Piggy Pancakes...you won't believe

PANCAKES...yum !

PORK RIND PANCAKES...what ???

pancakes made with crispy chicharones instead of flour...HUH ?
and
they are GLUTEN and DAIRY FREE !
low carb, high protein.

yes...i've made these a few times.  every time i make them even i am in disbelief that a pancake made with these strange ingredients can work so well and be so good.  this time i went a step further and made them dairy free using coconut milk instead of cream.
people are amazed.  one of my friends, Chef Lisa, wanted a whole stack...and another good friend, Stephanie who is my gluten free- dairy free judge, said she would drive miles to get a plate of these.

believe it or not...you would never know they are made with pork rinds.  of course, they are not quite like your plain ordinary pancake, but you'd be surprised with the  light fluffy cakey texture...just right for a little drizzle of maple syrup.   for a little extra kick i used "hot & spicy", but the regular might be a better choice for the first timer.

really...give these a try.
even if it's just for the pure fun and disbelief.  i know you will be pleasantly surprised....and you'll have quite the conversation piece for a unique delicious satisfying breakfast.

NUTRITION
approx. per cake (batch of 9)
98 calories...8.2g protein...1.1g carbs...6g fat

PORK RIND PANCAKES
gluten and dairy free

makes 8 or 9  4" inch pancakes

3 1/2 oz. pork rinds, "hot n Spicy" are delicious

2 whole large eggs and 3 whites, slightly mixed

1/4 cup coconut milk, canned

1/4 cup water

3-4 Tbsp sugar or substitute

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1st...put pork rinds in a food processor until very fine and powdered consistency.  you should use puffy crispy pork rinds found at any large market.

for the batter....i used an immersion blender, but i suppose a regular blender would be fine.  put your wet ingredients in first and give it a good whirl so the eggs are good and fluffy.  add the pork rinds and give it a whirl.  now add the rest of the ingredients and blend well.  if it is too thick to blend, add more coconut milk.  let this sit for 5 to 10 minutes.  it will thicken even more...add some more water and/or coconut milk until it is a slightly thick, yet pourable consistency.  if you want to make waffles it should stay on the thicker side.  go ahead and do a taste test...the eggs won't kill you.  add more sugar or cinnamon?
cook as you would normal pancakes (adjust thickness again if necessary)...bubbles on the first side, then flip to finish until cooked through.

best right off the skillet, but i can't eat a whole batch so i refrigerate the rest and reheat in the toaster oven or microwave.

Farmer's Cheese Pancakes...

delicate, light, delicious breakfast treat.

like little velvet bellini with a hint of lemon.

i came across this particular recipe while googling around for cottage cheese pancakes.  i found a ton of recipes for "Syrniki" aka...Russian pancakes made with Farmer's Cheese.  i've never had the pleasure of a true Russian pancake, but i thought i'd give these a try.  i'm sure every Russian Grandmother makes them them better than the next, but this is where i'll start.  i hope i get some good comments from readers with their own "Syrniki" recipes. 

these are just what i was looking for.  something with a little less flour and a little more protein.  they're pretty healthy...lighter than your American pancake and they can be served for breakfast, brunch or made into some cute creative layered dessert.  mine didn't make it to the dessert idea...they were all gone before i could get to it.  i'll make these again this weekend for the holidays when the troops arrive.  farmer's cheese isn't at my local market and they are a little delicate in the pan, but worth the extra shopping trip and a little patience with the batter.

FARMER'S CHEESE PANCAKES...

found at www.npr.org.  original from chef Vitaly Paley

330g farmer's cheese ...i used Friendship Farmer's Cheese

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

2 Tbsp sugar or substitute

3-4 Tbsp white whole wheat flour

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

a squeeze of lemon

a little zest for more lemon flavor

mix the wet ingredients...farmer's cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined with no lumps.  chef Vitaly's grandmother suggests mixing the lemon juice and baking soda in a little bowl (for fluffier cakes), stir well. and add to the wet ingredients.  add the flour and baking powder, start with 3 Tbsp flour....batter should be a little thicker than regular pancake batter.  depending on the moisture of your farmer's cheese you might need to add a little more flour.  add a little lemon zest.  now go ahead and taste the batter, it won't kill you.  more sugar?...more zest?...

heat your skillet with a little butter or oil of choice... but a little butter won't hurt ya AND "butter makes everything better".

warning...the first pancake is always a bit of a "flub".  mine started to look good after about the 3rd one.  i made them pretty small, about 2 1/2 to 3 inches across and i got about 12.  smaller are easier to flip.  cook the first side until you see good looking bubbles form on the top...(pretty much like regular pancakes).  flip and cook other side.  i had a nice light brown color on mine as shown.

these are delicate pancakes.  don't loose patience with the flipping.

or...add a little more flour to thicken the dough.

serve with syrup of choice...maple is nice...ginger would be delicious with fresh berries...

OR they are fabulous with a dollop of vanilla greek yogurt and homemade jam.

absolutely delicious right off the skillet, but they do save well in the fridge for the next day or two.  we found ourselves eating them right out of the fridge with a little homemade Meyer Lemon Lavender Marmalade (posting soon)...

approx. nutrition 

using sugar sub. with 12 per batch

each pancake...57 calories...1.1 carb...3.4 fat...and 5.1 protein

Parmesan Pancakes

I always like to try new sort of pancakes, and these caught my eye over at Weelicious. They were very tasty, especially with a little bit of maple syrup and crispy bacon. They turned out just a little bit flat though, and I think I'll add just a little bit of baking soda next time.

Parmesan Pancakes
15 small pancakes

250 ml cornmeal
30 g parmesan, finely grated
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
200 ml milk
2 tbsp neutral cooking oil, plus more for frying

Whisk together cornmeal, parmesan, oregano, basil, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add the egg, milk and oil, and leave the batter for about 15 minutes.

Fry small pancakes in oil, on medium heat, until golden on both sides.

Recipe in Swedish:
Parmesanpannkakor

Fluffy Rice Pancakes

I have a (very vague) memory of my grandma making tiny rice pancakes for me as a kid. They were not at all like these, but the flavor is similar. Hers were more like Swedish (thin) pancakes, but small, and with rice. I haven't been able to find a recipe that looks promising, so for this, I just took my favorite recipe for American pancakes and added rice.

This is the perfect dish to make when you have leftover rice. I often do, because I always aim to have a little extra - either to make fried rice, or now that I've discoved this dish, to make this.

They're more filling than regular pancakes, and a bit sturdier. Easy to eat cold as well, and without anything else - I liked mine with maple syrup, but they were great on their own too.

Fluffy Rice Pancakes
10-12 pancakes

250 ml buttermilk, filmjolk or neutral yogurt
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 egg
1-200 ml cold, cooked rice

2 tbsp sugar
250 ml all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk the wet ingredients with the rice. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and add the wet ones. Stir until all lumps are gone.

Fry small pancakes in butter on medium heat. They're ready to flip when they start to look dry, and when they have small bubbles on the surface.


And Titus loved them...

Recipe in Swedish:
Fluffiga risplättar

CEiMB: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Nutty Toppings

Ellie Krieger impresses again! As I've mentioned several times in the past, I'm not a breakfast person. I've tried, I really have, but I just can't seem to get excited about it. Except for bacon. I really. really. love bacon...

...

Woah, sorry, where was I?

Anyway, because I'm not a breakfast lover, I thought it would be good for me to make these and try something that I would not normally make, especially for dinner, or should I say brinner! They were delicious! I loved the soft sweet apple chunks in the pancakes, but the nutty topping makes them out of this world. It consists of almonds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and wheat germ. I will tell you though, you really have to like nuts if you're going to enjoy the topping. After all the toasting, the nutty flavor is strong, and oh so yummy in that pure maple syrup. Check out the recipe here.

Thanks to Nicole at Dishin' for hosting. We loved them!

German Apple Pancake

My husband and I balance each other out quite nicely when it comes to food. He likes sweet, I like savory. I like to cook, he likes to bake. I like dinner and party food, he likes breakfast. Actually, he LOVES breakfast. While I'm one to sprint out the door with not so much a granola bar in my hand (I'm not a breakfast fan, my stomach has a hard time with food in the morning), he'll wake up thirty minutes early every morning to make his waffles, eggs, bacon, or whatever other extravagant breakfast he can dream up. It's kind of cute actually, and I'm pretty sure the kids wake up early just because they know if they do, they're going to get a much better breakfast then if mom is making it!

So being the breakfast lover that he is, my husband really wanted to make a nice Easter breakfast. He found this recipe in my new America's Test Kitchen book, which I already love. If you are familiar with German pancakes, you already know that they are fluffy, and light with a fabulous unique flavor and texture. Add to that sweet chewy apples and it takes the German pancake to a whole new level. It was so delicious that even this non-breakfast eater went back for seconds. I highly recommend serving this with pure maple syrup, it's just better.

German Apple Pancake
America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 pounds apples (3-4) quartered, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
confectioner's sugar

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until no lumps remain.

2. Melt the butter in 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon and cook until the apples are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice.

3. Following the photos, quickly pour the batter around the edge of the skillet, then over the apples. Place the skillet in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until the pancake has risen above the edges of the skillet and is brown, about 18 minutes. Loosen the pancake edges from the hot skillet with a spatula and invert the pancake onto a large plate or serving platter (I never got a picture of our inverted pancake, dang it). Dust with confectioners sugar, and cut into wedges before serving.

Passover Crepes: Recipe (gluten free)

Welcome to the third day of Passover! When it comes to this holiday, it takes only a short while before dietary tedium sets in I'm afraid. While I'm not able to keep kosher for Passover this year I am still trying out some new recipes that are kosher for Passover.

Typically because you can't use leavening many recipes for baked goods and pasta rely on eggs for texture. I found a recipe for Passover pasta in Gourmet magazine that I am eager to try. Today I modified a Passover crepe recipe with good results. I served it stuffed with mangoes and topped with yogurt for a yummy breakfast. It also happens to be gluten free so it's good for those on a gluten free diet, as I learned from Karina of Gluten Free Goddess.

Crepes are also terrific for dinner. I like to fill them with cheese, mushrooms, roast vegetables or chicken. Using crepes is easy because they can be made ahead and even frozen for later use. They are also economical because you can fill them with just about any kind of leftovers to make a whole new meal.

Passover Crepes
makes about 12

Ingredients

1/4 cup potato starch
1 cup milk, low fat is fine
4 eggs

Instructions

Blend ingredients in the blender. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add a little oil to coat pan. Stir batter and ladle about 2 tablespoons into skillet. Immediately swirl batter to spread about 6 inches in diameter.
Cook until bottom is light brown. Flip crepe and cook for about 1 minute until speckled.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Vanilla Pancakes: Recipe

Want to know the most scrumptious thing you can make for breakfast this weekend? It's these pancakes. Seriously, they are so good I made them twice this week. I've been slowly but surely testing out more and more recipes from whole grain cookbooks, trying to learn how to cook with whole grains. I just want to perfect that handful of recipes I can turn to time and again.

Whole wheat flour can be a tough ingredient to work with because it has such a strong flavor and texture. Often I use white whole wheat flour from King Arthur or I mix half all purpose white flour with half whole wheat but in this recipe, use all whole wheat. The pancakes are both fluffy and moist at the same time. Of course, I put maple syrup on them too! If you have a vanilla syrup like the ones from Sonoma Syrup Company, you could use those instead.

The recipe originally comes from the Betty Crocker Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes, but I've taken more than a few liberties with it. I've made a smaller batch since the original recipe served 7(!) and I've added more leavening and bumped up the vanilla flavor. I hope you like it.

Whole Wheat Vanilla Pancakes
serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil (canola, grapeseed or rice bran oil)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Whisk together the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder and soda and salt in one bowl and make sure there are no lumps. In another bowl whisk together the egg, yogurt, water, oil and vanilla. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Use a very scant 1/4 cup per pancake cooking on a griddle over medium high heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles form and flip, cooking until golden brown.

Enjoy!