Apple Oat Pancakes

These pancakes are great at encouraging children (or even adults who might be resistant) to eat whole grains. Shredding the apple with the skin on increases the fiber in the pancakes and will not be detected once cooked.

DRY INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon Cinnamon, Ground
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
0.5 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoon Cornmeal, whole grain, yellow
0.33 cup White Flour, All-purpose, Enriched, Uunbleached
0.5 cup Oatmeal, quick oats, uncooked
2 cup Graham Flour, whole wheat (Hodgkins Mill)
2 4 oz apples, skin on, grated


WET INGREDIENTS

1 large Eggs
1 Egg white
2 cup Milk, fat free or skim (Commercial Brand)
1 tsp. vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS

1 - Mix together all dry (except apple) ingredients in large bowl.

2 - Add apple and coat with flour mixture.

3 - Create a well in the center.

4 - Lightly beat together egg and egg white and add to mix at the same time as milk and vanilla.

5 - Stir until all ingredients are just combined. Do not over stir; batter will be lumpy.

6 - Using 1/2 cup measure, pour onto heated, greased griddle, grill, or in skillet at 375% or med-high heat.

7 - When pancakes bubble, flip over and cook the other side.

8 - Serve immediately.

Makes 12 servings. Nutritional data for each pancake:





TIP: To freeze, lay these on a baking sheet in a single layer. Once frozen, stack in bag. These reheat well in a toaster for a quick breakfast for the kids or before hitting the gym or heading off to work.

Grilled Pizza

This, by far, is one of the best party tricks I know of. A grilled pizza takes about 4 minutes to cook and you can even ask guests to bring their own toppings (thanks Kel). Fresh mozzerella is much lower in fat and sodium than the aged variety and makes eating pizza a good choice for any night of the week.

One of my favorite things about this trick is that even with all of the cookbooks I read and cooking shows I watch, I learned this from a tattoo artist in New Jersey.~

INGREDIENTS:

Bread flour*, appox 1.5 lbs (I prefer King Arthur's)

2 Teaspoons Instant Yeast (not rapid or active dry)
1 1/2 tsp. flaked kosher salt
2 C. Water
1 TBSP Olive Oil

(*You may also substitue 1/2 the flour for whole wheat with great results--the bread flour, as opposed to AP flour, is essential for the right amount of protien in the dough.)


STEP 1: Make a Biga Yeast Starter

1 - Combine 2 tsp instant (not active dry) Yeast with about two cups warm (not hot) water in mixer bowl (to be used later for kneading--hand kneading is also OK). I mix my biga by hand to break up all clumps.

2 - Add in about 1 cup bread flour. It should have a thick wallpaper paste consistency.

3 - Allow to sit out in warm, non-drafty area for at least 45 minutes or as much as 5 hours.


STEP 2: Make the Dough

1 - Mix salt into bread flour and slowly add flour mixture into the mixing bowl. The dough should remain somewhat sticky and not too dense.

2 - Knead for 5-8 minutes in a mixer fitted with bread hook. If you don't have a mixer, knead on counter (adding flour as needed) for 10-15 minutes. This is a great time to employ the labor of children (or your neighbor's children).

3 - Dough is finished kneading when you can pull off a small piece and work into a baker's window pane (a translucent peice that is smooth and lets light in).

4 - Cut dough into two pieces (four for smaller, more manageable pieces) and shape into neat balls.

5 - Option 1: Place each ball in an olive oil coated bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise on counter for 2 1/2 hours. Option 2: Or, place each ball in oil coated bags and place in refrigerator overnight or for up to six days (the dough gets better with time). Option 3: Or you can place ball in oil coated bag and freeze immediately. Pull out of freezer 24 hours before you wish to use. Allow to rise on counter or pack into cooler--great for camping!


STEP 3: Make the Pizza
1 - If dough has been chilled, allow to come to room temperature on counter.

2 - Heat grill. If you are using gas, heat to highest temperature. For wood or charcoal, make hot fire (you will need to move heat source off to the side just before cooking to avoid burnt crust).

3 - Using hands, gently shape dough into rounds--you shouldn't have to use rolling pin but be careful because overworking will make dough tough.

4 - Place dough on pizza peel (if you don't have one, a large cutting board will work OK, but peels are really inexpensive at most commercial kitchen stores. It's that big paddle thing you see in pizza shops.

5 - Get toppings ready. They will go on pizza AFTER it is on the grill. Personally, I use crushed roma tomatoes strait out of can (or whole San Marzano tomatos run through food mill for really amazing pizza) and a mixture of fresh mozzerella, shredded mexican cheese blend, fresh basil, garlic and whatever else I want to throw on top.

6 - Slide pizza dough onto grill. Close lid to cook side A. Cook for about two minutes, open up grill, and slide peel between pizza and grill. You may need to play with the oven/ grill temperature because they are all different. The most important part is letting the the grills get really hot before cooking the pizzas.

7 - Working quickly, flip over, toss toppings on, and close lid. Cook for an additional 2-4 minutes, until bottom is crisp and slightly charred (but not burnt) and toppings are bubbly.

8 - Using peel, remove pizza from grill. Let cool at least a minute before cutting.

Pumpkin Bisque

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Medium Sweet Onion, quartered
1 Carrot
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic
4 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
2 Medium Tomatoes
2 Bay Leaves*
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger
2 Cups Pumpkin Puree
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Salted Tablespoons Butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic in stock pot with olive oil and sauté until carmelized (beginning to brown).

2 - Deglaze with a little of the chicken stock by pouring in and scraping up all the yummy, flavorful bits.

3 - Add remainin ingredients, except cream and butter, or at this point you can move it to a crock pot and let it do the work for you.

4 - If cooking in crock pot, allow to cook on low for about eight hours. If preparing on stovetop, cook for about an hour or until all veggies are soft.

5 - After veggies are soft, stir in cream and butter.

6 - TAKE OUT BAY LEAVES and Run through blender or use hand blender to puree. You can strain for a lighter, silkier texture but I usually do not bother with that step.

~ Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds and crusty pumpkernickel bread! ~



*This year, due to late frost, my herbs were alive much later so I used a bouquet garni in the place of bay leaves. The results were good.

HEALTH NOTE:
I have made this without the cream and replaced it with 2% milk and/or coconut milk; both alternatives offer great results. You can also omit the butter altogether, too. As is, this soup is rich, I eat a very small serving of it anyway and I feel like it is worth every last bit of the fat (it is low in calories). See nutritional info, below.


Nutritional data calculated for a 1 cup serving. Recipe makes eleven, 1 cup servings.

Pumpkin Praline Layer Cake

This is one of those recipes that I believe is passed around from family to family, among coworkers, and printed in church cookbooks. I found tons of versions online, all seeming to stem from the Mid West. For this version, I substitued the 'pumpkin pie' spices for my own spice blend because I tend to get bored of pumpkin pie spice after about the first time I've had it each year. But pumkin pie spices would work just fine. My blend just offers a little unexpected *zing*.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS:

1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. whipping cream (more needed, below)
3/4 c. chopped pecans
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
1-2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 3/4 c. whipping cream
3 T. brown sugar
reserved spice mix


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and whipping cream. Cook over low heat until the brown sugar just dissolves, stirring occasionally. Divide mixture evenly into two greased 9" round baking pans. Sprinkle evenly with the pecans.

2. Make spice blend. Stir together: coriander, cinnamon, allspice, ginger & nutmeg (or you can use 1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice--there is something so humdrum about pumpkin pie spice that it bores the pants off of me. I made a "cake spice" but pumpkin pie spice would be fine, also.)

3. Reserve in a separate bowl about 1/2 a tsp or so of spice blend to garnish the top of finished cake.

4. Sift remaining spice blend with flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

5. In a mixing bowl of standing mixer, beat together the granulated sugar, cooking oil, vanilla and eggs. Add the pumpkin and dry ingredients alternately to the wet mixture, beating until the mixture is just combined.

6. Carefully spoon the batter over the praline mixture in the baking pans. Place pans on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpicks inserted in the centers come out clean. Cool the cakes in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes (don't cool much longer as the praline begins to harden and that could make it more difficult to get cakes out of pan in one piece). Invert them onto wire racks, replacing any brown-sugar mixture that remains in the pans. Cool before assembling.

7. No more than 1 hour before serving: prepare the Whipped Cream Topping. Whip 1 3/4 cup whipping cream with 3 tbsp brown sugar until stiff peaks form. Tip: If you whip by hand, not only do you burn calories :) but the cream will be much more stable and hold it's shape when the cake is cut.

8. To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate, praline side up. Spread with 1/2 of the topping. Add the second layer, praline side up. Pipe or dollop with the remaining topping. Sprinkle lightly with reserved spice and a little extra fresh nutmeg, if you like. Makes 12 generous servings. Refrigerate leftovers

Not for the faint of heart, but worth doing a Thanksgiving 5-K run for!  For 1/12 of cake: