Overnight Yeast Risen Pancakes (or waffles)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups whole wheat flour,
1.5 cups almond milk (real milk is ok too),
one egg ( I also used 1Tb ground flax seed + 3Tb water and it turned out great),
2.5 ts. of yeast

2 Tb sugar ( I used pancake syrup but both are good),
2 Tb canola or vegetable oil

1/4 ts salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Warm up milk, not till it's hot, just really warm ( around 110-120 degrees), add the sugar or syrup to the milk when heating it up, stir up well. Never let the milk get to 130 degrees or it will kill the yeast. Then when the milk is warm add the yeast to the milk, I don't always stir it up too much, sometimes just sprinkling the yeast on top is sufficient. I let it sit somewhere warm for 10 minutes so it can activate. After this time it should have a large area of thick foamy yeast on top of the milk.

While it sits mix the dry remaining ingredients in a plastic container or a large mixing bowl that has a lid and will fit in your fridge. Right before I stir in the yeast milk mix I add the egg and oil to the dry ingredients, then stir it all up until smooth. Let it sit somewhere warm for 30 minutes to start to rise, (at this point you can let it sit for another 30 minutes and make the pancakes right now, but if you put the batter in the fridge to mature it will taste even better in the morning).

Then put it in the refrigerator covered over night and it will rise and continue to have the yeast activate and get the batter all airy and nice. In the morning take it out and use it to make pancakes or waffles as you normally would, turning them when browned on the edge and bubbly on top. The sides will start to look kind of dry. Some recipes I found said you could thin the batter out with more milk, but I found this thick yeasty batter to work just fine as is, I just spread it a little bit with the spoon as I was putting it in the pan, The pancakes should get crisp on the outside and stay moist and almost creamy on the inside. They will be thick and take a little while longer to cook then regular baking powder pancakes, but it's worth it.

 

You must serve with syrup or a sweetener to get the right taste, otherwise they will taste like an amazing flat dinner roll instead of a deluxe pancake. So, when you taste the test pancake, as most people would, add syrup to it. :) 

Enjoy!

Coq au Vin

This Recipe is my variation on the Julia Child one I tried Years ago. I prefer this one because it keeps the bacon crisp until serving and doesn't use pearl onions, which are a pain to deal with. :) Most other recipes call for the bacon to be added to the sauce or even to the cooking chicken, but who wants soggy bacon, certainly not me!

Ingredients

• 4-8 slices thick cut bacon
• 3 lbs chicken thighs or leg thigh quarters, skin on I use 4 -6 good sized thighs for this recipe.
• 1 small yellow onion or sweet onion, diced
• 2-4 tsp minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups red wine I usually use Pinot Noir or a Cabernet Sauvignon (do not use a “cooking wine” but you can use a cheap drinking wine like a 3 or 4$ bottle and the sauce will still be tasty).
• 2 cups chicken stock (you do not want to use broth in the place of stock as it will not thicken the sauce when you reduce it)
• 10 oz sliced mushrooms (I use baby portabella because they have much more flavor than the white ones)
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp salt (or, to taste)
  
• 1-2 tablespoons of cold butter
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Fry the bacon over medium heat in a dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. After it’s fried, remove the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Once cool, chop bacon and set aside. Keep the bacon grease in the pot.
3. Turn heat higher and place chicken, skin-side down in the pot. Sear chicken until golden brown on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Do not put too much chicken in the pot at once as it will steam instead of searing, this may mean you need to sear chicken in batches. Then, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves. Continue sautéing until the onions begin to soften and brown.
4. Add the chicken stock and red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the chicken from the pot and place in an oven-safe dish. Keep chicken warm in the oven while you work on the sauce. Remove the bay leaves.
6. Bring the liquid back up to a boil and stir constantly----sauce should be begin to thicken. This recipe uses a reduction method of thickening. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and continue cooking until the sauce becomes thicker. Once the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce is thick, remove from heat and you then swirl into the sauce cubes of cold butter until it becomes balanced and just the right consistency, the cold butter will help to slightly thicken the sauce and will balance out the acidity of the wine. The sauce should not be runny and should coat the back of a spoon. I add butter a bit at a time, so as to not add too much, it should not be greasy.
7. Place chicken back in sauce and serve with roasted potatoes or a big green salad. I also like to serve with a good bread which people always use to soak up the tasty sauce left on the plate. Add the pieces of cooked bacon once you plate the dish.
   
   Happy Cooking!! 
   I'll be doing posts with pictures again soon, once my camera charger comes in the mail.
   

Healthy Dark Chocolate Mini Brownies

I am cutting way way back on sugars and as such I wanted a treat I could still eat that gave me all the tastiness of a brownie and dark chocolate without all the fat and sugars of a regular brownie.

This recipe uses no butter, whole wheat flour (so you get some fiber in there), and plain yogurt. Warning, these are not very sweet, but they taste great. They definitely taste like a dark chocolate brownie, so if you love really dark chocolate you will love these guys!

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c. sugar (I use the raw sugar but you can use any kind really)

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 c. whole wheat flour (you can use all purpose if you wish)

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. of baking soda

1/4 t. vanilla extract

1 c. plain yogurt (greek or regular)

1 T. vegetable oil (I used canola)

2 T. water

1/4 or 1/2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

If you would like more cake-like brownies then add:

1 egg (optional)

STEPS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a mini muffin pan by spraying it with non stick spray or greasing it if you don't have spray.You can also use the mini paper liners if you so choose but they may stick to the brownies a bit.

Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar). Once they're all mixed together you can add the wet ingredients (yogurt, vanilla, oil, water, and egg if you're making the more cake-like mini brownies).

Once all the ingredients are mixed together the batter will be thick but pretty wet. If it's not you can add another Tablespoon of water to keep it moist.

Then drop a spoonful into each mini muffin pan opening until you have filled them all. IT makes 24 mini dark chocolate brownies. Bake them at the 350 degrees for about 11 to 12 minutes or until the tops are springy and done. 

Enjoy!!!

Recipe: Moist Whole Grain Carrot Muffins (egg-less)

I came up with a new recipe in the kitchen today because I wanted to make carrot muffins and was out of eggs. I found that if you use a large amount of fresh ingredients such as carrots or even bananas then the muffins do not need as much leavening. These muffins turned out moist and tender and the lack of eggs didn't leave them dense or heavy feeling because I used both baking soda and baking powder to help with the leavening. They are 100% whole grain, but they are tender and delicious and not lacking at all in the flavor department. In fact, I think they taste much better than muffins made with all purpose flour. Happy Baking!


Moist Whole Grain Carrot Muffins (egg-less)

Ingredients

1 1/2 -2 c. finely shredded carrots

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. of canola or vegetable oil

1 c. quick oats plain

1 c. whole wheat flour 

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp .baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

2/3 c. of almond milk, I use vanilla almond breeze (or substitute with regular milk)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and line desired amount of muffin cups with paper liners. This recipe makes 10-12 muffins depending on how large you want them to turn out. It can also be used for 6-8 really large muffins. 


Then mix together the oil and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the shredded carrots mix well. Mix flour and oats in a separate bowl. Then add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the flour and oats, mix thoroughly. The you add the flour oat mixture to the carrot mixture until it is all incorporated. Then you begin to thin the batter out with the 2/3 cup of milk. The mixture should not be so thin it can be easily poured, but it should also not be at all stiff or dry. 


Then distribute the batter evenly among the paper cups in the muffin tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on size and how brown you desire muffins. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 


Thanks for reading and look for pictures and step by step instructions to go with this new recipe to be up in a few days! :)

Black Bean Pork for Tacos

This post describes how to make pork for use in tacos or even simply to eat by itself. It uses a two part cooking method (fricassée) which ensures optimal moisture retention and flavor. Many recipes such as Coq au Vin use this type of cooking method, which is simply browning the meat in a fat, and then simmering it in a liquid or gravy until it is fully cooked and tender.

Slow Cooked Pork Fricassee  

The pork I am using here is boneless country style ribs.

The spices I am using here are garlic powder, cumin, sea salt, black pepper, goya spice (as pictured above). 

The pork is a good one to use because it is thick and had lighter and darker meat as well as a little bit of fat marbling, and once it is cooked it stays tender and flavorful throughout.  

Once the pork is spiced it should look like the picture above and then you're ready to prep your skillet and sear in the flavor. Once you have the seasoning done you should heat up a stainless steel skillet and prep it with hot oil so the meat doesn't stick, or you could also use a non stick skillet. 

Medium high heat is best to achieve the great brown color you see in the pics. It is also very important to not over fill the skillet as it will prevent the meat from getting nice and brown on all sides. When the meat is stuffed into a pan it will not saute properly but will instead steam the meat and you will not get any caramelization.  For this reason it will take 2-3 steps to get all of your pork browned. 

After you turn the meat over and have properly browned the top and bottom of each rib, you then need to brown the sides just as thoroughly. 

Once you have done this to all the ribs in the pan then you need to transfer them to a large cooking pot that will accommodate them all without stacking them on top of one another. Then start to brown up the next batches in the same manner. If the pan is dry add a little more oil to ensure a thorough browning on all the meat. Searing the meat before simmering it will keep all the juices in as it cooks.

Once all the ribs have been browned on all sides arrange them in the pan so they all fit in nicely with each other. This will allow the liquids to be all over each and every piece equally.  Now you can get the bean juice ready and then deglaze then pan. 

Allow the black bean juice to drain out of the can into a strainer while you deglaze the pan. Measure out 1 cup of chicken stock and get ready to pour it into the hot pan while the pan is still on the burner. Deglazing is done to make sure you get all the tasty fried up pieces of pork and seasoning off the bottom of the pan. 

 Pour the stock into the pan and use a spatula or your tongs to loosen up the stuck on bits. Once this is done you can add the bean juice to the stock. Then it is ready to pour into the large pot of pork. 

It should look nice and brown like this. 

After you pour in the liquid it should come up high on the meat but not cover it up. This is when you turn the heat on and get it to a boil. Once the liquid begins to boil you turn the heat down to a very slow simmer, place the lid on the pot, and cook it for 1-2 hours. Depending on your time and patience. The longer you wait the more tender the meat will be. Low and slow is the key to tenderness. 

After the pork is done you can use it immediately by shredding it with 2 forks and put it in tacos, you can just eat it as is and make a sauce from the liquids. It can be added to black beans and rice. There are many different things that can be done with this type of pork. Whatever you do it will be amazing! :) I get requests to make this type of pork from friends all the time.