Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

One of the website I go to when looking for good recipes is Two Peas and Their Pod.  Every recipe I have tried is wonderful!  So, when I was looking for a good pumpkin pancake recipe, I made this one.  And it is delicious!  Light, fluffy and pumpkiny pancakes are perfect this time of year.  Go there and look at the wonderful photos they post with their food.  And then try this recipe.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

Yield: Serves 4

ingredients:

For the cinnamon streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

To make the pancakes: 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:

1. First, make the cinnamon streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk until combined.

4. Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1/3 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.

5. Serve pancakes warm with maple syrup and butter.

Easy Lemon Curd

This recipe for lemon curd does not require a double boiler and always turns out perfectly.  Love this stuff!  It makes a great cake filling, mix it with yogurt or whipped cream for a little tart, spread it on an English Muffin or toast (the British way of eating it), or just put it on graham crackers for a quick treat!  I found this recipe here.

Classic Lemon Curd

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 
1 cup sugar 
2 large eggs 
2 large egg yolks 
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice 
1 tsp. grated lemon zest  

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

variations

For lime curd, substitute fresh lime juice and zest for lemon.

Lemony Kale Quinoa Salad

Kale is one vegetable that I have not really used much, and I know that it is extremely good for you.  The only way I have fixed it is making balsamic kale chips (which, by the way, are super easy and yummy!).  So when I saw a video from Adina Niemerow making this salad, I just had to try it.  Kale, quinoa, avocado!  What's not to like.  For more information on her and what super healthy things she does, go here.  She has a different Lemony Kale salad recipe on her blog, but this is the one I made.

1 bunch kale, deveined and chopped
1/8 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
lemon wedges
2 avocados, peeled and chopped
1 Tbs cilantro, chopped (I used more)
1/2 cup radishes, chopped
2 Tbs. kalamata olives, chopped
2 cups cooked quinoa
dash cayenne pepper

Put the kale, salt, squeezes of lemon and the avocados in a bowl.  Use your hand to squish this all together.  It coats the kale with a wonderful avocado taste!  Add the remaining ingredients and enjoy.

Cucumber Melon Colada

I know, this sounds really strange.  But this is seriously good!  I added some frozen mango chunk - just because I love mango.  Try it - you'll like it!

Photo and recipe from mygreendiet.com

Cucumber Melon Colada
• 2 heaping cups of watermelon
• 12 oz frozen strawberries
• 1 small cucumber sliced (should make about ½ cup)
• 4 large, fresh basil leaves

Blend all ingredients well. Serve immediately. Makes about 3 cups.

Gratineed Tomatoes

Gratinéed Tomatoes with Asiago and Fresh Herbs

This recipe is found here.  I have made it twice and I can't wait for the fresh summer tomatoes to be in season!  Seriously a great way to eat tomatoes.

Extra-virgin olive oil 
3 medium beefsteak tomatoes, (about 6 oz. each), sliced 1/4-inch thick 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/4 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs (it's not as good with boughten bread crumbs)
1/4 cup finely grated Asiago cheese 
1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
1 tsp. coarsely chopped fresh thyme 

---

Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler on high. Lightly oil a 10x12-inch (or similar size) broiler-safe baking dish. Arrange the tomato slices in the baking dish in a single, slightly overlapping layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.
In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Asiago, parsley, thyme, 2 tsp. olive oil, a pinch of salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the tomatoes.
Broil until the breadcrumbs are a deep golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle with more olive oil and serve immediately.

Thai Papaya Salad

salad
8oz snow peas
2 papayas
1 head of napa cabbage, chopped
diced tomato/grape tomato halves, for garnish
chopped peanuts or cashews, for garnish

dressing
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh red chilies, seeds removed and diced (I ended up using green jalapenos, still tasty)
1t sugar
2T soy sauce
juice of 1 lime

Place the peas in a pot of boiling water for ~2 minutes, so that they are bright green but still tender.  Drain the peas, rinse in cold water, and coarsely chop them.

Peel the papayas.  Cut them in half and scoop out the seeds.  Chop into bite size pieces.

Toss the peas and papaya with the dressing.  Serve on a bed of cabbage and garnish with tomatoes and peanuts.

Note: Our local Thai restaurant makes a similar salad, but instead of (maybe along with?) papaya they use grape halves, sliced strawberries, and granny smith apples cut into match sticks.

Yummy Lemon Pancakes

We've been playing around with breakfast recipes and when I saw the words "lemon" and "pancakes" together, I knew I had to try it.  I found two different recipes on the great blog www.twopeasandtheir pod.com.  So I made them both and came up with my own version which is kind of a combination of the two.  These are so yummy and spring tasting!

Lemon Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese (this is the secret ingredient that makes them amazing!)
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I used 2 lemons)
2 tsp (or as much as you want) grated lemon zest
1 Tbs canola oil
1/2 cup milk

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together cheese, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil and milk.  Gently fold this mixture into the dry ingredients until flour disappears.  Don't overmix - the batter will be thick.  Let batter sit for 10-15 minutes.

Cook as you would any other pancake.  These take a bit longer to cook than regular pancakes.  I like to cook them on low heat so they get done in the middle, but not burn on the outsides.

Serve these with fresh strawberries tossed with a little lemon juice and zest.  Or with a nice blueberry topping.  I'm including a blueberry topping recipe from the same blog.

Blueberry Topping


1 1/2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs water

Combine the lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl.  In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water.  Bring to a boil over hight heat.  Reduce to a simmer and stir in the lemon juice/cornstarch mixture.  Stir until the sauce thickens slightly.  Cover to keep warm.

Some new recipes

While playing around with breakfast casseroles, I found 2 that turned out pretty good.  I made them for Christmas, but have made them again with some little tweaks and think they are better this way!  I love that I can make them the day before, then just get up and put them in the oven for breakfast.

The last recipe was inspired by something that Shalane's sister-in-law posted.  It may sound a little crazy, but I really liked it.  Ken said it was probably something that no one else has ever eaten!

SOUTHWESTERN EGG BAKE

1 lb thick bacon, diced and cooked
1/2 onion, chopped and sauteed till golden brown
10 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
dash cumin
1 tsp cayenne chili powder
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies
1/2 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Combine flour, baking powder and spices; stir into eggs (batter will be lumpy).  Add bacon, onions, cheeses, chiles and butter.  Pour into a greased 13x9 baking dish.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.


HASHBROWN BREAKFAST

1 lb thick bacon, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbs black pepper
4 cups shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (must be thawed or you won't have an accurate measure)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon until it is crisp.  Remove the bacon and pour off most of the bacon grease, leaving a little in the pan to brown the onions.  In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir in bacon mixture.  Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-40 minutes or until set and bubbly.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.


CRANBERRY CHICKEN PESTO PASTA
I made this for 1 person, so adjust accordingly.

Pasta for one, cooked al dente  (I used a tricolor pasta)
1/2 chicken breast, diced
1 Tbs goat cheese (similar to cream cheese, which could probably be substituted)
1 Tbs cranberry jalapeno jelly (yummy!!)
1 Tbs pesto (I just used the Kirtland brand from Costco)
slivered almonds
craisins

In a stir-fry pan, cook the chicken in a little olive oil until browned.  (The original recipe calls for shredded chicken - your choice.)  Remove the chicken from pan and put the goat cheese, jelly and pesto in the pan.  Let it deglaze the pan and just warm it.  Don't overcook it.  Serve the sauce over the pasta and chicken, topped with the almonds and craisins.