Blueberry Pancakes with Lemon (GF)

Is it a coincidence that I awoke thinking of pancakes on Mardi Gras? I think not......  Well actually, I was thinking more of muffins (these muffins to be exact), but pancakes provide a little more instant gratification (and I don’t have to wash the muffin pan).

Last week I discovered a great new pancake recipe when husband requested pancakes one morning for breakfast, but today was my first attempt at making them gluten free.  To further mix things up, in addition to substituting my favorite GF flour, I also added some lemon zest & frozen wild blueberries.   Somehow the flavors taste like spring (lemon) and summer (blueberry) and give me hope that this crazy winter won’t last forever.

We don’t do a lot of “fancy” breakfasts around here.  Greek yogurt (for him) and gluten free granola or cereal (for me) with coffee seem to be the norm these days. But every once and a while, one needs a special breakfast during the week. I foresee these pancakes also making it into our “brinner” (breakfast for dinner) rotation that we do from time to time.  Go ahead, indulge a little :) 

p.s. Don’t be alarmed at how liquid the batter is--they’ll turn in to one of the best textured pancakes I've ever made at home. But I do think the smaller pancakes turn out better than the larger ones!  

Blueberry Pancakes with Lemon (GF)
adapted from Martha Stewart
yields 8 medium pancakes

2 Tbl Granulated Sugar
Zest of 1/2 a small lemon (add more zest if you prefer a more noted lemon flavor)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
4.4 oz Gluten Free Flour (I used Jeanne's GF AP Flour Mix, or substitute regular AP flour if not GF)

1 large egg
2 Tbl Vegetable Oil (or could substitute butter that has been melted and cooled)
1 c Milk

Blueberries (I used Frozen Wild Blueberries)
Cooking Spray (or butter or additional vegetable oil) for greasing the skillet.
Butter & Maple Syrup, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 200 F. (I use my toaster oven)  
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar with the lemon zest to infuse the lemon flavor into the sugar. Add the powder, salt & GF flour. Whisk to combine. 
3. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the egg with the vegetable oil.  Add the milk & mix.  Add the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined (if using regular flour, be careful to mix only until just combined). 
4. Heat a small skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Grease the skillet well.  Pour between 1/8 c and 1/4 c batter into the skillet.  Immediately drop frozen blueberries over the surface of the pancake.  Cook until the top has lost it's sheen and begins to look dull, and the bottom of the pancake is golden brown. Flip & continue cooking until golden brown on the other side. 
5. Transfer the cooked pancake to the preheated oven & repeat the process with the remaining batter. Grease the pan between pancakes. 
6. Serve the pancakes with butter & maple syrup (or a blueberry syrup would be lovely). Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pumpkin Pancakes (GF) & Project Life 365

Things have been a little quieter around here lately, but it has been for good reason!  Recently, I showed a couple of teaser shots on Instagram about a special project I’ve been working on, and today I finally get to explain what that is!  AND there will be a blog post every day (!) this week, so don’t forget to check back.

#breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes with butter & maple syrup.  

In January, I started a photo-a-day project called Project Life 365.  I had been following their parent company Design Aglow for several years & I was intrigued by PL365‘s “spin” on the concept. Yes, I’ve tried (and failed at) photo-a-day projects in the past, but PL365 is unique...  Not only do I take a photo each day, but PL365 has a specific word or phrase or prompt for each day. Having specific direction helps to keep me creative and challenges me to perhaps photograph things I wouldn’t normally shoot.  I also really enjoy the community aspect of knowing people throughout the world are participating in this same photo project. While I don’t normally do the whole multiple hashtags thing, I now really enjoy clicking on the #projectlife365 hashtag on Instagram each day & seeing what other artists are creating & how different people interpret each hashtag.  There are some seriously amazing photographers working on Project Life 365!

About a month ago, Project Life 365 contacted me, asking if I’d like to participate in their “Week in the [Project] Life” series.  Me? Really? I was so humbled & so honored!  As I looked ahead to the weeks that were available for my feature, I saw that one week in particular (November 10-17) was full of food words. Obviously, that week was meant for me :) To take the project a step further, I decided to shoot each day’s prompts with my iPhone for PL365 AND to do a blog post with the recipe for each item I’d photographed.  So, today I’m beginning with #breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes. 

I dearly love experimenting with new breakfast recipes on most weekends. I first began making these pumpkin pancakes when I discovered a container of extra pumpkin puree in the refrigerator one Saturday morning.  I made a few easy adaptions to the original recipe, swapping the AP flour for GF flour and increasing both the spices & pumpkin amounts. We thoroughly enjoyed eating them for brunch that Saturday & the leftovers were great during the following week.

Something about fall just begs for as many pumpkin recipes as possible! Check back tomorrow for my #lunch post (and for a link to my "Week in the [Project] Life" interview).


Pumpkin Pancakes
adapted from Martha Stewart

5.30 oz / 1 1/4 c AP Flour {I used Jeanne’s GF AP Mix to make them Gluten Free}
39 g / 3 Tbl Brown
9 g / 2 tsp Baking Powder
8 g / 2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
10 oz / 1 1/4 c Milk, room temperature, if possible 
293 g / scant 1 cupPumpkin Puree 
1.5 oz / 3 Tbl Butter, melted, plus additional for the pan
1 large egg, room temperature, if possible 

Butter & maple syrup for serving 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices & salt. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, butter & egg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients & whisk until just combined.  
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat & grease generously with butter.  Pour in 1/4 cup of batter & gently spread out.  Cook until browned, approximately 3 minutes per side.  
4. Hold finished pancakes in a 200 F oven until ready to serve. Greas
5. Serve pancakes with additional butter & maple syrup. 
6. Store any leftovers, wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for longer periods of time.  

Note: The cooking process for these pancakes can be a bit tedious, but they are very tasty in the end!  They are not the easiest pancakes to flip, but with some practice, the flipping becomes easier. Also, the can go from golden to almost burned very quickly. After experimenting with different pan types & discovered that a nonstick skillet, greased with a little butter (clarified, if possible) works the best.  If using a regular stainless steel skillet, make sure to generously butter it between each batch of pancakes.

Prop sources
Dishes: vintage
background: handwoven towel from Whimsy & Tea. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad