Buttermilk Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancakes

2  Cups  Flour

2  teaspoons  Baking Soda

2  teaspoons  Baking Powder

1/2  teaspoon  Salt

4  Eggs

2 to 2-1/2  Cups  Buttermilk

 Bacon Grease, Oil, or Nonstick Spray for pan

Butter and Syrup for serving

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Dry Ingredients.  Stir in the Eggs and Buttermilk, using enough Buttermilk to achieve desired consistency (we like thinner pancakes and use 2-1/2 Cups).  Heat griddle over medium heat until water drops, when flicked onto the pan, sizzle and evaporate.  Coat pan with your desired non-stick medium--Bacon Grease adds wonderful flavor!  Fry batter in 1/4-cup amounts--do not flip until the rising bubbles pop and hold their shape (if you use these bubles as your gauge you shouldn't need to peek under the pancake to see if it's ready to flip).  Then, and only then, will you be able to successfully flip your pancake without making a mess of everything.  Fry on the second side for 10-15 seconds, then serve to the hungry one who is standing near with her plate, ready for breakfast.  Serves 6 hungry people.

"Arise, shine;

for thy light is come,

and the glory of the Lord

is risen upon thee."

Isaiah 60:1

Nothing quite says "Good Morning" like Buttermilk Pancakes.  The smell just sort of curls around your mind, tickling into your tummy saying "Rise and Shine, it's another New Day!"  

Those open bubbles in the top Pancake?

They're saying "It's time to flip me."

We don't have Pancakes quite as often as the children wish we did simply because it's a challenge to make them and still get out the door to School on time; cold cereal is unfortunately so much easier.  How to solve the problem?  It's an easy one:  Mix up a Quadruple-batch (and yes, you'll need a whole quart of Buttermilk and it'll take for-ev-er to fry them), cool the Pancakes on a rack and then freeze them between layers of waxed or parchment paper.  Then whomever wants Pancakes for breakfast (or an after-school snack) can pop them in the toaster and have fresh! hot! pancakes!  

 I'm a minimalist when it comes to topping my Pancakes; give me Butter, lots of Butter, and I'm happy.  T likes his sprinkled with Blueberries. The Girls like theirs "lathered in Syrup." (Is that the proper use of 'lathered'? I think not, but that's what they say.)  Eldest Son prefers his pancakes with Butter and Mrs. Butterworth's syrup--very traditional, and it *must* be Mrs. Butterworth's; nothing else is acceptable.  Second Son takes his to a gourmet level: he slices Bananas onto the pancake and sprinkles it with Brown Sugar before it is flipped.  Then he tops his stack with Butter and Coconut Syrup.  Consequently, Saturday mornings in our home consist "Take a number and wait your turn for the griddle." 

 How do you like your Pancakes?

*~*~*

Here are a few photos from New Year's Day in Yosemite.
If you haven't been to the snow this year, GO!  I have .never. seen it this beautiful!

We are So Very Thankful to the Lord for all of the snow and rain we've received.  It is so needed!

 

Lemon Raspberry Streusel Muffins

Lemon Raspberry Streusel Muffins

with Lemon Curd

 --- Kids In The Kitchen ---

Streusel Topping:

1/3  Cup  Sugar

1/4  Cup  Flour

2  Tablespoons  Cold Butter

2  Cups  Flour

1/2  Cup  Sugar

2  teaspoons  Baking Powder

1/2  teaspoon  Baking Soda

1/2  teaspoon  Salt

8 oz.  Lemon Yogurt  -or-  3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice and Plain Yogurt to fill a 1-Cup measure

1/2  Cup  Oil

1  teaspoon Lemon Peel, finely zested (optional)

2  Eggs

1  Cup  Fresh Raspberries -or- frozen, unthawed Raspberries

Butter or Lemon Curd for serving

1.  Wash your hands thoroughly with Soap and Water.  Read this recipe through completely and gather your ingredients.

2.  Ask an Adult to help preheat oven to 400*.
3.  Line a Muffin Tin with baking cups.
4.  In a small bowl, mix together the Streusel Ingredients with a pastry cutter until the Butter is the size of small peas.  Set aside.
5.  In a medium bowl, mix together the five Dry Ingredients; set aside.
6.  In another medium bowl, mix together the four Wet Ingredients, then stir the Wet Ingredients into the Dry Ingredients just until blended.  Then gently stir in the Raspberries.
7.  Using a cookie scoop or soup spoon, fill the Muffin cups 3/4 full.  (This will make about 14 muffins.)
8.   Using a teaspoon, carefully sprinkle the Streusel onto the Muffin tops.
9.  Ask an Adult to help you put the Muffins into the 400* oven; bake for 11-13 minutes.
10.  Ask an Adult to help you remove from Muffins from the oven.
11.  Cool in the Muffin Tin for 5 minutes; carefully remove from the Tin.
12.  Serve Warm, with Butter or Lemon Curd.
13.  Don't forget to clean up your dirty cooking bowls!

"Train up a child in the way he should go:

and when he is old,

he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6 

Teaching children to cook.  This takes fortitude to endure!  I am of the mind that children should must be taught to cook.  I cannot think of anything more disheartening than going off to college or getting married and only knowing how to make toast or top ramen.  

But oh my.
The mess time and patience it takes to teach a child this skill!

I personally believe that the best time to being teaching cooking is when the child can both fluently read AND understand simple fractions.  In other words, she should be able to read the recipe and not get 1/3 and 2/3 mixed up.  Most children have mastered these two skills by the end of Third or Fourth Grade.  Yes, there are kitchen terms like 'dice' and 'cube' which you'll need to teach, but the most important things, in my opinion, are the basic skills of reading and math.  A close second to this come safety.  Never forget safety.

When teaching safety skills, begin with Heat and Sharpness.  Most kiddos have the heat down; that is, they know that the stove and oven are hot.  If you are allowing your child to cook at the stove, my first bit of advice is to never leave the room.  My second piece of advice is to make sure you use an appropriately-sized step stool.  A nine-year-old isn't quite tall enough to safely stir a hot pan, but is much too big to stand on a chair.  Accidents can happen if she isn't the right height.  If you have a double wall oven, use the lower oven.  Teach your child how to properly use hot pads.  I, personally, don't let my kids use oven mitts because I feel the mitts make hands too clumsy to safely grip hot pans.  Also, I like to keep the stove turned down slightly lower than what the recipe calls for; this might make it take a bit longer but it does help reduce the risk of bad burns.

Knives and graters and vegetable peelers and mandolines.
All can be so very sharp.  Unfortunately, the easiest way to demonstrate how sharp a knife is, is to accidentally cut yourself.  Not the best object lesson, but unfortunately it happens.  Please, as a parent, you know your child's hand/eye coordination best of anyone.  Use proper judgement.  Use a knife  properly sized for smaller hands--I like to begin my children with a paring knife.  And always, always, always use a cutting board.

What kind of recipes are the best to start kids out on?  My children seem to have a short-frame attention span: they don't want to wait for bread to rise,  a cake to cool before frosting, or beef to marinate and then roast.  I like to start them out on a one-pan-in/one-pan-out recipe: a recipe that has a single pan and a short bake time, like Muffins or Bar Cookies.  Easy to mix, quick to bake, fast to cool, and even faster to eat!  Yum, Yum, Yum!

Happy Cooking,

and even Happier Eating! 

  Far Above Rubies, page 51.

Ham & Cornbread Breakfast Pizza

Ham & Cornbread Breakfast Pizza

 

1 8.5-oz Corn Muffin Mix

2  Eggs

1/3  Cup  Milk

2  Tablespoons  Butter

1/2  Red Onion, diced

2  Cups  Diced Ham

1/2  Cup  Sour Cream

1  Cup  Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1  Cup  Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

Black Pepper, to taste

 

Preheat oven to 400*.

In a small bowl combine the Muffin Mix, Eggs, and Milk; spread into a greased 9x13 pan and set aside.

Melt Butter in skillet; sauté Onion until softened.  Stir in Ham and sauté for 2 minutes; stir in Sour Cream and half of the Mozzarella and Cheddar until combined.  Spoon Ham mixture over the Cornbread mixture and top with remaining Cheese and Black Pepper as desired.  Bake at 400* for 15 to 20 minutes.  Serves 6.

 

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,

and to sing praises unto Thy name,

O most High:

To show forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning,

and Thy faithfulness every night."

Psalm 92: 1 & 2

 

Please don't be mislead by the name:  this Ham & Cornbread Breakfast Pizza is also great as a quick hot lunch on a Saturday or as a light supper in the evening.  Just add some Green Peas and Fruit and you've got a meal in 30 minutes.  Sometimes to speed things up in the morning, I'll sauté the Onion, Ham, Sour Cream and Cheese the night before and pop it the fridge.  Then in the morning all I have to do is mix up the Cornbread, top it, and bake.  This is also an easy recipe for children to make, especially if you buy your Ham pre-diced and your Cheese pre-shredded.  We were served this in Washington this summer while at Sid & Mary's house.  Yummy!  

 

 

From Far Above Rubies, page 99



Peach Dumplings

Peach Dumplings

 

Peach Dumplings

1/4  Cup  Brown Sugar

1-2  Tablespoons  Chopped Pecans

1  Heaping Tablespoon  Flour (1-1/2 Tablespoons, but I think it's annoying to measure this awkward amount)

1  Tablespoon  Butter

 

Pie Crust,  enough for 2 Double-Crust Pies  (I like this recipe)

8  Firm, ripe Peaches, peeled and pits removed

 

3  Tablespoons  Melted Butter

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture, for sprinkling

 

Maple Cream Syrup

7  Tablespoons  Heavy Whipping Cream

5  Tablespoons  Real Maple Syrup

3  Tablespoons  Light Corn Syrup

 

For the Peach Dumplings

Preheat oven to 400*.  Butter a 9x13 baking dish; set aside.

 

In a small bowl, mix together the Brown Sugar, Pecans, Flour, and Butter; set aside.

Roll out half of the Pie Crust into a rectangle and cut into 4 squares.  Take four Peaches, stuffing each Peach with 1 Tablespoon of the Brown Sugar-Pecan mixture and pressing the Peach firmly together again.  Lay onto a square of Pie Crust, firmly and securely wrapping the dough around the Peach.  (I found it worked well to lay the Peaches on their sides horizontally instead of vertically; this helped to prevent them from splitting open during baking.)  Place the Peaches in baking dish; repeat process with remaining Pie Crust and Peaches, using the scraps of dough for decoration.  Brush Peaches with Melted Butter and sprinkle with Cinnamon-Sugar.  Bake at 400* for about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve slightly warm to 8 very special people.  Refrigerate any leftovers and enjoy for breakfast.

 

For the Maple Cream Syrup

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan; heat and stir until thickened and reduced by about one-third.  Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and thickened.  Serve over Peach Dumplings.

 

 

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

they shall prosper that love thee.

Peace be within they walls,

and prosperity within thy palaces.

For my brethren and companions' sakes,

I will now say,

Peace be within thee.

Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good."

Psalm 122:6-9

 

 

 

I found that baking these vertical can cause them to fall apart...

 

 

This fellow looks like he's sticking out his tongue...

 

 

As you know, I've struggled for quite some time to make a decent Peach Pie.  You can read about my quest in The Husband-Pleasing Peach Dessert, and I've found a Home-Canned Peach Pie Filling that I really like. 

 

But these Peach Dumplings take the cake pie.  Everyone here couldn't stop from raving over these. 

 

I've adapted them from Stone Gables, where she suggests using Puff Pastry (sounds elegant, but I don't keep Puff Pastry in my fridge), and from Pioneer Woman's Peach Crisp with Maple Cream. 

 

This is seriously worth the effort, folks.  I know Peach Season is nearly over, but try if you can to get your hands on some late-season varieties, like Fairtime or Sweet September.  You'll be glad you did.