped those up. Meanwhile I am still cooking the pancakes and managing to keep them from burning (although I am not sure HOW!). I ended up chopping a few extra pecans (I failed to read the suggested amount, and just guessed as to how many to put in) and decided to toast them in the now empty pancake skillet in just a few more drops of coconut oil. I started those and then I happen to glance at the maple syrup and realize it is almost to boil over. So I whipped that off the burner and raced over to the counter to chop up a peach. By the time I had the peach chopped up, the pecans were starting to burn, so I tossed the peach in to heat it up and take some of the heat off the pecans.

I arranged the pancakes on the plates, spooned on the peach mixture and drizzled hot syrup over the top. They were very tasty--different than the normal pancake of course, but certainly much more nutritious. We both enjoyed them and other than the disaster I left behind in the kitchen, I dub it a success!


Peachy Keen Pancakes

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Chicken Sausage

This is SOOOO Good!! I couldn't find the savory, but I made it as directed and cooked it all at once and froze it in serving portion size bags. It doesn't taste like pork sausage, but it is very close, and so much better for you!

1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken, half white, half dark (Whole Foods will grind for you)
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 Tbsp. powdered, not rubbed, sage
1 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
3/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. savory
1/8 tsp. garam masala
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Before adding ground chicken, put all the other ingredients into a large bowl. Mix and add the chicken. Use your hands or a large spoon to knead the mixture long enough to distribute the spices evenly.

Form into small patties or crumble and fry until brown, using some olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Cowboy Cookies

I used to make these cookies when the kids were young, and Elizabeth mentioned them to her husband who said, "What are Cowboy Cookies??" So, in the interest of son-in-law education and appeasement, I made them. Here is the recipe!


1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (can mix 1/2 white with 1/2 whole grain)
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups rolled oats
6 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or raisins if you prefer)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Sift dry ingredients and stir in. Add oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by a teaspoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Makes 8-9 dozen cookies.

(Note: for RBTI, use Kosher salt, raisins and no nuts.)

Friday, August 13, 2010

Maple Pecans


Whole Paycheck sells the most delicious maple pecans in their bulk section. I love the taste but not the price. So, I decided to try my own. For inspiration, I used this recipe.

16 oz. shelled pecan halves
3 T. coconut oil, melted
1 T. vanilla extract
3 T. maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt.

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl and spread out on baking stone. Bake for about 25 minutes in 300 degree convection oven (or 30 minutes at 325 degrees in a regular oven), stirring often to prevent burning. They will be slightly brown. Watch closely so they don't burn!

I used a stoneware bar pan and sprayed it with coconut oil to prevent sticking. The glaze was fairly liquid, even when the pecans were browned, but once they cooled, they were only slightly sticky--they sort of dried out once they cooled. The flavor reminds me a lot of the Valdosta Pecans I have bought in the past--only without the pepper flavor and cranberries. :) They are very tasty--not too sweet.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Trail Mix a la Ornery

I don't really measure the amounts for this so amounts vary from batch to batch--here are the ingredients of the trail mix Ornery packs in his lunch every day. I admit, I like this too. :)

Walnuts
Raw Cashews
Roasted/salted Pumpkin seeds
coconut flakes (large flakes)
raisins
dried papaya
chocolate chips