My pantry is in a constant state of want.
It's true.
There are a few factors that contribute to this state of want:
a) I'm a grad student. In other words, I have a budget. And no time.
You should probably read that as I only stock bare essentials - groceries, spices and produce that I will always use - milk, eggs, bread, rice, some veggies, basic spices for (mostly South Asian) cooking and some chocolate.
b) I'm a grad student. This time, this reads: I only re-stock when I've run out of nearly everything.
And,
c) I'm a new recipe junkie*. In other words, I read a whole ton of new recipes and I almost never have everything I need for a particular one that catches my fancy.
Like, this morning, when I woke up (once again) wanting a sweet breakfast. One that was not cornflakes. Not Even Mohun's**.
For my new fix, I've been reading Smitten Kitchen (thanks to a new friend). So what I really wanted is one of her Breakfast Goodies. But instinctively knowing that that was not to be (see reasons listed above), I would happily have substituted those for the yummy scones I keep talking about or even last week's banana pancakes.
But, hélas.
Quick pantry survey reveals that I have no more candied ginger, bananas or nuts. And I've not had blueberries since the move.
I did, however, discover a small bowl of super-tart cherries from a few weeks ago which would have made it to the trash in a few of days. In three days, I could have just left the door open and I'm sure they'd have jumped out of the bowl and walked to the trash of their own volition.
Now, normally, I love me some fresh cherries.
I just ended up with about 2 pounds of somewhat sour-ish, super-tart ones.
And to my household's credit, we actually finished most of them (despite a general distaste for sour fruit***). Except a handful of cherries that I threw into a bowl and stowed away, way out of sight, at the back of my refrigerator.
Until this morning, when I used them to make some wonderfully light pancakes based on Deb's Recipe for Blueberry Pancakes, except since I don't own any fancy equipment (like pastry brushes), I went with using a flat spoon and folded tissue to make sure my girdle was well-oiled. (The Poor Baker would approve, I think).
My modifications:
I didn't use any egg. I cut the recipe in half. And added a dash of All-Spice to the batter.
And thus, my ingredients:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Less than 1/4 teaspoon table salt
A pinch of All-spice
1.5 tablespoons sugar
2 cups buttermilk (No buttermilk? The Poor Baker's fix is to substitute a cup of milk added to a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Make sure to add the milk to the acid rather than the other way around. Let sit 5 minutes.)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (this, I did not halve)
1/2 cup chopped cherries
And now, the how:
1. First, set the girdle to medium heat and let it get hot enough.
2. Make yourself a cuppa chai to sip while working (clearly, optional).
3. Roughly chop up the cherries (making sure, of course to keep the pieces and throw away the pit - I say this, because if you're me, it is easy to throw a pit into a pancake mistaking it for a particularly large piece of cherry. I'm told by Mr. FD, who got the pancake-with-the-pit, that it does not make for delicious eating.)
4. Melt the butter.
5. In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, all-spice and sugar.
6. Whisk in the buttermilk and the butter.
7. Both the Poor Baker and Deb of Smitten Kitchen will tell you to make sure that the batter has some lumpiness. Makes for lighter pancakes.
8. Grease the girdle and pour out the batter. Sprinkle the cherries on the top, and once "eyes" (those little air bubbles) start to appear on the pancake, flip over.
Ta-Da!
I'm definitely re-making these. What I loved was that the tartness that made me stow away the cherries was a perfect fit for this recipe. And that I could dispense off with the egg (see prev. recipe post for why I need to do this now) and still make the pancakes work really well!
*true this I read, nay, actively seek out new recipes that are all kinds of yummilicious
** I love, love, love Mohun's and my dear sibling has just sent me a whole bag. Whee!
***This does not include fruit that are supposed to be sour, like green mangoes. These go down real well.
It's true.
There are a few factors that contribute to this state of want:
a) I'm a grad student. In other words, I have a budget. And no time.
You should probably read that as I only stock bare essentials - groceries, spices and produce that I will always use - milk, eggs, bread, rice, some veggies, basic spices for (mostly South Asian) cooking and some chocolate.
b) I'm a grad student. This time, this reads: I only re-stock when I've run out of nearly everything.
And,
c) I'm a new recipe junkie*. In other words, I read a whole ton of new recipes and I almost never have everything I need for a particular one that catches my fancy.
Like, this morning, when I woke up (once again) wanting a sweet breakfast. One that was not cornflakes. Not Even Mohun's**.
For my new fix, I've been reading Smitten Kitchen (thanks to a new friend). So what I really wanted is one of her Breakfast Goodies. But instinctively knowing that that was not to be (see reasons listed above), I would happily have substituted those for the yummy scones I keep talking about or even last week's banana pancakes.
But, hélas.
Quick pantry survey reveals that I have no more candied ginger, bananas or nuts. And I've not had blueberries since the move.
I did, however, discover a small bowl of super-tart cherries from a few weeks ago which would have made it to the trash in a few of days. In three days, I could have just left the door open and I'm sure they'd have jumped out of the bowl and walked to the trash of their own volition.
Now, normally, I love me some fresh cherries.
I just ended up with about 2 pounds of somewhat sour-ish, super-tart ones.
And to my household's credit, we actually finished most of them (despite a general distaste for sour fruit***). Except a handful of cherries that I threw into a bowl and stowed away, way out of sight, at the back of my refrigerator.
Until this morning, when I used them to make some wonderfully light pancakes based on Deb's Recipe for Blueberry Pancakes, except since I don't own any fancy equipment (like pastry brushes), I went with using a flat spoon and folded tissue to make sure my girdle was well-oiled. (The Poor Baker would approve, I think).
My modifications:
I didn't use any egg. I cut the recipe in half. And added a dash of All-Spice to the batter.
And thus, my ingredients:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Less than 1/4 teaspoon table salt
A pinch of All-spice
1.5 tablespoons sugar
2 cups buttermilk (No buttermilk? The Poor Baker's fix is to substitute a cup of milk added to a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Make sure to add the milk to the acid rather than the other way around. Let sit 5 minutes.)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (this, I did not halve)
1/2 cup chopped cherries
And now, the how:
1. First, set the girdle to medium heat and let it get hot enough.
2. Make yourself a cuppa chai to sip while working (clearly, optional).
3. Roughly chop up the cherries (making sure, of course to keep the pieces and throw away the pit - I say this, because if you're me, it is easy to throw a pit into a pancake mistaking it for a particularly large piece of cherry. I'm told by Mr. FD, who got the pancake-with-the-pit, that it does not make for delicious eating.)
4. Melt the butter.
5. In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, all-spice and sugar.
6. Whisk in the buttermilk and the butter.
7. Both the Poor Baker and Deb of Smitten Kitchen will tell you to make sure that the batter has some lumpiness. Makes for lighter pancakes.
8. Grease the girdle and pour out the batter. Sprinkle the cherries on the top, and once "eyes" (those little air bubbles) start to appear on the pancake, flip over.
Ta-Da!
I'm definitely re-making these. What I loved was that the tartness that made me stow away the cherries was a perfect fit for this recipe. And that I could dispense off with the egg (see prev. recipe post for why I need to do this now) and still make the pancakes work really well!
*true this I read, nay, actively seek out new recipes that are all kinds of yummilicious
** I love, love, love Mohun's and my dear sibling has just sent me a whole bag. Whee!
***This does not include fruit that are supposed to be sour, like green mangoes. These go down real well.
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