Eat: Berry Galette

The birthday of a grown-up can often be...underwhelming. The odds are that you're working that day, which most likely means that the majority of it will be hum drum. You go about your business, maybe treat yourself to a candy bar from the vending machine, and hope have a nice dinner that night. In an effort to combat this regular-day-syndrome, Matt and I have a lovely tradition of Birthday Breakfast. It is a relatively low key affair: the birthday boy or girl gets a special breakfast complete with candles and a solo serenade of "Happy Birthday". It makes for a surprisingly awesome morning and puts both of us in a great mood for the day.

This year, to mark Matthew's birthday I made a beautiful galette with strawberries and blueberries along with a side of greek yogurt. Galette is a generic French term for flat, round, and flaky pastries. As with many of my breakfast dishes, you can switch this up with whatever mix of fruit you prefer. On the 4th of July I made it with blueberries and raspberries. This dish is a quick snap to make, especially if you use a pre-made pie crust. It presents and tastes like a pie but is much healthier  because it doesn't have a syrup loaded with refined sugar. The fruit naturally creates a syrup when mixed with cornstarch. We were both crazy about this dish and I immediately added it to my regular-rotation-recipe stash.

Berry Galette

1 pie crust dough, homemade or store-bought (thaw ahead of time)
2-3 cups of mixed berries
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cornstarch
Egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 °F.

Roll out the pie crust flat onto a greased (or parchment paper-lined) baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together the fruit, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

Spoon the mixture onto the center of the pie crust leaving about a 2-inch border of dough. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the filling.

Brush the top edges of the dough with a beaten egg. If desired, sprinkle with a bit cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool on the pan for a couple minutes before cutting.

If serving for breakfast, include a few scoops of yogurt on the side. For dessert, this pairs nicely with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Eat: Pumpkin Spice Beignets

Oddly enough, one of my favorite things about travel is relishing the comfort that comes when I get home. I love our house and have enjoyed getting back into the swing of things. I'm not suggesting that I like heading back to work or tackling our mountain of laundry, but I gladly welcome the peace I feel standing in my kitchen, listening to NPR while chopping some fresh produce. I'd like to note that produce was given to us by my wonderfully thoughtful mother-in-law who stocked the fridge upon our return!

At the top of my list-of-reasons-I'm-happy-to-be-home ? Breakfast, of course! This weekend was a busy one, but not so busy that we couldn't enjoy a big breakfast together. Matt handled the coffee and scrambled eggs – both excellent and far better than when I make either. Meanwhile, I tried a new (modified by me) recipe for Pumpkin Spice Beignets. This was originally a recipe for baked donuts in the traditional shape, which would have been great except I don't have a donut pan. Matthew very smartly suggested we call them beignets, the French version of donuts. This perfectly tied together our recent visit to Montreal (where we actually ate some beignets) and National Donut Day.

The final verdict? Delicious, especially when served warm while the butter glaze is fresh. They are surprisingly dense but also very moist. As expected, pumpkin is most prominent flavor but the vanilla is quite strong too. I would not skip the cinnamon-sugar coating  – not because these aren't tasty when plain, rather it makes them more like true beignets.

Pumpkin Spice Beignets
Yields 12

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For the Glaze
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven 350° F. In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and all of the spices.

In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (excluding the butter/sugar/cinnamon for glazing). Gradually add the dry ingredients into the blend. Stir until everything is combined, taking care not to over mix.

Fill each greased cup with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until they spring back when gently pressed. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then remove and place on wire rack. 

While the beignets are cooling, set up your "glazing station". Get two small bowls: one for the melted butter and another for the blended sugar and cinnamon. While the beignets are warm, dip in the melted butter then roll in the sugar/cinnamon blend. If possible, serve warm.

Voilà!

Eat: Muffins Galore!

 

Courtesy of Britannica ImageQuest

A few weeks ago, I shared a basic scone recipe that can be modified a number of ways depending on your mood and on-hand ingredients. Well, I've come to love that concept so much that I sought out something similar for muffins and quick breads. The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination–or your online searching skills. This recipe is much quicker than my scones, since you don't have to cut-in butter (I task I strongly dislike and often leaves me with sore wrists). When I'm feeling particularly lazy, I opt for the loaf version of this recipe instead of muffins. The differing instructions and baking times are included below.


Base Muffin Recipe (Betty Crocker Cookbook, 2005 edition)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins or 1 (9”) loaf 

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
Extras (see below for ideas) 

1. Preheat oven to 375° F if making muffins OR 350° F if making a loaf. Grease your pan. 

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl combine the egg, milk and oil. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened and lumpy. Incorporate any extras (see list below). 

3. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups or loaf pan, (muffin cups should be two-thirds full). 

4. For muffins, bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.

For a loaf, bake 50 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. 

6. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to wire racks to cool a bit more.


Easy Muffin/Bread Variations

Apple Cinnamon: Stir in one chopped apple (with or without the skin depending on your preference) and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Substitute packed brown sugar for the granulated sugar.

Bacon: Add 2-4 strips of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled, to the batter.

Banana-Nut: Decrease the milk to 1/3 cup, stir in 2-3 mashed bananas (around 1 cup) and 1/3 cup chopped nuts with the milk. Substitute packed brown sugar for the sugar.

Blueberry: Gently stir 1 cup fresh or frozen berries and, if desired, 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon zest into the batter.

Raisin Bran: Pour the milk on 1-1/2 cups whole bran cereal and let stand for 10 minutes. Add this to the egg and oil. Decrease the flour to 1-1/4 cups and add 1/2 cup raisins. Optional: add 1/4 cup of molasses.

Cheesy: Stir 1/2 cup shredded cheese. into the flour mixture. Great options include Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Feta.

Double Chocolate: Stir in 2-3 T cocoa powder and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. You can also add a splash of vanilla or almond extract.

Cornbread: (Do not use whole wheat flour.) Decrease flour to 1 cup and stir in 1 cup cornmeal with the flour.

Cranberry: Combine 1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or dried) and 2 tablespoons additional sugar. Gently stir this into the batter. You can also add 1 T finely grated orange peel.

Date Nut: Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates (or raisins) and 1/3 cup chopped nuts.

"Donuts": Stir in 1/2 cup ground nutmeg with the flour. Once baked, immediately dip the hot muffins in about 1/2 cup butter, melted, then in a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Oatmeal: Decrease flour to 1 cup and stir in 1 cup quick-cooking oats, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon with the flour.

Pecan: Use 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter. After filling the cups, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and more chopped nuts. 

Poppy Seed: Increase sugar to 1/2 cup and add 1 tablespoon poppy seeds to the flour mixture.

Pumpkin: (Don’t use whole wheat flour.) Stir in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and 1/2 cup raisins with the milk and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice with the flour. Sprinkle the tops with sugar before baking if desired.

Spiced: Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and a pinch of ground cloves and ground nutmeg with the flour.

Zucchini: Stir in 1 cup grated zucchini (squeezed dry to remove excess moisture) and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts with the milk.

Many of these ideas can be combined, like Spiced Pecan, Blueberry Poppyseed, or Chocolate Oatmeal. So far, I've only tried the Double Chocolate (with a handful of oats thrown in), but I'm planning to make a batch of Spiced Pecan this week!

Eat: Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Last Sunday it snowed.

And snowed.

And snowed.

All of our plans were cancelled and all of the weekend chores were completed. I found myself with a whole lot of free time. Plus there was a small pile of bananas on the kitchen counter getting spottier and spottier by the minute. What else was a girl to do but bake some homemade banana bread? I checked out several recipes and compiled them into this deeeelicious cinnamon swirl confection. Let me tell ya, it's very good. Several-compliments-from-my-husband good. It has a lighter texture than that of most quick breads. The cinnamon-sugar flavor is a subtle and appetizing addition to the traditional flavor and it is a healthier alternative to chocolate banana bread.

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

2 cups self-rising flour flour*
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt (or regular yogurt + splash of vanilla extract)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon

*If you don't have self-rising flour, substitute with 2 cups regular flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Cream together the sugar and softened butter. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, then the yogurt and mashed bananas. Now mix in the self-rising flour (or previously combined flour, baking powder, and salt).

Pour about half of the batter into a greased loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5 inches). Now in a separate bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar. Pour about half of that onto the batter. Using a clean tooth pick or knife, swirl the cinnamon-sugar blend into the batter. Pour the remaining batter into the pan and top with the remaining cinnamon-sugar.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes. Allow the pan to cool slightly (5-10 minutes) before removing your bread. Run a knife along the interior sides of the pan to loosen the loaf. Invert the pan onto a plate to remove the bread. Then flip the loaf again right-side up.

Be sure to grab a slice while it is still warm!

Tip: Do you have some rapidly ripening bananas? Just toss them as-is into the freezer and save them for when you have time to bake. They will turn black and once thawed be a bit of a mushy mess. That being said, they are perfectly good for baking! Just smoosh the fruit out of the peel and into a bowl.

Eat: Scones, Scones, Scones!

Our family recipe binder is bursting at the seams, so lately I've been focusing on simple "base" recipes that I can easily build on or diversify. This scone recipe is a great example. I would not recommend making this recipe as-is, that is to say without "dolling it up" a bit (unless you enjoy plain baked goods). No, these scones are meant for a dash of this and handful of that — whatever you fancy or have in your kitchen!

See below for a variety of "dolling up" ideas; just incorporate the additional ingredients as you prepare the base recipe.

Simple Scones yields 8-10 scones
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

2 cups self-rising flour
     OR 2 cups all-purpose flour with 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons butter
2/3 cup milk

Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Gradually add the milk and mix into a soft dough. Place on a floured (or greased) baking sheet and roll into a flat circular shape. Cut the dough into wedges (like you are slicing a pizza) but do not try to separate the scones. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°F.


Variations

Bacon Cheddar: 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 cup grated cheddar, 8 slices of bacon (cooked, crumbled), 2-4 green onions (sliced), leave out the sugar!

Spinach & Feta: 4 ounces feta (crumbled), several handfuls of fresh spinach, salt & pepper to taste, leave out the sugar!

Mediterranean: 3/4 cup roasted red peppers (diced), handful of kalamata olives (sliced), 2 ounces feta (crumbled), salt & pepper to taste, leave out the sugar!

Lemon Blueberry: 1-2 tsp lemon juice, 1 cup blueberries

Cinnamon Sugar: Mix together 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp milk. Spread on scones prior to baking.

Honey Raspberry: 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup raspberries

Pecan Streusal: Mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup oats, 1 T all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 T melted butter, 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle on top of scones prior to baking.

Pumpkin Pie: 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, a pinch of cloves, and a pinch of ginger. Also, substitute the white sugar with brown sugar.

If all else fails, throw a handful of chocolate chips into the dough!

Eat: PanCAKE Bake

 During the work week, my breakfast routine is completely boring: a bowl of cereal with skim milk. I am far, far away from being a morning person so the very fact that I manage to get out of bed at all much less muster up the energy to do anything is a real triumph. There's just no way I'm going to scramble eggs or flip pancakes. I don't even get out my bowl and spoon—Matt is a dear and does that for me!

The shame of it all is that I LOVE breakfast food. So most weekends I make something special for us to enjoy and get a break from our Monday-Friday whole grain monotony. This arsenal of recipes is huge but has a few go-to regulars that are easy, can be prepped the night before, and (most importantly) delicious. This PanCAKE Bake has quickly become such a favorite!

I mix up the batter on Friday evening and keep it in the fridge overnight. First thing Saturday morning, my early-riser husband will pour it into a baking pan, throw it in the oven, and set the timer. In a perfect world I wake up by the time it's ready! This recipe is straightforward, using staple ingredients you are likely to already have in your kitchen. The first time we made it we were a bit skeptical that it would actually have the fluffy consistency of pancakes but it really does. You get the yummy goodness of pancakes without having to stand at a griddle for 20 minutes. All in all, I highly recommend this one!

PanCAKE Bake

Dry Ingredients:
1-1⁄3 cups flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1⁄3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients: milk, oil and egg. Now add this blend to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy).

Fold in whatever "extras" you want (like a cup of fresh or dried fruit, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, etc.) and cover with Press N Seal wrap. Store overnight in the fridge.

In the morning, preheat your oven to 400°F and grease an 8-inch round pan. Spoon the batter into the pan and bake for 20-30 minutes (or until the cake is golden and pulls away from the pan sides). Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes, then flip the pan over to remove the cake. Flip the cake again (so it is right-side up) onto a large plate. Top with your favorite syrup, fruit compote, powdered sugar, or nothing at all!

If you do not want to prepare the batter ahead of time, simply follow the instructions as written but preheat your oven while mixing everything and omit the overnight refrigeration step.

Eat: Fancified Oatmeal

Today, I stand up for bowls of neglected oatmeal everywhere! For too long, they have endured countless rejections among the breakfast tables of America. No more! Prior to a few years ago, I never even touched oatmeal. This was thanks largely in part to vague childhood memories of it being “ucky”. Then, I learned that one does not need to eat it plain, in fact, one can flavor it with a multitude of things. Brown sugar, cinnamon, or maple syrup, just to name a few. This week’s recipe for Fancified Oatmeal is a testament to how delicious the grain can be. The oatmeal is baked with a mixture of chocolate, brown sugar, pecans, strawberries, and bananas. It can be made for a larger breakfast crowd, but is also suitable for a smaller audience since the oatmeal is perfectly good reheated. Although I should warn you that the bananas will turn brown after a day or two.

The fantastic thing about this dish is that you can modify it in so many different ways. I substituted ground cinnamon in place of the orange zest and Chinese spices the original recipe suggested (quite frankly, because that sounds weird and gross). You can leave out the chocolate for a healthier option, or double it if you have a signicantly sweet tooth. Pecans can be replaced with whatever you happen to have in your pantry: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and the like. If bananas aren’t your thing, just double the strawberries...or add cherries...or forget the fruit altogether! See what I mean?!? You could make this baked oatmeal every weekend for the rest of your life and it never be exactly the same.

TIME: 40 minutes
YIELDS: 6-8 servings
MY SOUNDTRACK: Weekend Edition (NPR)

2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1-2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of pecans, chopped
1 cup of sliced strawberries
1/3 cup of chocolate chips
2 cups of milk (I used skim)
1 large egg
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease a medium size baking dish. Mine was 8x8 inches, so anything around that should be fine.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and half of the pecans, strawberries, and chocolate. You will use the rest of the pecans, strawberries, and chocolate later.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract.

4. Transfer the dry oat mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining pecans, strawberries, and chocolate on top as well as the banana slices. Lastly pour the milk blend over everything. Gently shake the baking dish (don’t go crazy here, just jostle it in slow motion) to help the liquid spread throughout the oats.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes and get ready for some heaven.

Tip: You can do steps 1-4 the night before, store in the refrigerator, and pop into the oven first thing in the morning!

Eat: Sweet Potato Biscuits (or more accurately, cookies)

A delicious failure. That is how I would classify my attempt at sweet potato biscuits. Allow me to explain. After last week’s Thanksgiving festivities, I found myself with three lonely sweet potatoes. While searching for and weighing the options for said potatoes, I had a culinary flashback (complete with wiggly lines across the television screen in my head). Years ago, my mother-in-law tried a Paula Dean mix for sweet potato biscuits that were very, very good—I mean good enough that years later I am sitting here thinking about how good they were. It was only natural to assume that making similar biscuits from scratch could only be better. I was wrong. After laboring over the dough for a good while and waiting patiently for my creation to bake, I excitedly approached the oven with mitted hands. Yet disappointment fell upon me as I opened the oven door and my gaze beheld collapsed discs of orange dough. My should-have-been-fluffy biscuits turned out as flat as cookies. In fact, had I served them to anyone other than Matthew, I would have said they were cookies just to avoid the embarrassment. However, I must admit that my labor was not a complete waste as they still tasted like biscuits and were indeed sweet and yummy.

My research concluded that just about every recipe for sweet potato biscuits is basically the same. I decided to combine two recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Before you start smirking in that know-it-all way, that is not why this dish failed. I simply added a combination of spices I liked from the former to the latter, so I in no way altered the cooking science involved. I honestly don’t know what happened! I used the right proportions of ingredients, avoided too much hands-on contact with the dough (so as to not overheat it), and even chilled the little guys prior to baking.

The experience did not break my heart but I couldn’t help but think that had I just bought good ole Paula’s boxed mix I would have saved myself lots of time and mess. Plus my biscuits would have looked more like hockey pucks than pancakes! Here is the lowdown, if you would like to give it a try yourself. Perhaps you will fare better.

TIME: 45 minutes
YIELDS: Approximately 20 small biscuits
SOUNDTRACK: Local Christmas radio station

3 small sweet potatoes (1 lb)
2 ½ - 3 cups of all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar
½ - 1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of ginger
1/8 teaspoon of cloves
8 tablespoons of chilled butter
1/4 cup milk


To prepare the sweet potatoes…

Quick & Dirty Method: prick the potato(es) a few times with a fork (to avoid a starchy explosion in your microwave) and wrap in a moist papertowel. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check for tenderness and microwave additional minutes as needed. Mine needed a total of 10 minutes.

Domestic Goddess Method: prick the potato(es) a few times with a fork (to avoid a starchy explosion in your oven) and bake at 350°F for approximately 1 hour.

Once you have finished your chosen method, allow the potatoes to cool before handling them. Remove the skins and mash the potatoes to a fine puree. You can use a sieve, ricer, food processor, or just a handy fork coupled with strong wrists. You will have somewhere around 1 ¾ cup of puree.

To make the biscuits…

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the dry mix using a pastry cutter or a knife or your fingers. Do this until it resembles a coarse meal.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the sweet potato puree with milk. Add this to the flour blend and mix the dough just enough to stir it all together. If the dough has a sticky texture, add more flour as needed.

3. Place the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it a few times. Do not over handle the dough. Flatten it out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut biscuits with a cookie cutter or small glass.

Note: You can make the biscuits as large or small as you like. I made mine small (2 inches) and the baking instructions below are for such a size. Be mindful of adjusting your baking time.

4. Place the on parchment-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or slightly brown.

These are best when served fresh and warm. The great thing about small biscuits is that you don’t feel quite as guilty eating several at a time!

Eat: Blueberry Pancakes with a healthy twist!

I am not a morning person. If you do not believe me, just ask my husband. However, my dislike for the morning has never swayed me from my love of breakfast food. This recipe for blueberry "bran-cakes" was appealing because 1. It sounded healthy and 2. It did not require a trip to the grocery store. Considering how busy the weekend was, the latter of these two held a lot of weight. I had hoped that my first recipe post would feature something really exotic or challenging, but my hectic schedule just did not allow for such indulgence...

Truthfully, it felt like it took forever to make these pancakes but that is likely because I am a Bisquick mix kind of girl. That being said, they were so fluffy and delicious that it is definitely worth the extra time. Also, do not be afraid of the bran element in this dish, I promise that you cannot taste it at all!

TIME: 20-30 minutes (including preparation and cooking)
YIELDS: approximately 15 pancakes
MY SOUNDTRACK: Baby Dayliner, Andrew Bird


1 cup bran flakes
1 egg, beaten
1 + 1/4 cups milk (we use skim)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 cups blueberries (if using frozen, thaw ahead of time)

After you gather all of the ingredients, crush the bran cereal. For some reason, I started out crushing each flake individually with my fingers. After two flakes it became very apparent that this was a horribly inefficient idea, so I put all of the cereal in a ziplock bag and channeled any pent-up frustration I might have had into smashing.

Next, stir together the cereal, egg, milk, and oil. Set the mixture aside for approximately five minutes to let the batter soften. You can spend these five minutes reflecting on how wonderfully domestic you are. You can also turn on your griddle or cook top to medium heat.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the blueberries!) and stir until well blended. If the batter is too thick, add just a bit more milk.

Lastly, stir the blueberries into the batter.

Pour ¼ cup of batter onto heated griddle. Once you notice little bubbles appearing, flip the pancake. You may need to flip it a few more times until it is golden brown on both sides.

Side note: If you have a griddle like mine, it adjusts by specific temperatures instead of settings. I did a little research and found that anywhere between 250°F to 350°F is considered “medium”.

This week’s recipe came from Zorba’s Paster’s website .

Sneak peak for next week: tofu!