Truly Whole Wheat Pancakes

Scott often prepares breakfast on Saturday morning. These pancakes are delicious and rank right up there with his hash-browns. Delicious!

1 cup whole wheat (wheat, not flour)

2 cups water

The night before, soak the wheat in the water.

1 1/4 cups milk (approximate)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup canola oil

2 TB baking powder

Add the pre-soaked wheat to a blender. Pour the milk into the blender. (There should be enough milk to cover the wheat.)

Turn on the blender and allow the mixture to blend for aobut 3 minutes.

Add teh eggs salt and canola oil. Blend for aobut 30 seconds.

Add the baking powder and blend. Transfer to a bowl. (Have your bowl ready, because the mixure will expand radidly in the blender.)

Allow mixure to sit in bowl for about 3 minutes.

Stir the mixture before cooking; pour pancakes onto preheated griddle.

Cook until golden brown on each side.

Credit for this recipe goes to Chef Bryan Woolley of KUTV Channel 2 News.

Granola

My granola recipe is ever evolving. So, this version includes many years of editing. I'm sure that there will be more versions in the future, too.

4 cups rolled wheat

8 cups old-fashioned rolled-oats (not "quick")

1 1/2 cups ground flax seed
3 cups sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds, hulled, roasted, not salted
3/4 cups raw wheat germ
1 cup honey
6 TB canola oil
ground cinnamon OR vanilla extract
3 cups dried fruit of choice (dates, cranberries, apples, blueberries, chopped apricots)

In a large mixing bowl, combine wheat, oats, flax, almonds, coconut, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ. Stir to combine ingredients.

Combine the honey and oil in a sauce pan. Warm gently to combine; do not boil or overheat. Add ground cinnamon or vanilla extract as the mixture is taken from the heat. (The fruit I choose to add later determines which flavor I use here.)

Pour honey mixture over grain mixture and stir well to combine. The mixture will appear crumbly and not very moist.

Divide the cereal into three greased jelly-roll sheets. Bake in a preheated 300* oven. Bake each sheet for 20 minutes. Then remove the pan from the oven, stir the granola and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Add the dried fruit to the granola after it has cooled completely. Store in a sealed container in a cool, dark place.

I make granola about monthly. Scott says that it sticks with him and lasts longer than cooked cereals. I will often change what nuts I am using by what I have on hand: pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans, almonds. To make the granola chewy, add some applesauce to the honey and oil mixture.

September 2013...True to form, I have made another change in this recipe. For the past year I have been trying to find ways to use coconut oil in order to incorporate more medium-chain triglycerides in our diet. This is the perfect place to do that! I have been using this recipe, replacing the 6 TB of oil with 1/2 cup of coconut oil. It is a great improvement! 

Zucchini Relish

This recipe originated with Phyllis Winsor Stewart, Grandma Stewart. I don't like commercial sweet relish, but I love this recipe. In fact, I look forward to our hot dog roasts in the backyard because polish dogs are a great carrier for this relish. There are always plenty of over-grown zucchinis in the garden to initiate this recipe!

10 cups chopped zucchini

4 cups chopped onions

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

5 TB pickling salt, non-iodized

2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

3 cups sugar

1 TB ground tumeric

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 TB celery seed

Mix zucchini, onions, and peppers in a large bowl in the evening. (I do this after dinner.) Sprinkle the salt over the top of the vegetable mixture. Cover the bowl loosely and allow it to stand undisturbed overnight. This process helps to draw out the excess moisture.

The next morning, mix up the remaining six ingredients in a large pot to make syrup for the relish. Bring the syrup to a boil; then set the hot syrup off the heat and cover. (You'll want to cover the syrup and don't lean over the pot! It will clear your sinuses!)

Now rinse the salt from the vegetables. I use a fine colander to rinse the vegetables thoroughly in water in small batches and then squeeze out the moisture thoroughly. (An old pillowcase works really well for this.) This rinsed, drained mixture can be added to the hot syrup. When all of the vegetables are incorporated into the syrup, heat the relish to prepare it for a hot pack.

Fill pint mason jars with hot relish, leaving a 1/4 inch head space. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water-bath canner. Be sure to leave the jars on the counter to cool; this is tradition, adding to the anticipation of summer barbecues in the backyard.

Grandma Stewart's original recipe had double the amount of sugar that I use. I find this halved amount quite sweet and sufficient. I also use whatever summer squash I have on hand: gray or black zucchini, crookneck, patty pan. A combination of colors looks the best. I also use a food processor to chop the vegetables. This really speeds up the process.

Sarah Smith's Spinach Dip

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry (I used 1/2 of a bag of fresh spinach. I couldn't find any frozen spinach and I love fresh spinach in salads, but Ben and I cannot go through the whole package before it goes bad:)

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup shredded carrots

green food coloring optional

In medium bowl combine sour cream, mayo, basil, black pepper, garlic powder, & salt; mix well. Stir in Spinach, scallions, & carrots; blend well. Tint green if desired. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Tomato Pie

I did an Intranet search recently for recipes that used lots of tomatoes because my little tomato plants had produced a bunch at once. This tomato pie recipe was my favorite. I used early girl and taxi tomatoes and it was DELICIOUS! Because of all the water in the tomatoes I found that it did not preserve too well. I ended up cooking the leftover slices for another 10 minutes or so to try to get rid of some of the juices and I think that helped, but I would make sure to finish the leftovers no later than the next day. I hope you enjoy this recipe next season when your gardens are full of yummy tomatoes!

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) pie shell
• 7 ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 1 yellow onion
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a little more than 1/3 cup)
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake the pastry shell for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned.
3. Slice onion and place in the bottom of pastry shell. Slice tomatoes and arrange over onions. Add black pepper to taste.
4. In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella, parmesan and mayonnaise. Spread this mixture evenly over tomatoes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, garnish with fresh herbs.

Country Dressing

My new favorite salad dressing! I got this from my friend, April, who served it on a spinach, apple, pecan, bacon salad at her tea party. The dressing has only four ingredients--which you probably already have--and it's super delicious!

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add salt to taste. So simple, so good!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

This recipe is AWESOME! Found it on allrecipes and made just a couple of modifications suggested by reviewers (white wheat instead of soy flour and honey in place of molasses). These turned out even better than the ones I've purchased in the stores! They actually had pockets! It's simple, but a little bit time consuming.

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)

1 (2.5 oz) pkg active dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 cups whole wheat flour

1.5 cups white wheat flour

cornmeal for dusting

1. In a bowl, mix together water, yeast, and honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes, then gradually mix in the flours and add the salt. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a large bowl lightly coated with cooking spray and cover with a towel. Let rise for 1 hour.

2. Punch down the dough and knead for about 5 minutes. Divide into 6 pieces and roll each piece out into a circle about 1/8" thick. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Warm a baking sheet in the preheating oven for about 2 minutes, then remove and sprinkle with cornmeal.

4. Arrange the dough rounds on the baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the heat and cover with a moist towel to soften. When cooled, slice in half to open the pockets.

I used a pizza stone, which worked great for baking them. And when it says moist towel, don't skimp on the moist! It really is necessary. Also, don't allow any creases when you're rolling them out. That's what prevents them from puffing up into nice open pockets. Enjoy!

Jalapeño Pepper Poppers

One of the CNAs at Logan Nursing and Rehab told me about this delectable treat! All you need are fresh jalapeño peppers, cream cheese, and bacon. I cut the peppers in half, cleaned the seeds out, applied the cream cheese, put the 2 halves together, and wrapped them up in 1 slice of bacon.

Cook at broil for 10 minutes or until bacon is browned.