Basic Wholewheat Pancake with or without Banana

This is from Favorite Recipes from Quilters, contributed by two different cooks--Emma Troyer of Partridge, KS and Cathy Mazur of Williams Lake, BC.

It is easy and, for wholewheat pancakes, very light and high. I added the lemon zest. It has the advantage of only requiring one bowl. First you mix the dry ingredients, and then you add the wet directly into the dry.

You can add fresh berries; add them whole when you flip them in the loose batter on the second side.

1 c. wholewheat flour (a mixture of flours is fine) - if you use the pancake dispenser, it has a 1 c. measure.
1 T sugar
1 t. baking powder (push through a sieve)
1/2 t. baking soda (push through a sieve)
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk (regular milk is fine, if you don't have any)

optional: one mashed ripe banana
2 T melted butter
grated lemon zest to taste
cinnamon to taste

In medium bowl 0R IN THE PANCAKE DISPENSER (SPRAY THE BOTTOM FIRST) combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Add egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and lemon zest. Whisk.

In hot, oiled skillet or grill, drop about 1/4 c of batter per pancake. Flip. On the induction burner, you can turn off the burner for the second side and the pancakes will cook fine and be less likely to burn.

Cranberry Bars

Bars are faster than cookies, and I like that you can cut them in various sizes. These are from a cookbook I picked up for $1 at the Seattle Public Library, Favorite Recipes from Quilters. The book is from 1992; lots of recipes call for margarine or shortening. But a good recipe is a good recipe. These were good. I anticipate having lots of other berries in Chestertown from Micah's garden. These are a little simpler than the crumble recipe. Contributor is Irma H. Schoen.

Note there is no baking powder - this makes a dense bar.

I learned that a 9" x 13" pan is equivalent to a quarter sheet pan, meaning you can bake these in the Breville.

1 stick softened butter (if it's winter and the butter doesn't soften, grate it ahead and let it sit)
1.5 c sugar (if you use a different berry, you could cut back on sugar)
1.5 flour (half whole-wheat works fine)
2 eggs
1 c. chopped nuts - best if done by hand
1.5 c whole cranberries (a half bag)

salt, cinnamon to taste

Grease a quarter sheet pan well.

Cream the butter and sugar.

Add the flours, eggs, salt and cinnamon and mix. It's very stiff. You can use a wooden utensil and then your hands.

Add the cranberries and chopped nuts.

Spread out in the pan, wetting hands to fill in all the spaces.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Don't overbake or they're hard to cut.

Cool and cut. Recipe says 8x8. 

Becca's Charred Broccoli

We all love Becca's broccoli. 

I cut the broccoli florets in vertical slices to give it more surface area, like they do to make cauliflower steaks, but much smaller.

Using our 9" Lodge cast iron, heated to 8 on the induction, I put in about 2 T. olive oil, let it heat, and dumped in the broccoli.  I let it singe for about a minute, then stirred it for another minute or two. Then turned off the burner, covered it, and it steamed. Just added salt, as Becca directed.

8 minutes later: perfect!

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

I am baking for Zeke Hausmann's bar mitzvah. Now that I ditched kichel, we need new traditions!

I never bother baking chocolate chip cookies, since such good varieties are available commercially. These bars were a recipe my mom got from my friend Joan Wambheim's mother Carol. Apparently it's a popular recipe from mid-20th century church and community cookbooks, sometimes called Halfway to Heaven Bars. 

Mom's recipe calls for shortening, very mid-20th century for sure. Back to butter! Be sure to put the butter out to get to room temperature

I like to chop nuts with a big knife now, instead of a food processor or hand chopper.

Recipe says a 9 x 13 pan. That's very similar in size to a quarter sheet, and it worked fine.

Cookie base layer

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 c. flour (half or 1/4 whole wheat is fine)
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 egg yolks (you'll use the whites for the meringue)
1 T water (or more if needed)
1 t. vanilla

Mid Layer:

1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped nut (walnuts or pecans)

Meringue

2 or 3 egg whites (the extra egg white would give a little lift to the top layer).
1 c. brown sugar (white seems to be OK too)

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In large bowl, cream butter and sugars. It's not necessary to use a mixer, just a good spatula and some effort.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix til smooth. Spray the quarter sheet pan with oil and pat down the dough, with wet hands. 

Spread the chocolate chips and chopped nuts, pressing in gently.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until glossy with stiff peaks. The volume increases so make sure the bowl is big enough! Slowly add the sugar until incorporated.

Spread over the chocolate/nut layer. Drop it on in a few different places, as it's thick and a bit hard to spread.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 until browned. Cook and cut in small squares. I use a pizza cutter. Cutting 6 x 7, it made 42 bars.

One recipe says they don't freeze well -- we'll see!

 

Smitten Kitchen Pea Mint Feta Fritters

This is a nice dish for shavuot, based on cheese and using fresh mint from the garden. It comes together fast.

2 c. frozen peas (10 oz)
3 eggs
salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 t. red-pepper flakes
1 medium lemon, zested
1/4 c chopped mint
1 c (4 oz) crumbled feta (break up any large pieces)
2/3 c. flour (whole wheat is fine)
Oil for frying
3/4 c. Greek yogurt, unflavored

Defrost peas in a colander.

In large bowl, beat the eggs with salt, pepper, red-pepper flakes, lemon zest, and mint. Add the drained peas and feta, and then the flour. It will be a stiff batter.

Over medium heat (6 on induction, then lower it to 5 and then down to 4), heat oil in large fry pan. Add 2 T batter per patty. Cook until golden brown and flip. It should take just a few minutes. Loose peas are fried crunchy, a little added treat. Drain on paper towels. 

Add 1/2 the juice of the zested lemon to the yogurt plus a little salt, for a tasty sauce.

serve hot, though these are also good at room temperature. They are very substantial and filling. A bit of a falafel vibe.

Cole Slaw

I am a huge fan of cole slaw. Abba's favorite is: a bag of shredded cabbage, a large can of crushed pineapple, mayo to taste, and curry powder to taste. However, I notice it's not that popular with others.

This recipe disappeared! 

1 t celery seed
2/3 C mayonnaise
1 T apple cider vinegar
4 t granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
a 14-16 oz bag classic coleslaw mix

Optional: finely chopped fresh pineapple to taste

Combine all of the ingredients except for the coleslaw mix in a large bowl and whisk it together until it's smooth and creamy.
Place the dressing in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the sugar to completely dissolve and to allow the celery seeds to soften.
After 30 minutes  give the dressing one last quick whisk and then fold into the classic coleslaw mix.

This recipe tastes best if served immediately, but it can also be made the night before or the morning of.

Lemon Cream Cheese Tarts

This recipe came from Susan Schuman, a Schechter mom wtih a son was named Eric. These are very rich, but since you make them as individual little tarts, they are perfect. Nice for Shavuot. Since COVID, people are doing more individual baked goods, and they're also just right for a tea. Be sure to allow for the hour to chill the dough.

8 oz cream cheese - softened at room temperature
2 sticks of butter - softened at room temperature
1 c. flour
2 T sugar
salt to taste
1/2 t cinnamon
optional: grated lemon zest to taste

1 can of lemon pie filling (or another flavor if you prefer)

1 pint raspberries or small strawberries (like from the Strawberry Lady of Broadneck Road!)

Add the butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Mix with a pastry blender (a hand tool.) Slowly add flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and optional lemon zest. Knead til smooth, by hand. Refrigerate for one hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Pinch 1" balls of dough and place in silicon muffin cups. Press into place making saucer shapes, with dough creating sides.Fill each with a spoonfullof pie filling.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until browned, checking they aren't burning.

Cool in the pans. Eventually pop them out and cool on racks. Refrigerate before serving. Add rasperries or strawberries for decoration. A few blueberries each would be pretty too.

Makes about 30.