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Chocolate Pancakes ~ Worth Writing About

Life cycles. The past year and a half has kept me pedaling at break neck speed trying to keep up with all the roles I've chosen to nourish in my life. Unfortunately there isn't always time for everything. Sometimes we have to put things on the back burner for a little while until we can catch up. Inspired cooking has been one of the things I've had to sacrifice a little bit lately. But, an unexpected "snow day*" left a little space for extra family time that I was happy to spend in the kitchen. The time spent cooking with my daughter AND these delicious, and not to sweet chocolate pancakes, were totally worth writing about!


Bela is already capable all on her own in the kitchen. It's always more fun, though, to cook with a friend. She is well on her way to posting some of her own cooking adventures on here soon I think. We picked out, modified a bit, and whipped up these heavenly pancakes inspired from the recipe posted below. 

Divine (but not TOO sweet) Chocolate Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup lite coconut milk 
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• Stir together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. 
• In separate bowl, combine eggs, milks, and vanilla.
• Stir until ingredients are combined and batter is smooth.
• Preheat a skillet on medium heat. Drop a pat of butter or cooking oil to coat pan. Spoon 1/4 cup of batter on skillet and cook until bubbles form (about 2-3 minutes). Flip and cook until lightly browned (about 1 minute).
• The chocolate and sweetness is pretty subtle. To make them extra special today we added a dollop of cream and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon and cocoa.

This recipe serves 3-4 (about 12 pancakes) and is adapted from a "Chocolate French Silk Pancakes"
recipe that we found at: http://thewhimsicalcupcake.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/chocolate-french-silk-pancakes/#comments.

*Even though it's not really snowing, school is closed because of "excessive cold." These pancakes and time together sure did bring warm smiles to our faces.

Rice Noodle Salad Formula

Use this formula to make an asian inspired rice noodle salad....

Prep:
Boil 4 - 6 cups of water

Sauce:
Prepare a noodle sauce. Here's my basic sauce recipe:

• 3 Tb. soy sauce
• 2 Tb. rice wine vinegar
• Dash of sweet - drizzle of honey or pinch of sugar

Noodles:
Once water boils, take the water off the heat and add the rice noodles to soak and soften
Let stand for 6 - 8 minutes until noodles are soft but firm
Drain and set aside

Veggies:
While the water boils and the noodles soak prep some veggies for stir-fry. I always have carrots in the fridge which I julienne. I also had some broccoli slaw at the ready. Use your favorites.

Stir Fry:
Drizzle some oil in your wok or large fry pan. Saute your veggies until tender crisp. Add drained noodles and your sauce. Stir to combine until noodles are warm again.

Top:
Nuts are always a delicious and nutritious garnish. In the summer I like a small diced crisp cucumber on top.

Enjoy!

Re- Boot

Sometimes when life gets chaotic a reboot is called for. Just like with our computers, information can start to become so jumbled that a power-down is essential to reset the internal structure so that the info can flow clearly again. I needed one of those power-downs over the last several months. Now that the sunshine, warm weather, and fresh air are once again abundant I've got more energy to keep up here.

As well as needing a little down time from tracking all the family meals, my diet needed a little revamp. This year was a tough one for me health wise. I felt more sick and injured this year than I have in a long time. The truth is it was a pretty stressful year and unfortunately my optimal health habits feel a little short. In my reboot time, I need a nutritional analysis of my diet and was shocked at how little protein I was feeding myself. I also saw a few other deficiencies. So for the next little while, I'll be pumping up the veggie protein in the least processed way possible. It's energizing for me to have a measurable goal and I look forward to documenting and sharing my progress.

By the way, I'm also focusing on getting more omega oils in my diet (mostly by way of walnuts with a bit of chocolate for motivation;-) and am committed to taking my B's, C, and calcium in supplement form because I was way short on those guys too.

Feel free to share your protein power-ups as I'm always looking for inspiration.

Live well, be well ~ and when you get off track find a way to reboot! Peace, Kate

5 Minute Breakfast Rice

Not being a big "breakfast person," my first meal (or really rather a snack, I suppose) has to be quick, easy, and light. This little bowl is packed full of energy and goes down easily. I usually make a batch of rice once a week to toss into quick little meals for myself: "porridges" for breakfast, pilafs, rice salads, and stir-frys for lunch. That way eating healthy is always easy. This is the base recipe with this mornings  toppings of choice. Feel free to fill your breakfast rice with anything that sets your sails alight. 

• Warm a skillet over medium heat.
• Add a portion of left-over rice.
• Splash on a little milk of your choice ~ soy for me today
• Add a few dashes of spice ~ I'm using a sprinkling of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger which are my winter "sweet" staples
• Stir in a handful of fixin's ~ today it's a handful or organic raspberries and a few chopped raw almonds

That's it. Now go ahead and make it a great day.

Guilt-Free and Delicious ~ Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Earlier this week I made up my own vegan muffin recipe and I am going to roll with this concept. Nut butter and mashed fruit form the base for these guilt-free muffins! This recipe is made especially for my little man!

~ Oven to 350°
~ Prepare muffin tins by coating with oil or cooking spray.
(You could also make this in a 4x9 loaf tin. Just cook it a little longer. Or use mini-muffin tins and bake only about 8 minutes.)

Prepare the wet mix in a wide mixing bowl. Combine:

• mash 1 medium size banana
• 1/2 nut butter (peanut butter today**)
• 1 cup "milk" of choice (it's soy here)

Prepare your dry ingredients in a separate medium/large mixing bowl.
Combine:

• 2 cups of flour of choice 
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (if you are cooking for a strict vegan make sure to get vegan chocolate chips!)

Make a well in the center of the dry mix, pour in the wet mix, and stir just until combined. Scoop your mixture evenly in to your tins and bake at 350 for about 8 - 10 minutes. Put a fork in it. When it comes out clean, they are ready.


Believe it! no eggs, no dairy, no gluten (if you used a gluten-free mix), very low sugar, and no sacrificing taste! Enjoy with your kids.


**Peanut butter is one of those foods that is probably worth paying for the organic version. Most peanuts (except organic) are genetically modified. If that word doesn't scare you, I don't know what will. 

Food to Welcome the New Year of the Dragon

The moon begins it's new year cycle today which is also how China marks it's new year. This year is a dragon year which brings transformation. I learned recently that Chinese dragons, unlike ferocious western dragons, are happy and playful.  I think we are all up for some fun this year, aren't we? I just found this website for some inspiration for dinner tonight. The menu is in the works. I'm thinking broccoli, cauliflower, and maybe shrimp or fish with long noodles. The menu is symbolic of happiness blossoming, wishes coming true, abundance, and a long, healthy life.  I'll update later... but for now find your own inspiration here http://steamykitchen.com/7297-what-to-eat-for-chinese-new-year-recipes.html

I made stir-fry with this basic sauce:
3 Tb. tamari (soy sauce)
2 Tb. rice wine vinegar
1 T. umeboshi plum wine vinegar (you can just use rice wine vinegar)
1 Tb. sugar
1 Tb. corn starch
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 clove chopped garlic or shallot