Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cakes

Remember how I said that buttermilk cake was an easy and great base for any number of variations?  Well, here's one of them!

To the basic recipe I added 1 tbsp lemon zest.  I placed fresh, seasonal blueberries in the bottom of a regular-sized muffin tin and spooned the batter on top.  After baking them for about 10 minutes I inverted them onto a plate and voila!  A dozen individual cakelettes, perfect for entertaining!

Enjoy!

Summer Vegetables and Socca

I experimented with growing carrots this year.  I selected an heirloom variety called 'Parisian Market', which are small round carrots that grow to about 1-2" in diameter.  Overall it was a success and I had quite the bounty of delicious, sweet carrots.  I did, however, learn that my soil is a bit rockier than I realized.  This led to some rather unusual carrots being pulled from the ground...

Next year I'll try my carrot cultivation in pots to avoid this (and make weeding easier), but until then I'll have a bit of added humor on my plate.

I wanted to keep my preparation simple, so I tossed these carrots and some zucchini with olive oil, cumin, and salt.  I roasted them until tender (you may want to start the carrots ahead of the zucchini) and served them alongside fresh spinach sauteed with garlic and some slices of socca flavored with rosemary.    Nothing fancy here, but it was a very satisfying meal.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Pancakes

When I first saw these oatmeal pancakes, I was intrigued.  I had recently tasted some oat and cornmeal waffles at a local restaurant and had creative breakfast foods on the brain.  I've tinkered around with the recipe a bit and have found many delicious variations.  Here are two of them.

Ingredients:
- 3/4 c. flour
- 1/4 c. cornmeal (coarse gives more crunch, but make sure it's not too coarse--ahem Bob's Red Mill-- or it won't cook enough.)
- 2  1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 c. buttermilk
- 1 c. cooked oatmeal (rolled oats, not quick or steel cut)
- 1 egg

Ingredients:

- 1 c. flour

- 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 1/2 tsp cardamom

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1 tbsp. orange zest

- 1 c. milk

- 1 c. cooked oatmeal (rolled oats, not quick or steel cut)

- 1 egg

Instructions:

- Whisk together everything but the (butter)milk, zest, oatmeal, and egg.

- Whisk the (butter)milk, zest, oatmeal, and egg together separately.

- Gently fold the dry into the wet until just combined.  This is a slightly thicker batter than usual, but it turns out wonderfully.

- Heat up a cast iron skillet.  When hot, add a little butter (just enough to give the pan a light coat).

- Drop in the batter, 1/4 c. for each pancake.

- Cook until you see bubbles rising to the surface then flip once.

- Serve hot with butter, honey, and fresh fruit.

These pancakes are a little heartier than the usual suspects and really keep you feeling full and energized all day.  Sure, regular fluffy pancakes are tasty but I really enjoy the well-rounded flavor that these have. I also like to tell myself that they're just a tad healthier.

Enjoy!

Pizza with Zucchini and Kale Pesto

I've made this kale pesto a few times since I first thought of it and I've loved it more each time.  It's now one of my favorite pizza toppings, imparting a lovely earthy vegetable flavor to every bite.  It's also a great way to use up a bunch of kale quickly.

Kale Pesto

- 2 garlic cloves

- ¼ c. quality extra virgin olive oil

- 2 c. packed kale pieces

- 1 tsp salt

- 5 sun dried tomato halves, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes.

Throw everything into a food processor and blend until the desired consistency is reached.  You can add a bit more olive oil to thin it out if you want.

To make this pizza, simple push out your pizza dough and spread the kale pesto over it.  Top it with thinly sliced zucchini, some red onion, and some slices of fresh mozzarella.  Bake in a 475 degree oven 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly and browned.

Enjoy!

Jewels of Summer

Stop everything you're doing.  Just drop it.  Get up and go to a farmers' market.  Buy heirloom tomatoes. Bring them home.  Slice them gently with a sharp knife.  Arrange them on a plate.  Sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper and sea salt.  Drizzle them with the best olive oil you have.  Eat them.

You're welcome.