Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

 

Good morning friends– It’s about time to make breakfast here and this is what we’re setting on the table!  I’m sure it’s the recipe on this blog that we’ve eaten more than any other.  And I have to confess, I’ve already posted it– back in 2011– back when I had my trusty little silver Kodak point and shoot camera.  The photo is terrible!  I cringe each time I run across it.

So– since the this recipe is truly worth your notice– and I have this pic from when we ate these pancakes with Jodi and her sweet friend from China a couple weeks ago– I’m giving it another go.

I’m off to the kitchen to smash bananas and mix up another batch.  Breakfast this morning is here in San Francisco with Ani Brian and new baby Lois.  I’m wishing I could give little Lois just a couple pancake nibbles, but that will have to wait for quite a while!

BANANA PANCAKES

2 smashed bananas
3/4 cup unflavored yogurt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup oats
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
garnish:  bananas, nuts, maple syrup, butter,powdered sugar, jam, berries… (take your pick!)

Smash the bananas in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Then mix in the yogurt, milk, eggs, vanilla and oil until blended.  Next stir in the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and walnuts.

Heat the griddle to medium* and spray with cooking spray (or coat with butter if you feel indulgent!).  Pour the batter in about 1/3 cupfuls onto the grill and flip when browned.  Makes about 14 pancakes.

*I cook the low end of medium, because the pancakes are nice and thick and if you cook them too fast, they brown on the outside, but don’t cook through to the middle!  (if you want thinner pancakes add a splash more milk).

Fluffy Bran Pancakes

 

Good morning– I would pretty much be happy to eat pancakes every morning of the week– instead of my routine yogurt or oatmeal.  And, happily, these little pancakes are pretty much guilt free (until I slather them with maple syrup!).  They’re tender and fluffy and I’d say a great way to start out the day…

FLUFFY BRAN PANCAKES
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
2/3 cup bran
1/4 cup sugar
1 tab. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk*
1/4 cup canola oil
toppings:  fruit, maple syrup, jam, honey, butter, powdered sugar, yogurt, granola… (take your pick!)

In a mixing bowl stir together the wheat flour, white flour, bran, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix in the egg, buttermilk and oil,  Cook the pancakes on a medium high grill, sprayed with cooking spray until they are perfectly browned on each side.

Serve with your favorite toppings.  Makes about 16 pancakes.

*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (like I don’t)– pour a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar into your measuring up and fill up with milk to make 1 1/2 cups.

Cornmeal Waffles

Hello Breakfast Eaters– I love breakfast.  And since school started without me this week, I know I’m truly retired!  So while kids are filing into classrooms and taking out math books and turning on iPads, I’m home making breakfast–all kind of breakfasts! — lingering at the table with a book and a mug of tea.  It’s like being on a mini vacation first thing in the morning.

So here’s just a breakfast suggestion– cornmeal waffles.  If you like good old cornbread as much as we do around here, I think you’ll love these waffles– golden and homey.  And of course all the better with a splash of syrup and berries– and that mug of tea and a book…

CORNMEAL WAFFLES
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1  1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil

Heat the waffle maker.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.  Then whisk in the buttermilk, eggs, honey, vanilla and canola oil.  The batter will be thinner than normal waffle batter.

Cook the waffle according to the directions on your waffle maker.  Then serve up the hot waffles with butter and/or fruit, maple syrup, jam, powdered sugar, whipped cream…  whatever you have int he fridge.  Happy breakfast!!

 

 

Fab French Toast

Hi breakfast friends–  Found this recipe in the Food & Wine Best of the Best year end cookbook.  It was labeled “Fabulous French Toast.”  And happily it lived up to it’s name!  It’s a little more work to start the night before– but if you have houseguests or friends coming in for breakfast, then half the work is done when you hit the kitchen in the morning.  I loved it’s sweet custardy texture.  You might want to give it a try…

FAB FRENCH TOAST
6 eggs
1/2 cup suar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups half & half
6 slices of sourdough bread, cut 1″ thick
butter for cooking & then for serving
maple syrup (of course)
berries, optional

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Then add in the half & half and whisk it all together.  Place the bread in a single layer in a shallow baking dish and pour the egg mixture over the top.  Turn the bread over once to coat both sides.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge overnight.

The next morning, heat your skillet and add in a bit of butter.  When it’s melted, cook the slices of soaked bread 2 to 3minutes on each side until they are nicely browned.  Then settle the bread slices on a cookie sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray and put them in a 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes.

Arrange the french toast on plates and serve with mounds of butter and dribbles of good maple syrup.   Then dig in!

Breakfast and Books

Hello Book and Breakfast Lovers!!  — Two of my favorite things rolled into one morning– breakfast with friends and books, lots of books.  A couple tables-full of friends came in last week for these eggy-spinach-avocado open face breakfast sandwiches.  We talked and ate and poured more coffee and talked some more.

Then we gathered round and pulled out favorite books to recommend. I borrowed a copy of The Light Between Oceans on the spot (thanks Janet!) and made a list of others I’m going to track down to read.  It was great bookish fun.  I love being with those smartsy ladies.  Here’s our breakfast recipe– and a few book recommendations…

BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

8 slices sourdough bread
6 slices bacon, cut to bits
10 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 tab. cream (or whole milk)
2 tab. butter
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped into slivers
1 cup grated cheddar
1/2 cup chives, chopped, divded
2 avocados, peeled and cut to nice chunks
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tab. red onion, cut fine
a mini red, orange & yellow sweet pepper, cut to thin rings

Lightly toast the bread in the toaster and set aside.

Cook up the bits of bacon until nicely browned and set aside for now.

Carefully fold together the avocado, tomato and red onion.  Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper and cream until frothy.  Melt the butter in a large skillet.  Then pour in the beaten eggs.  Let them cook on medium heat until slightly set and stir a bit– not too much so you have nice fluffy curds.

When the eggs are still a bit runny, not cooked clear through, drop in the spinach, cheddar and 1/4 cup of the chopped chives.  Stir this all together until it is just set.

Now the fun part.  Scoop out the spoonful of eggs onto the toast, Top it with the avocado salsa and top with the colorful little pepper rings and a sprinkle of chives.

Done!  Serve it up with a bright salad for a colorful delicious breakfast!
NOW THE BOOKS–

To start us off we passed around bookmarks with these book loving quotes:

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”  –Cicero

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.  Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
.           —Groucho Marx

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end.  You live several lives while reading.”     –William Styron

“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”
.              –Desiderius Erasmus

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”  –Fran Lebowitz

And here’s a handful of the books that were heartily recommended:

      
   

#1.  Falling Upward —by Richard Rohr
(Comparing the two halves of life, finding all God has for you in the 2nd half)
#2.  All the Light We Cannot See  —by Anthony Doerr
(A Blind French girl connects with a German boy in occupied France of WWII)
#3.  The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up  —Marie Kondo
(Best selling Japanese author tells how decluttering frees you and finds joy)
#4.  The Goldfinch  –by Donna Tart
(Pulitzer prize–orphaned boy, a stolen painting, complicated life in N.Y.)
#5.  The Light Between Oceans  –by M.L. Stedman
(Australian childless couple finds a baby and later discovers her actual mother)
#6.  The Other Wes Moore  –by Wes Moore
(Two men grow up in Baltimore-one a Rhodes Scholar, business leader the other in
trouble with the law.  Both named Wes Moore.)

HAPPY READING!!

P.S.– thanks to frenchlarkspur.com for the books on the plate photo

 

 

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

Hey there– My mom can make a sensational peach cobbler–  you now the kind, with those tender-on-the-inside and crunchy-on-the-outside little biscuits floating on top of the spiced peaches.  When I was growing up, when we’d have this for dessert, and the next morning my dad would scoop up a big bowl of it.  He’s remark, “Without the ice cream on top, it’s breakfast!!”   (and, of course, we’d all join in)

Well, here’s my current peachy breakfast (without ice cream!).  It’s in the oven right now.  We have have 7 of our kids/grand-girls soundly sleeping in the house and when they’re up, it will be a peachy breakfast together!

PEACHES AND CREAM OATMEAL
3 plump ripe peaches peeled, pitted & cut into little chunks
2 1/3 cups old fashioned oats
4 cups cream (or whole milk)*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 rounded tsp. of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix together all the ingredients and pour them into a 9″x13″ pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake it all up in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  Serve it up hot with lots of add ons to sprinkle on top—

Here’s some suggestions of things to top off your bowl of peach oatmeal–
a splash more of milk
blueberries
banana
pecans
brown sugar
currants
strawberries
almonds
dried cranberries
granola
black berries raisins
(and if you have 3 grand-girls in your house) sprinkles!

Enjoy it on a sunny summer morning with a table full of family– or all alone with a good book.

*You can use cream, milk, half & half…  I’ve used nonfat milk when that’s what we had on hand.

Apricot Almond Muffins

Good morning!  Sunday mornings are muffins mornings when the family is here.  Everyone is getting up at different times and in different stages of getting read for the day.  So we just leave out a good supply of muffins and some eggs to scramble and everyone manages to breakfast.  I love these sweet simple muffins.  They taste like a sunny Sunday morning…

APRICOT ALMOND MUFFINS
2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped to small bits
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 tab. amaretto (or almond extract)*
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Soak the apricot bits in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes to plump them up.  Then drain off the water.

Next mix together the apricots, egg, milk, oil and amaretto.  And stir in the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Top them off with the almonds

Pop them into the oven at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes while you pull out the eggs and orange juice, put on the coffee.  Breakfast!

 

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

Hello all–  When our 3 grand-girls (and their parents) were packing to move to California from Shanghai, I emailed the girls and said, “I’m about to go grocery shopping to get food for when you come.  What should I buy for you?”  They emailed right back, “peaches, cookies and strawberries!”

Lucky for us strawberries are just coming into season here.  So strawberries in hand, Charlotte and I baked up these fruity muffins last weekend.  Hot from the oven, they were oatmeal homey and strawberry sweet.  We thought they were A-OK!

STRAWBERRY OATMEAL MUFFINS
1 cup oatmeal– regular oats or quick oats
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 to 8 large strawberries, cut to small chunks

Mix the oatmeal, milk, brown sugar, oil and egg.  then stir in the flour, baking powder and salt.  Finally fold in the strawberries.

Scoop the batter into the muffin pan lined with muffin papers.  Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes–until they are browned and firm to the touch.   Makes 10.

Yogurt Pancakes with Maple Apples

Good morning– Saturday morning.  Pancake time!!  When I read this recipe, I thought, “is this going to work?!”  Only 1 cup of flour with all that yogurt and buttermilk?  The answer is YES!  They were light and tender– and with the maple apples –exquisite.  I think I have a new Saturday morning go-to pancake recipe.

YOGURT PANCAKES
1 cup flour
2 tab. yellow cornmeal
4 tab. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk*
1 cup unflavored yogurt
1 egg
2 tab. canola oil

Mix together the dry ingredients–flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder an salt in a pourable mixing bowl. (do you have one with a spout to pour out pancakes?)  Then blend in the buttermilk, yogurt, egg and oil.

Heat the griddle with butter or a spray of cooking spray. And cook the pancakes on medium until golden on both sides.  Makes about 15 lovely pancakes.

MAPLE APPLES
2 tab. melted butter
3 large apples, peeled, cored, cut into chunks
2 tab. maple syrup

Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet.  Drop in the apples and maple syrup.  Saute the apples for about 5 minutes, until they begin to brown a bit and are tender.  Serve with more maple syrup if you like (and I do!).

Baked Gingerbread Pecan French Toast

Good morning breakfast buddies– Loving this spicy version of French toast.  It’s the kind you make the night before and pop in the oven just before breakfast.  We had it for the first time on Christmas morning– along with the cranberry preserves and  lots of maple syrup–thanks to the Bigarels maple trees! (You’re the best Alfie!!)   So easy on a busy morning.

It’s hot from the oven and a little spicy and lot of sweet. I think you’d like it…

BAKED GINGERBREAD PECAN FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf French bread, sliced
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
pinch of salt
1 cup pecans, chopped

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast them at 325 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  Keep your eye on them, because they can burn easily.

Whisk together the melted butter, milk, 1/2 cup maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon allspice and salt.  Dip the sliced bread in the egg mixture and  layer it in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Pour the  extra egg mixture over the top.  Cover the pan with foil and leave it overnight in fridge.

Take it out to warm up a bit while oven preheating. Then bake it, uncovered,  at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Top it with foil if it starts to get too browned.

Serve it up warm with ample maple syrup and the toasted pecans to your own breakfast buddies.  It’s good.

Blueberry Dutch Baby

Hello there–  Love this cheerful baking dish full of blueberries and custard.  You put it together in just 10 minutes and while it’s baking, you can put on some music, build a fire in the fireplace and throw together a salad, maybe a little bacon.  Sunday brunch.

BLUEBERRY DUTCH BABY
2 tab. butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3 tab. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
6 0z. blueberries (about 1 1/4 cup)
powdered sugar for dusting

Melt the butter in the microwave.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.  Then whisk in the milk, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt.

Pour the melted butter into a 9″ baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, covering the bottom of the dish.  Then spoon in the egg batter on top of the butter and top with the blueberries.

Pop it into a 425 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Dust it with powdered sugar straight from the oven and eat it up while it’s hot and puffy!

Confetti Baked Eggs

Hello there– Last week we had a Thanksgiving breakfast with friends.  We talked and sang and prayed and were hopeful and thankful together.  If was a fine morning.  Everyone brought food to share and here was our contribution to the table– eggs with peppers.  Hope you shared dear times of thanks with people you love…

CONFETTI BAKED EGGS
5 eggs beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 cups grated cheddar-jack cheese
1 cup red, green, orange bell peppers, chopped fine
4 oz. black forest ham, cut to bits.

Whisk the eggs until they are foamy and then whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in the cottage cheese, cheddar, peppers and ham.  Spoon it all into a 9″ baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake it up at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and cook for 20 minutes more.  Serve it piping hot and puffy from the oven.

Cranberry Apricot Granola

Hello Breakfast Eating Buddies–  I’m a granola fan, the nuttier and fruitier the better.  At the risk of alienating some of you who are reading– this is kind of the “fruit cake” version of granola– lots of candied fruit and crunchy nuts.  Add a little plain yogurt and it’s breakfast in a bowl.

CRANBERRY APRICOT GRANOLA
3 cups whole oats (oatmeal)
1 cup whole toasted almonds, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup currants

Mix the oats, almonds, walnuts, syrup, salt and cinnamon all up in a big bowl and then spread it onto 2 baking sheets, lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.   Pop it into a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring it around once about half way through.

When it’s out of the oven and cooled, mix in the cranberries, apricots and currants.  Store it in an airtight container.  That’s it!  So easy.

Breakfast Tacos

Buenas Dias!   It’s taco time–for breakfast.  If you think breakfast burritos are a little too heavy duty first thing in the morning, here’s a nice little alternative.  Start with tortillas and eggs and add whatever taco-ish ingredients you like for breakfast–and that you happen to have in the fridge.   These are quick (less than 15 minutes) and everyone can fill their tortilla to their own liking.  I love tacos.  I literally could eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  Hope you like them too.

BREAKFAST TACOS
8 small corn tortillas*
4 slices turkey ham**
4 eggs
salt & pepper
a few drips of hot sauce
cheddar
cilantro
avocado
tomato

Lightly toast the tortillas in the toaster oven for just a couple minutes.  While they are warming up, cut the turkey ham to small bits and brown it in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray (you can use butter or olive oil if you like the real thing).  Beat the eggs in a cup with salt & pepper and a few drops of hot sauce.  Then pour them over the ham and gently fold them in to cook up firm and golden.

Set the torillas on plates and spoon on the eggs, topped with cilantro, cheese, avocado and tomato***.  That’s it.  So breakfast yummy!

* I love the new tiny “street taco size” tortillas made by Guerrero (if you live in California).
**Any ham will do, of course, I just like my inexpensive, almost healthy turkey ham.
— or bacon, who wouldn’t love this with bacon?!
*** or whatever other Mexican food-ish things you love to eat.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Happy Thanksgiving!!  It’s almost here.  And if you have family or friends to feed for breakfast on that busy morning– while your basting the turkey, setting the table, peeling potatoes and turning out pies– here’s a quick filling bowl of breakfast that will hold them over until the big meal later in the day.

PUMPKIN SPICE OATMEAL
1 cup “quick oats” oatmeal*
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
Pecans
Maple syrup

In a microwave proof mixing bowl, stir together the oats, milk, water, salt, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree and brown sugar.  Pop it into the microwave and cook 1 minute on high.  Give it a stir and cook one minute more.

Spoon it into bowls and top with the pecans and maple syrup.  Makes 2 to 3 servings. Eat it while it’s hot!

*Quick oats are the big cylindrical box that say “cooks in 1 minutes.”

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

Good morning– Love this big friendly dish of oatmeal– so creamy, so warm and cozy.  Baking oatmeal is my favorite when I’ve got family in to stay.  And right now (oh joy!) my sis, Lulu, is here clear from Kosovo!  I can’t tell you how I’ve missed that girl!

But back to the oatmeal–  It’s perfect to get up and sleepily put on the tea water, throw the oatmeal ingredients into the dish and pop it in the oven to bake, while you go pull yourself together for the day.  In about 30 minutes you should both be ready…

BAKED BLUEBERRY OATMEAL
1 cup old fashioned whole oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tab. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup blueberries (or blackberries or raspberries)*
Fruit for topping if you like — bananas, peaches, more blueberries…

In a mixing bowl stir together the oats, walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar.  Then mix in the milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla.  Finally fold in the berries.*  Pour it into a 2 quart baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.   Bake it up at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes–

*if you use frozen berries (like I did), it may take a couple minutes longer to cook.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Hi friends– Loved these cheerful little muffins.  We had them with a pot of lentil soup, but I can imagine them on the breakfast table with a plateful of scrambled eggs or even alongside a Thanksgiving turkey!

SWEET POTATO MUFFINS
1 small sweet potato
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk*
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs

topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
4 tab. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Make the topping– mix the sugars and cinnamon.  Stir in the butter and set aside.

Cook the sweet potato 7 or 8 minutes in the microwave until it’s soft and cooked through. Scoop out the creamy orange potato and mash it, reserving 1/2 cup for the muffins (you can eat the rest for lunch!)

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Then stir in the buttermilk, vanilla, oil and eggs.  Finally blend in the mashed sweet potato. Spoon the batter into a muffin tin with 12 cups lined with muffin wrappers.

Use your fingers to crumble the topping over the muffins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until the muffins are golden and firm to the touch.

*to substitute for buttermilk (if you don’t have any on hand), pour 1 tab. cider vinegar in  the measuring cup and fill to 3/4 cup with regular milk.

Swiss Chard & Sausage Frittata

Hello friends– Here’s a cheerful little plate for breakfast.  Or lunch.  Or Sunday supper. You can cut it up and serve it steaming hot from the oven.  Or set it out cold with good bread for a picnic lunch.  It’s just a versatile little dish savory and satisfying–and pretty on the plate!  I think you’d like to add it to your culinary repertoire.

SWISS CHARD & SAUSAGE FRITTATA
2 tab. olive oil
1/2 pound mild Italian sauage*
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper
1/2 brown mushrooms, chopped to nice bits
3 large leaves Swiss chard, stems removed, sliced to pieces
8 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cheddar

Heat the olive oil in a oven proof skillet.  Put in the sausage and onion into the pan.  While it’s cooking chop the sausage to bits– for about 5 minutes until the sausage is browned and cooked through.  Then add in the peppers and mushrooms.  Cook 3 minutes more and finally stir in the Swiss chard, cooking about 1 more minute until it wilts.

While all this cooking is going on in the skillet, beat the eggs until they are frothy.  Stir in the salt and cheddar and pour it evenly over the ingredients in the skillet.  Turn the heat to medium and cook about 3 minutes until the bottom is set.  Then set it into the broiler, about 4 inches from the heat and broil 3 to 4 more minutes until the top is golden and browned around the edges. (Keep at eye on it– it’s easy to burn it in the boiler!)

Serve it up hot with a simple bright salad– breakfast, brunch or a Sunday night dinner…

*1/2 pound of Italian sausage is about 2 links.  Use pork of turkey, mild or hot– it’s up to you…

Orange Oatmeal Pancakes

Hello friends– Quiet Sunday afternoon here, a stack of after church pancakes, sunshine and a soft breeze coming in the back door, a good book waiting on the coffee table. And plans to join friends for a Bach Cantata this evening.  I’d call that a just about perfect Sunday.

But let’s get back to the pancakes. They were fluffy and light with a decidedly orange-y flavor.  Just right with grilled slices of turkey ham and a jug of maple syrup.  I’d recommend them if you have a lazy Sunday ahead.

ORANGE OATMEAL PANCAKES
1 orange
1 cup flour
3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal*
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tab. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice from the orange
3 tab. canola oil

Grate all the orange peel off of the orange and then slice it and squeeze out all the juice (about 1/2 cup).  Mix together the flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Then stir in the egg, milk, orange juice, orange peel and oil.

Pour onto a griddle sprayed with cooking spray– on medium heat.  Cook and flip to brown both sides nicely.  Makes about 12 medium tender  pancakes.

*I used whole oats for more texture, but quick oats are just fine too.

Peach Cobbler Pancakes

Hello there–  I wonder if you’ve run across the t.v. show called “Unique Eats.”  Larry’s t.v. consumption consists mainly of Angel’s baseball games.  But when “Unique Eats” comes on, he’s happy to join in.  It’s a fun one.

The program visits uniquely interesting places to eat around the country– I’m keeping a mental list of the deli in L.A. and the bakery in Brooklyn…  And a few weeks back, they dropped into a brunch place in San Francisco that served peach cobbler pancakes.  These sweet things looked delectable and like something that could happen in my kitchen.  So here’s my best try at these unique early morning pancakes.  They were rather delicious…

PEACH COBBLER PANCAKES

Streusel:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup flour
3 tab. brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

Stir together the oats, four and brown sugar.  With a pastry blender (or food processor) cut in the butter until it form coarse crumbs.

Pancakes:
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tab. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups buttermilk*
3 tab. canola oil
2 large peaches, pitted, peeled and cut into smallish chunks (Plus more to garnish)

In another bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Then add in the egg, buttermilk and oil.  Heat a your skillet to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Pour out about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake.  Top every pancake with a heaping tablespoon of peach bits and then a  heaping tablespoon of streusel.  Cook and flip to cook the streusel side until both sides are a lovely brown.

Serve with more peaches and maple syrup.