Posts Tagged ‘Little Bits’
Banana Pecan Pancakes
I’m a big fan of using small bits of most anything to make hearty well balanced meals—big fan. So much of what people leave behind in the fridge goes to waste when just a bit of creative energy can turn those bits into a wonderfully satisfying meal. Case in point — last night, when I was cleaning the kitchen I realized that my banana was getting too soft to eat. Usually I make banana bread out of the soft ones, but with my life as an empty nester, a loaf of banana bread is too much for one person. My solution…turn that lone tropical fruit into a small batch of banana pancakes, with some help from a small amount of pecans I had in the freezer. Simple.
After mixing up a batch of pancake batter for one I mashed the banana, chopped a handful of pecans and threw it all into the bowl. Once that thick batter hit the hot griddle the kitchen smelled amazing; warm and inviting and comforting like an early fall morn. When my stack of pancakes came off the griddle I slathered them with butter and drizzled warm Vermont maple syrup over the top; added a few slices of crispy bacon and a sliced apple, and there it was—dinner. There’s nothing like the tantalizing smell of breakfast for dinner to turn your head away from the day and bring you solidly into the easy flow of a relaxing evening. Perfect.
What little bits are looming in your fridge that can be made into a wonderful meal like a quiche, fritatta, stew, soup or chopped to top a hearty salad? Be creative and eat well!
Banana Pecan Pancakes
I’m a big fan of using small bits of most anything to make hearty well balanced meals.—big fan. So much of what people leave behind in the fridge goes to waste when just a bit of creative energy can turn those bits into a wonderfully satisfying meal. Case in point — last night, when I was cleaning the kitchen I realized that my banana was getting too soft to eat. Usually I make banana bread out of the soft ones, but with my life as an empty nester a loaf of banana bread is too much for one person. My solution…turn that lone tropical fruit into a small batch of banana pancakes, with some help from a small amount of pecans I had in the freezer. Simple.
After mixing up a batch of pancake batter for one I mashed the banana, chopped a ¼ cup of pecans and threw it all into the bowl. Once that thick batter hit the hot griddle the kitchen smelled amazing; warm and inviting and comforting like an early fall morn. When my stack of pancakes came off the griddle I slathered them with butter and drizzled warm Vermont maple syrup over the top; added a few slices of crispy bacon and a sliced apple, and there it was—dinner. There’s nothing like the tantalizing smell of breakfast for dinner to turn your head away from the day and bring you solidly into the easy flow of a relaxing night. Perfect.
What little bits are looming in your fridge that can be made into a wonderful meal like a quiche, frittata, stew, soup or chopped to top a hearty salad? Be creative and eat well!
Little Bits, Big Meal
Little bits of anything are often forgotten about or viewed as not useful. But at our house little bits mean we not only use up food that might go to waste in other homes, but we also put a wonderfully satisfying meal on the table. Take the quiche and peach popover above. It was made with two slices of bacon, two mushrooms, a 1/4 of onion thinly sliced, left over half and half cut with some milk to make the needed amount, eggs from our hens and a pie crust. The extra pie dough was rolled out big enough to hold 1/2 a peach sliced and tossed in sugar and spices. The rest of the peach was eventually chopped and sprinkled over the vanilla ice cream that accompanied the popover. The whole meal used small amounts of many things to make one deliciously filling meal after a long day of work on the farm.
So…the next time you are tempted to toss those little bits, don’t. Find a way to use them. Little bits of meat and veggies can be sliced and tossed over a salad. Or, if you can’t find a way to use them now, freeze them to be used in hearty soups chalk full of veggies and meat, or put them in stews and create a belly filling supper perfect for the coming cold weather months.
Mason Jar Lemonade and Iced Tea
Masonades!
We have a barbeque restaurant in town that serves cold drinks in quart-sized mason jars. They call them MASONADES, packed with ice, easy to handle and the perfect size so that you’re not slurping the bottom in just a few drinks.
With the days getting warmer, a lot of us are spending more time outside. Whether you’re enjoying time in the barn, lounging in the garden or just running to town for errands, spring is a great time to enjoy a batch of good old fashioned refreshment.
I’m a big fan (huge actually) of fresh, homemade, lemonade and brewed iced tea. But, since there are only two of us, it doesn’t make sense to make a big pitcher. Taking a hint from my local BBQ joint I came up with a way to make my own single-serving sized drinks in portable containers, which is great when you’re on the road and want a cold drink to take along with you, or when you’ve been outside digging in the garden and need something instantly cold and sweet to boost up your blood sugar. Enter Mason Jar Lemonade and Iced Tea – quart-sized servings of hand-squeezed lemonade or fresh brewed iced tea. You can make enough for a whole weekend in few minutes, which makes me wonder how powdered drink mixes ever became popular.
Here’s what you need:
Quart mason jars (with lids)
Fresh organic lemons
Water
Ice cubes
Natural sugar or honey
Natural lemon juice
Organic black tea bags or flavored tea bags
Fresh mint or lemon verbena from the garden
Here’s what to do:
Fill jars halfway with warm water (the warm water helps dissolve the sugar and honey). Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a jar, and plop the cut lemon into the jar as well, making the water tart and filled with little bits of pulp and flavor. If you really want to kick up the tartness – add some fresh lemon juice (about a teaspoon) to the mix. Then add as much sugar or honey as you like (depending on your mood and the weather it could be as little as a teaspoon or as much as 2 tablespoons). Top it off with ice till it’s nearly overflowing. Seal the lid and shake the hell out of it until its one big, frothy, icy delight. There you have it. Farm fresh, all natural, and ready for travel.
For the Iced Tea:
I just pour hot water from a kettle into room-temperature jars with an organic black tea-bag and let it cool on the kitchen counter. Then I drop in a lemon slice and a bit of sugar, some ice, a sprig of mint and sit it in the fridge alongside the jars of lemonade. When it’s cold enough to condense water off the sides, it’s manna from the still.
For an added treat try flavored teas like Blueberry or Raspberry. Better yet, mix the tea and the lemonade, half and half, in one jar for a killer organic fresh-made Arnold Palmer.
I make several of these and stash them in the fridge so I’m never out of a refreshing drink. Instead of grabbing a can of soda, I grab a cold jar of real lemonade in a reusable container, which not only tastes amazing, but feels more authentic than any processed beverage.
Need to please a crowd?
Try this “Lemonade for 100” recipe from the “Joy of Cooking”.
Boil for 10 minutes
4 cups water
8 cups sugar
Cool the syrup. Then stir in:
71/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
To serve, simply mix the concentrate with 4 gallons of cold water and serve over ice.
There you have it – enough lemonade concentrate to quench the thirst of any army.
Add style to your outdoor gathering by serving it in pint-sized mason jars with bowls of sliced lemons, mint and lemon verbena as garnishes.
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