Showing posts with label Pancakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pancakes. Show all posts

Jul 11, 2018

Recipe: Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)

Okonomiyaki - fun word to say, isn't it? It's also a fun dish to make (and eat).

Okonomiyaki Recipe

The savory Japanese pancake is made with cabbage, tenkasu (crunchy tempura bits), and bacon, fried up in a skillet, and then topped with green onions, nori flakes, sesame seeds, and okonomi sauce (think Japanese version of ketchup. Enjoy!

Okonomiyaki

1 big pancake (serves 2)

* 2 cups green cabbage, chopped into very thin strips (the thinner, the better for getting the pancake to keep its form well)

* 0.667 c. water
* 0.333 tsp. dashi stock powder

* 0.5 c. all-purpose flour
 * 1 egg
* 3 Tbsp. tenkasu (tempura bits)

* 0.333 c. chopped green onions

* 4 strips bacon, cut into ~2" pieces

* Okonomi sauce
* Sesame Seeds
* Flaked nori (I tore up a few regular nori sheets, but you can also buy aonori)

1. Whisk the dashi stock powder into the water in a large bowl until dissolved.

2. Add the flour, egg, and tenkasu. Whisk well, to form an even batter.

3. Add the cabbage and most of the chopped green onions (reserve a bit of the onions for topping).

Homemade okonomiyaki recipe

4. Heat some oil in a large skillet pan. 

5. Once the oil is hot, spoon the cabbage batter into the pan and smooth into an even layer, about 0.5" thick throughout. Sprinkle the chopped bacon on top.

How to make okonomiyaki

6. Cook the pancake for 4 minutes, then flip. Cook for an additional 5 minutes with the bacon side down, or until the bacon is crispy.

7. Flip the pancake again, so now the bacon side is up, and cook for an additional 4 minutes.

8. Transfer the pancake to a plate. Drizzle the okonomi sauce over it and then sprinkle the remaining green onions, as well as the nori flakes and sesame seeds, over the pancake.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake) recipe

Looks delicious, doesn't it? Food with toppings is so much more fun - acai bowls, frozen yogurt, and now okonomiyaki!

Have you tried okonomiyaki? How about other savory pancakes?

Aug 2, 2015

Recipe Roundup: My Summer Breakfast To-Try List

Breakfast foods are my favorite kind of foods. Seriously, I eat breakfast foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. All day long.

But other people eat breakfast for breakfast! And, on the weekends at least, sometimes friends have the time to come join you for breakfast/brunch!

How getting to make breakfast for people makes me feel!
Here is a roundup of some recipes that I can't wait to test out on weekend breakfast/brunch guests.

Apr 19, 2015

Recipe - The "Best Pancakes Ever"


These pancakes are, according to both of it taste testers (a middle aged woman and a rambunctious ten year old), the "best pancakes ever."


They're really easy to make, use only basic ingredients that can be found in most kitchen pantries, and are absolutely fluffy and perfect!

Dec 29, 2014

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Protein Pancakes


I'm bummed that Christmas is over, but consoling myself with a Christmas morning-worthy breakfast definitely doesn't hurt!

Since pure indulgence can't be an all-the-time thing without making you feel sluggish and sick, here's a breakfast recipe featuring Vega One, a vegan protein powder that's a veritable nutrition powerhouse with antioxidants, probiotics, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and maca all in one.


These pancakes only taste indulgent!

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Pancakes
Serves 2

* 2 scoops Vega One French Vanilla
* 4 Tbsp. Old Fashioned Oats
* 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/8 of salt
* 1 mashed ripe banana
* 1.5 Tbsp. coconut oil
* 1/3 c. soy milk
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1/3 c. dairy-free semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

* Oil for cooking

1) Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mix well.

2) Combine the remaining ingredients, except the chocolate chips, in a medium sized mixing bowl, mix well.

3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until combined (but don't overmix).

4) Mix in the mini chocolate chips.

5) Warm oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet pan.


6) Ladle batter into the hot oil.

7) Cook for ~3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

8) Serve warm!


If you need an extra dose of post-Christmas pick-me-up, garnish with fresh berries and coconut cream. It will be impossible not to smile!

Are you already planning for New Year's Eve?

What are your go-to breakfasts over the holiday season?

Sep 4, 2014

Green Pancake Recipe

Hi guys! I'm just stopping in shortly to ask you to check out my guest post over at Neil's Healthy Meals.


I made some delicious Blueberry Banana Monster Pancakes and I know you want to try them!

Dec 23, 2013

Christmas Breakfasts to Start the Day Right!

I love breakfast on Christmas morning. Delicious, sweet breakfast foods eaten around a merry table with family, post-presents (or pre-, depending on the extent of your self-control around presents/how hangry you get). What could be more perfect?

If you're one of those people who wakes up at 4am on Christmas, you can put together a delightful breakfast for the rest of the family. They'll like that a lot better than if you wake them up at that ungodly hour!

Here are some delicious-looking recipes from around the internet. Make one (or several!) of these and you'll be one of the most sought-after Christmas guests around!

Lulu's Pop's Pancakes



The ingredients are pretty easy to find in most pantries, with buttermilk as the only slightly unusual one.

Don't worry if you're out of buttermilk, you can easily sub in just under a cup of regular cow's milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice (I tend to get the best results with lemon juice) for the buttermilk. I haven't tried it with non-dairy milks, however, so be wary if you're going to try to make these with almond or soy milk - I don't recommend it!

To turn a great breakfast into a stellar Christmas breakfast, turn the above pancakes into a winter treat:


Alternate options for fruit lovers are blueberry 'coal' buttons/eyes/nose and shaved coconut snow. Feel free to frost the snowman with vanilla greek yogurt and/or powdered sugar. Also, vegetarian breakfasters will be pleased if you sub out the bacon scarf for a row of strawberries!

If you're serving a real health nut or need a lot of energy for your Christmas morning activities (snowman building, anyone?), this next option is a great choice!



To make it even more Christmasy, add some chopped peppermint bark and/or candy canes. Yum!

Or maybe you're hosting a granola skeptic.

WHAT? THOSE EXIST?

Convert even the most stubborn cereal-foe with the following recipe.


white fudge Peppermint oreo granola | thebittersideofsweet.com
So it's definitely not the healthiest breakfast around, especially since it's almost begging to be combined with ice cream. But it's Christmas and a sugar high is almost a requirement!

As fun as these breakfasts are, don't forget that simplicity can be a real winner. For example, my little sister loves bacon.


We don't have it very often, so making sure to put a rare, but loved, treat like that on the menu can go a long way towards awakening those Christmas morning happy tummy smiles!

If you got up way too early to make anything less than gourmet, turn it into Marla's Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bacon.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bacon | FamilyFreshCooking.com
Or get fancy and French with Marie's Bacon Quiche


Or you can just serve chocolate on bread. That works.

YUM.

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

What are you serving on Christmas this year?

Are you planning on trying any of those recipes?

Jun 19, 2013

WIAW #94: Diet to Go Review

I'm reviewing another week of Diet to Go meals - yum!

Diet to Go - Healthy Eating Made Easy

As I noted the last time that I reviewed their service, they're a great meal service option for health-minded individuals, whether or not you're trying to lose any weight.

I chose the vegetarian meal plan again, of course, and added in my own snacks of granola bars, trail mix, bowls of cereal, ice cream sundaes (it's summer and HOT), fruit, etc. As you can tell, I'm not trying to lose weight.

But I definitely loved the convenience of these meals. And the taste! It was fun to eat delicious, nutritious meals that are different from what I normally make!

Anyway, without further ado:

Peas and Crayons

Here are some of the highlights of my week of Diet to Go meals!

I had the Diet to Go Chugwater Chili again - yum!

There were lots of great grains and legumes this week!

Diet to Go Chugwater Chili with (big) Cornbread Muffin
Last time, I complained a bit about how some of their options used refined grains where they could have just as easily chosen the whole grain alternative. Their menu rotates, however, and I found that this week was much more whole grain friendly!

Large Cornbread muffin

And deliciously so.

I couldn't get enough of the Aztec Quinoa Salad.



I would seriously order a week's worth of this as every single lunch option.

No joke.



The chickpeas are an ingenious inclusion and add that soft, buttery something to the delicious nutty chewiness of the quinoa.



Now I'm craving it again, haha.

The wheatberry salad was also absolutely delicious.



The dressing was great and the dried cranberries were plump and juicy!



It was a side to the Portobello Meltover Dish. 


Like the other meltovers, it's quite cheese-heavy. 


Since I struggle with digesting cheese (worst stomach discomfort ever, thanks lactose intolerance) I removed what I could of it before microwaving.




It was still absolutely delicious! The portobellos were big and juicy (I very rarely eat mushrooms and never make them myself, but I have no idea why - they're delicious) and the marinara is super flavorful and packed with veggies! There's some cheese in the marinara mix itself, so I felt a bit queasy thirty minute later, but not too bad. And it was delicious!

But not as delicious as the Armenian Stew meal.


Lots and lots of veggies and legumes in this meal - and my first time trying cauliflower rice! Loved it.


There was pretty much no way that I wasn't going to love this meal - lentils, creamy cauliflower mash (it really was more mashed potato-like, post-microwaving) and flavorful sauteed brussel sprouts in a ridiculously delicious sauce?

Frozen
What's not to love??

Frozen
Exactly. Making this, by far, one of my favorite of their savory meals. I really liked the inclusion of cumin in the stew, it was great! 


The only change I would possibly make to improve it would be to reduce the liquid in the stew - the first few bites were more soup-like, before I got to the (LOTS OF) lentils below. 

Or maybe I just need to work on my mixing skills.



The Vegetables in Curry Sauce wasn't actually a personal favorite, as I'm not super wild about curry and the cream in the curry sauce made me feel a bit ill after eating (darned lactose issues) but I'm including it because it was done very, very well and I know that my mom (and many others) would absolutely love it!



They get major kudos for finding brown basmati rice - I didn't even know that was a thing!

Frozen
There are lots of great veggies in the dish (that's one of the things I really love about Diet to Go - unlike many other meal services, especially frozen meal services, they really keep an emphasis on fresh foods, everything tasted super fresh, and on keeping their meals healthy and balanced with veggies). 

Hot
The yellow squash in the creamy curry sauce was great and the brown rice was cooked to perfection, even after nuking in the microwave. And the beans? Don't get me started on the beans!


These guys really know how to do spices. I have yet to find a bland meal in the whole batch, everything is just so flavorful! 

I've never had Soy Salisbury Steak before, but it was really tasty.

Diet to Go Soy Salisbury Steak with gravy and mashed potatoes
Theirs came with mashed potatoes and a side of green beans that were, surprisingly, not overcooked after microwaving the dish to completion. The 'steak' was a large veggie burger patty type thing, but a bit softer, and really good.


The only thing that I would do to improve this dish would be to reduce the saltiness of the gravy. It was a bit much for my taste, but definitely not bad in terms of the usual sodium you'll get in frozen meals.


The Channa Masala was great for anyone who likes Indian food.


Or anyone who likes chickpeas. I loved that they used brown basmati rice here, I didn't even know that basmati rice came in a whole grain version!

Frozen Channa Masala
It was delicious. And the chickpeas were great, too!

Heated Channa Masala
It was a great, healthy lunch and really satisfying. The cumin really stood out again in a wonderful way here!


Though I can't say that I noticed that the carrots were minted. Maybe more mint is needed? Or maybe I just got the few un-minty carrots in the batch. 

The Moroccan Lentil Salad was a little soupy for me at first bite. 

Diet to Go Moroccan Lentil Salad
But that was just my failed mixing skills again - after the first few bites there was very little liquid and lots of yummy lentils.


The yogurt sauce was okay, but the whole wheat pitas (there are two of them) were the real winner. They puffed up in the microwave and where soft, chewy, doughy pockets of deliciousness!

Yum. 

Speaking of carby delights, the whole grain french toast and whole wheat pancakes were great!

Diet to Go Whole Wheat Pancakes
You get two pancakes, mad with a mix of whole and refined grains, some strawberry syrup (with strawberry chunks, score!) and soy sausage links. 


If you microwave the soy sausage links for the same amount of time it takes to get the pancakes and syrup ready, it's a little too long for them.

But I still thought they tasted good, if a little tougher than they were meant to be.

I would have liked the pancakes to be all whole grain, or at least more whole grain, because I thought they lacked that heartiness of whole grain goods (same goes for the French toast).


But I suppose that's a good thing for people who are new to including whole grains in their diet, because they'll barely notice that the pancakes aren't regular white flour pancakes.


I'm sure no one will notice once the pancakes are covered in the sweet strawberry syrup! I poured half of it on my pancakes and dunked forkfuls of pancakes into the rest. There was plenty of syrup, it was a pretty perfect amount.

Especially for people new to healthy eating and healthy cooking, I really recommend Diet to Go as a way to see that healthy eating can be just as delicious (usually more!) than not. And it gives great inspiration for meals that you can make yourself when you have more time!

Pancakes or French Toast?

What's your favorite whole grain?

What is your favorite legume? Not counting peanuts, since otherwise peanut butter would probably tip the scales unfairly in that one's favor!

May 19, 2013

Recipe: Vegan Brownie Pancakes

Thanks for bearing with me during my (pretty quiet on the blog) week or two of final stress.

I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Until next semester, at least. Still, there are three months of glorious, glorious summer ahead of me. Hooray!

And I'm back. Here's the first of those recipes that I promised to keep coming all summer. Let's celebrate the start of summer with dessert-worthy pancakes!

Remember my Vegan Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Surprise Pancakes?



Yup, it's that awesomeness, in case you're new to the blog (or forgot all that deliciousness).

Made with Vega protein powder instead of fiber, it's a super-filling, high-protein pancake with an extra nutrition boost from the veggies in the Vega protein powder!

And they're crazy delicious.

But in case you want a pancake that's really like a pure dessert (but with the amazing nutrition that makes it a great breakfast - and one that will definitely keep you satisfied until lunch, or until the late afternoon if you're serving it brunch-style) here's my newest favorite recipe.


Vegan Knock-You-Naked Brownie Protein Pancakes (V)

 1 packet Vega Chocolate Nutritional Shake 
* 2 Tbsp. Old-Fashioned Oats

* 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
* 1 heaping Tbsp. Almond Butter 
* 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1/4 c. soy milk 
* 1-2 Tbsp. chocolate chips (I used about 2, since I'm a serious chocoholic)
* 1/4 c. chopped walnuts, plus a few for topping
* 1 Tbsp. sugar (or alternative sweetener of choice - honey or maple syrup should be fine, just reduce the liquid a bit)
* 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
* sprinkle salt
oil for cooking
* ice cream of choice! Technically optional, but NO. Definitely necessary.

1) Mix ingredients in a medium-sized bowl (don't overmix, it will mess with the texture - instead, mix the dry ingredients first and then mix the wet ones in after).


2) Heat oil in a pan over medium heat (it's tempting to go hotter, but then your pancakes might not cook evenly).

3) Ladle batter into hot oil.

4) Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until firm and browned.
5) Serve warm, preferably a la mode! If you're actually vegan, I suggest So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream. Since I'm not actually vegan, I just topped it with some good old vanilla Breyer's. Sprinkle with a few extra walnuts.


Yum!



What's your favorite breakfast right now?

Will you actually try this recipe? If you post your version, I'd love to see your twist on it/how it turned out for you!

How often do you try recipes from the blogs?

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