Plain Restaurant-like Pancakes

"Mom... why do our pancakes always have to be healthy?  Can't we for once just have plain pancakes??  You know, like the big white ones at restaurants?"  Such were the questions Liv posed a few mornings ago as we discussed breakfast.

When my son was a baby he lived on pancakes, and over the years I've learned to stuff just about every sort of nutrient possible into those beloved circles of batter.  Pumpkin, with its pie-like spiciness, has always been a favorite (and filled with Vitamin A).  Our buttermilk version included rolled oats (lots of fiber) and even my most decadent version, the one served with the warm maple glaze, is made with whole wheat flour and bananas (potassium and grains covered here).  Fruits of all sorts tend to find their way into the pancakes (Blueberry anyone??) and nuts are a frequent partner.

Instagram shot

Back to Liv's request for plain restaurant pancakes, and my head filled with visions of packaged pancake mixes (not that there's anything wrong with that) and a plate of few nutrients.  On occasion?  Not a problem.

Referring to a basic recipe from Martha Stewart, I glanced at the ingredients of white flour, granulated sugar and lots of butter and began reaching into the pantry.  Somehow my spelt flour came out along with the white flour and my favorite orange blossom honey happened to replace my grasp for the sugar.  1/4 cup of butter?  It seemed a generous tablespoon would cover that, and then I might also have added a little flax meal.

Stirring the ingredients together, Liv smiled as I asked her to put the all-purpose flour away (I had taken care of the spelt and flax) and she proceeded to give herself a generous pour of maple syrup into her favorite pitcher.  Asking for plate sized pancakes, like the restaurant, in place of the smaller sized that I normally do, these beauties puffed up stunningly and had the kitchen smelling like breakfast in no time flat.

Serving up a plate-sized double stack, my girl smiled that, "Oh my goodness I can't believe she made plain restaurant pancakes!" smile, and proceeded to clean her plate.  She didn't oppose the banana and walnut topping, and proclaimed these pancakes even better than her favorite plain restaurant versions.

I gave her a hug as I tossed another one onto her plate and my heart grew just a little knowing that my girl likes healthier things... she just doesn't know it.

Super Soft California Breakfast Tacos

With the advent of the internet, I don't often get mail anymore.  The day of the actual letter has disappeared leaving my mailbox filled mostly with unwanted bills and junk.  Hence, when the doorbell rings and my smiling mail lady presents an unexpected package, my heart does a little jump of happiness.

The kids are used to me receiving blog "stuff", and frequently show their disappointment when the box reveals something like coffee, or a blender, or avocados.  This time though, the contents of my blog box featured three fresh packages of Mission's new Super Soft Tortillas.  Looking at the over 40 tortillas in all sorts of sizes I immediately thought, "There is no way we will ever be able to eat all of those...", but the kid's enthusiasm spread like wildfire, and before I knew what was happening my son was planning breakfast for dinner.

Ever the teenage boy, tortillas have become his vehicle of choice to obtain fuel for his growing body (have I mentioned shoe costs lately??).  Who knew one could live on burritos alone?  Who knew warming a frozen burrito in the microwave was considered cooking?  Who knew my son can put together a mean Breakfast Burrito?

With comments of, "Fast food breakfast burritos are gross.", and, "All you do is wrap breakfast into the burrito and you can take it with you!", my son showed me that he does indeed have taste as well as a touch of ingenuity.

While the "Breakfast Burrito" per se is nothing new, making them in our house was new to us.  Filling Mission's Super Soft Tortillas with more ingredients than you can imagine, our family of four did indeed manage to polish off each and every one of those tortillas arriving on our doorstep.  Liv and my son preferred the full traditional, folded burrito, while my husband and I chose to make ours more taco style.

Everyone started with a base of fluffy scrambled eggs (or egg whites), but that's where the ingenuity came in.  The boy child added bacon, potatoes, avocado, black beans and tons salsa to his version, while Liv preferred spinach, peppers, avocado and a mere 1/2 tsp of salsa for a little extra kick.  My husband, saying he needs "man-food", went with the eggs, bacon, avocado and hot sauce, and my version blended a bit of all of the above.

Still working to reduce the calories that my middle-aged middle is intent collecting, I stuck to 1 whole egg plus an extra egg white.  Adding spinach, avocado, fresh tomatoes, red onion, black beans and a touch of salsa I found the perfect way to start (or finish) my day.  Reducing the carbs slightly, I stuck to the soft taco sized tortilla overflowing with the fresh ingredients, and yes... breakfast for dinner is perfect.

As for the tortillas, I've been scolded for letting our supply run low.  Wondering why I didn't think of making Breakfast Burritos before, Mission's super soft tortillas have now become a staple in our pantry.  I'm thrilled at how the kids embraced a meal that fills so many nutritional levels all wrapped up and ready to go, and I even more thrilled that my son made it himself.

Strawberry Ebelskivers for Old Doug in BC

Life is made up of a series of paths taking us from one place to another.  As we meander through this life, these paths sometimes join others and others sometimes join ours.  Some people remain on our path for a lifetime while different people pop in and pop out, and still others may join for a while and then leave all together.

Along the way certain people who cross your path become special, and such is the case with my friend Doug.  Old Doug from BC, he calls himself.  Some of you may remember a post we wrote for his wife, Miss Marie, when she was in the hospital last October struggling with some heart issues.  Doug and her family nursed her through, and though it was a long haul she made it home and returned to the kitchen.

Doug's path is one that has touched mine on occasion, and though we've never actually met in person, I know the world is a better place for having him in it.

Shortly after starting Liv Life, Doug emailed me with a glowing review of a recipe I had posted and sent along some recipes that he thought I might enjoy.  Over the months he's emailed numerous times updating me on his and Marie's latest cooking ventures and occasionally sending photos of their finished products.  Marie is quite the bread baker.

I've heard about new births, grand children's dance competitions (he has 9 great grand children!) and birthdays.  In addition I've enjoyed reading about Doug's days in the Royal Canadian Air Force where he spent some time as a photographer as well as some of his travels which have taken him around the world.  Through our email exchanges his love for his Marie is abundantly evident, and I take joy in reading the love that comes from his heart.  I'm thankful that Doug's path has crossed mine even if it has only been by email.  He has brought a smile to my face time and again and has encouraged me to "Liv Life".

Continuing on our paths of life, we all eventually find an end.  Hopefully we have lived full lives when we reach that point, but I'm certain that coming upon that point is never easy.  My friend Old Doug is facing that point.

Earlier this year he wrote to tell me that he and Miss Marie had spent their last Christmas together (they spent it alone, refusing all invitations and enjoyed a beautiful roast chicken together).  He was now living with an air machine to help him breathe and the doctors had delivered that never welcome news that they could not cure him.  Miss Marie had taken over all of the cooking, though Doug mentioned that he did still make suggestions and he confided that Miss Marie "usually" followed them.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Doug's daughter letting me know that my friend was in the hospital and would most likely not return home.  But last night I received an email from Doug himself!  He's hanging in there, but says he's not in good shape and he wanted to send me his best wishes.

My dear Doug... we are sending our best wishes back to you along with hugs from Liv and me.  Thank you for crossing my path.

Egg Cheese Muffin - Breakfast Sandwich with Homemade English Muffins and Kraft Singles

Raise your hand if you've ever taken a bite out of the middle of a Kraft American Single slice of cheese and peeked through the hole.  (Insert picture of me raising my hand here).  Raise your hand if you've ever torn your single slice into strips and worn it as a beard.  (Insert that same picture of me here...).  Raise your hand if you remember opening the wrapper of the single cheese and thinking it was fun.  (Ok... am I the only one raising my had here?).

If you are less than 63 years old, then you have grown up with the Kraft American Singles existing in your world whether you indulged in them or not.  Growing up in the late 60's and early 70's, a real grilled cheese for me included a slice or two (or perhaps 3) of American Cheese which melted into the perfect cheesy consistency.

My son, following in my footsteps, grew up with these cheese slices being one of the few foods he would always eat.  Trying to teach him to eat a rainbow of food colors in his monotone world (bread, pasta, chicken, bananas, yogurt and pancakes), he considered Kraft American Cheese Singles his color.  Folded into a quesadilla, grilled into a grilled cheese sandwich or simply eaten out of the super fun to open plastic wrapper (I won't go into the time he opened all the wrappers in the cheese drawer just because it was so fun), I could always count on a slice of cheese to go down.

As such, when Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program in combination with Kraft offered to sponsor me to write about our Kraft Singles memories, I jumped at the opportunity as this is an ingredient I can wholeheartedly support.  With a decent dose of calcium, 25% of the RDA, and 4 grams of protein, this cheese helped get nutrition into that picky boy.

Now 16 years old and lactose intolerant, my son has gone dairy free.  Well, mostly.  It is the occasional Egg Cheese Muffin Breakfast Sandwich that spurs him to re-enter the world of dairy.  Taking additional lactose pills, the smile on his face still shows sheer pleasure in every bite.

A simple recipe, he prefers his version unadorned and with only the three ingredients... the egg, the cheese and the muffin.  We've tried to add extras like bacon, avocado, and tomato, but all have been vetoed in favor of the original version he has enjoyed for some 15 years.

Stepping up my game a little, today's version included not only the original recipe, but homemade English Muffins which turned out to be fairly easy, though a bit lengthy, to make.  The bread machine makes easy work of processing the dough and a large drinking glass filled in for my missing muffin cutter.  Semolina flour dusted my board and within minutes of rolling out the dough I had muffins working on their second rise and nearly ready to be cooked on the stove top.

Placed on a griddle over medium heat, the muffins puffed as they cooked and were ready to be toasted and turned into Egg Cheese Muffins in a little more than 10 minutes.

Kids everywhere, and every age, still love Kraft Singles and I didn't have to ask twice to have my neighbor kids Maggie and Jack volunteer to be our photo shoot models.  My suggestion was, "Play with your cheese.", and I smiled to myself as Miss Maggie's first suggestion was to bite a hole in the middle of the cheese so she could look through it.  Some things never change.

Blueberry Waffles

It wasn't until I was in my late 20's, after I met my husband (some 20 years ago...), that I discovered I have a love of blueberries.  Growing up, I don't remember eating a blueberry other than in a sweet, cupcake-like muffin, and I certainly don't recall ever eating a fresh blueberry right out of the basket.   Fruit salads also remained blueberry-less.

My husband, however, lists blueberries as his favorite fruit and has indeed passed the blue gene down to Liv.  As a baby she she would gobble exorbitant amounts of the little blue orbs costing me a small fortune in out of season organic berries.  Today she still loves blue berries and will snack on a handful them right from the freezer as she whips them into some sort of smoothie.

Also loving all things breakfast, the Blueberry Waffle is a frequent Liv request, especially on leisurely weekends.  While she prefers to place her berries by hand into pancakes, creating an individual smilie face on each one, I prefer to dump a handful or two into my waffle batter for more of an I-don't-have-time-for-that scattered look.

With our new Cuisinart Waffle Maker, waffles have been making more of a frequent appearance on our breakfast table.  This particular version is filled with plump fresh berries in addition to protein-rich eggs and whole grains for a healthier start to her day.  Topped with additional fresh berries as well as Pure Maple Syrup, we have a keeper.

Maple Granola with Pure Maple Syrup

Liv's love for everything Maple has only grown over the years.  Rich and robust in flavor, pure maple syrup satisfies her sweet tooth while adding a depth and complexity beyond that of granulated white sugar.  And with 1/4 cup providing generous doses of Manganese (necessary for brain and nerve function) and Riboflavin (produces energy and works as an antioxidant) in addition to a decent dose of immunity fighting zinc, this sweetener (lower in sugar than pure honey) is one I can feel good about giving her in moderation.

To be sure you are purchasing pure maple syrup, always check the ingredients listed on your product where you should find one (1), and only one, ingredient - maple syrup.  Many imitation syrups, or pancake syrups, do not contain any real maple syrup at all, and some of those claiming to be made from pure maple syrup may have as little as 5% of the real stuff.

Maple syrup, actually the boiled sap of the sugar, black or red maple tree, is harvested by tapping, or piercing, the tree to allow the clear, almost tasteless and low in sugar sap run freely from the tree.  After collection, the sap is boiled and the water evaporated leaving the various grades of pure maple syrup that we find in our local stores.

In general, syrups tapped at the beginning of the harvesting season are clearer and lighter in flavor, such as Grade A.  Grade B provides a darker, stronger and more complex syrup that remains a favorite with mixologists when crafting bourbon, rum and whiskey cocktails.

Whichever grade your prefer, maple syrup adds a special, "homey" flavor to your baked goods and an additional depth and complexity to soups and savory dishes.  Wonderful in so many recipes, our favorite remains the simple pancake or waffle drenched in our favorite Grade B Pure Maple Syrup and topped with a sliced banana.

With thanks to Pure Canadian Maple Syrup, who so kindly sent us samples of Grades A and B Pure Maple Goodness, we present to you some of our favorite Maple recipes in addition to a tasty new creation made with the samples - Maple Granola.  Pure Canadian Maple Syrup's web site is an excellent source for additional maple syrup health benefits and they feature a collection of recipes.

Do you have a favorite use for Maple?  Let us know!

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Ellie Krieger's Honey Harvest Quinoa

After a few month sabbatical from my gym routine, yesterday marked my return with a morning of treadmills and lifting.  The light "getting back into it" workout felt great and today I have that wonderful "I did something good" feeling in my arms and abs.  Definitely not wanting to "over do it", though (insert husband eye roll here!), I decided to take today off instead choosing to walk the pups along the beach.  With a nice breakfast of chicken and scrambled egg along with the usual dog kibble providing a good dose of protein for the pups I turned to Ellie Krieger to keep myself on track.

Quinoa made its appearance in our home a number of years ago with our family enjoying the somewhat distinctive delicate flavors and slightly grainy texture.  Frequently described as a grain, quinoa is actually the seed to a leafy plant distantly related to spinach.  With a protein quality equivalent to that of milk and a good dose of manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, the seed packs a healthy punch in addition to providing a pleasing delicate, nutty flavor.  Easily substitutable for most any other grain, this seed has earned a high place in my kitchen and has made its way to our table in the form of fresh summer salads, casseroles and soups.  However, before this morning I had not thought of it for breakfast.

Ellie's Honey Harvest Quinoa brings some of our favorite breakfast ingredients to the table providing a somewhat sweet yet protein rich start to your day.  Filled with nuts and fruits, honey and a touch of cinnamon this ancient seed fills my protein requirement in a very pleasing way.  Versatility is the key to this breakfast dish with nearly any variation of the fruits, nuts and honey making it a new dish each time you serve it!

Ellie Krieger's Vanilla Spice Oatmeal

Some things are so simple.  Oatmeal for one... how hard is it to boil water, add oats and serve with milk?  This quintessential belly filling, body warming, bowl of goodness seems to be cooking at it's easiest.  But, it's a little lifeless, and well... boring.  

Growing up my dad had oatmeal topped with honey almost every day, and I always turned my nose up and poured myself a bowl of cold cereal.  When I got married, my husband also preferred oatmeal in the morning and I thought I'd give it another try.  Good, but like I said earlier, boring.  Raisins on top helped, but sugar made it too sweet and I went back to my cold cereal box.

However... last February my husband took me on a 14 day cruise to the South Pacific (oh how I love the Tropics!) on a small cruise ship called the Paul Gauguin (Cruise Critic Review here!).  Each morning our server, Joey, would save my seat and bring me a bowl of oatmeal topped with golden raisins, walnuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Wow!  What a difference these simple ingredients made!  I found myself actually craving that warm bowl even while basking in the humidity of Raiatea or Bora Bora. 

Yesterday while perusing one of my favorite books by Ellie Krieger, So Easy, I stumbled upon her recipe for Vanilla Spice Oatmeal.  With the sun shining bright this morning I mixed together the simple additions, including my prized Tahitian Vanilla Extract from our vacation, and sat down to a wonderful, tasty and "unboring" breakfast!  Closing my eyes I could almost feel the trade winds blowing the sweet, floral scent of vanilla through my kitchen.  Thank you, Ellie,  for spicing up my life!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Pancakes, hot off the griddle, topped with a touch of butter or maybe some sweet maple syrup, are always a good start to the morning.  Add in some whole grains and a side of OJ for a health boost and you are off and running with energy for the day!  Our early Tuesday morning followed this exact scenario after enjoying a much needed extra day off during our holiday weekend.  

As this summer draws itself to an unwelcome close we did our best to enjoy the holiday weekend.  A fun-filled evening with friends, an exciting day at the track and best of all, simple time together was enjoyed by all.  However, it was with heavy hearts that we received news that two of my husband's co-workers lost their lives last Friday as they valiantly fought to get the UPS 747 they were flying on the ground as some sort of fire caused them to eventually crash their plane in Dubai.  Our hearts, in addition to our thoughts and prayers, are with their families as they suffer through these most difficult days.  As I send my husband off to fly the open skies this evening I know there are two new shining stars to clear the way for all those in the air.

All the more important to have enjoyed our special early morning pancake breakfast!  Lately I've been getting a number of foodie comments from the kids, but the one that lets me know we have a definite hit is "Mom... you should write about this one!"  And that is the exact comment I received this morning regarding these easy to make, far better than any box, fluffy pancakes.  Whole wheat flour and a touch of wheat germ add additional flavor to the light texture, while the buttermilk adds a bit of depth.  While Liv feels they would be best with covered with whipped cream in addition to syrup, we simply stuck to the syrup and were quite pleased all the way around.  

Waffles

I consider myself a fairly good photographer... definitely not a pro, but I take some pretty darn good shots.  This blog has been challenging me though.  I have a new respect for food "artists" and food photographers.  Trying to take into account the scene, background, lighting and then getting the food arranged to make it look pretty just puts me over the top!  Give me a good landscape or smiling kid any day.  Today, luckily, I had a food designer to make my job easier.  After requesting waffles for her healthy, pre-dance marathon day breakfast, Olivia suggested that we take a picture of the waffles for our new blog.  Good thinking, I thought!