Oatmeal Ginger Buttermilk Pancakes

This is, by far, my very favorite pancake recipe.  They are so flavorful and even pretty good for you!  They do require a little thinking ahead, as you have to mix a (very easy) starter the day or night before.  I've made a few slight changes to the original recipe, as I've made these many, many times.  I omit any white flour and use all whole-wheat pastry instead.  I also cut back on the sugar a bit, and sub cinnamon for nutmeg.  That's it, though!  When these are cooking, it smells like oatmeal cookies baking.  :)

This recipe makes quite a lot- our family had this for brunch yesterday, and everyone ate a lot of these.  There was only one lone pancake left!

Oatmeal Ginger Buttermilk Pancakes
from Eating, Etc.

For buttermilk starter, combine together:
2 cups whole oats (not instant!)
2-1/2 cups buttermilk
Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to 36 hours.

After 24-36 hours, stir in:
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs

Add:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3-4 tabelspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

If batter is too thick, add more buttermilk.

1) Over medium heat, ladle a scant 1/4c of batter on lightly oiled pre-heated griddle.

2) Cook until bubbles form and pop; flip cakes and cook on other side until golden brown.

3) Serve with butter and pure maple syrup, fresh fruit, peanut butter, or jam.
 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

More Lemon Bars!

I know- I already have like a ga-jillion recipes for lemon bars on here, but I really like them and also like trying new recipes for them.  Plus, this is the only thing I've made in the last month that isn't already on this blog.  This is one of my old favorite recipes, because it calls for a little more lemon juice than some other recipes.  I like things tart.  I reduced the sugar in this recipe too- from 2 cups to 1.5 cups.  I also used some whole-wheat pastry flour in the crust.  This recipe is a little different from others in that it calls for melting the butter in the crust.  In my opinion, this makes it a little easier to whip these up, and the crust is still flaky and melts in your mouth.

I used lemons given to us by our friend with the lemon tree- she gave us a ton of them and I made some extra-tart ginger lemonade last week- love that stuff!!  Thanks for the lemons, M.  :)

My oven always bakes things super fast- the recipe said 30 minutes for the top layer.  I checked at exactly 15 and they were already over-browned.  :(  So watch the baking time.  In the recipe, I stated to bake for 15-30 minutes.  If you oven bakes fast, you should check before 15 minutes. 

Lemon Square Bars
adapted from Allrecipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, melted

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5/8 cup lemon juice (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

2.In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan (use plastic wrap and your hands to do this).

3.Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.

4.Bake for an additional 15-30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Quick Visit to Germany

We had a quick (just under a week) visit to Germany last week.  I didn't really take a lot of pictures, but I did take some pictures of food, so I thought I'd share those.  :)  We went out to a Konditorei for cakes and white hot chocolate on one afternoon- this quote from Wikipedia sums up what a Konditorei is.  "Konditorei is the German word for a pâtisserie and confectionery shop. A Konditorei typically offers a wide variety of pastries and is like a little café. In Germany and Austria it is a very popular custom to go to a Konditorei to have a cake and some coffee or hot chocolate mid-afternoon. Cakes vary from cream cakes to apple strudel to petit fours."

The cake in the above picture was mine- it had many layers, with a kind of hazelnut cream in between, and some marzipan was in there somewhere, too.

Below is my son's cake.  It's a yellow cake with a red currant filling, topped with meringue.  As you can see, he just could not wait for me to finish taking my photo- he wanted to start eating right away!!

On the night we arrived in Germany, my mom had some homemade Lebkuchen waiting for us (below)- it was so good, and soft and chewy with a great flavor.  I bought the German baking book that contains the recipe, but I'm not sure I can get the correct ingredients here.  However, there are a ton of other sweets in there that I look forward to making. 

It was kind of sad coming home (especially because we had to clean our house when we got home- we left it in a sad state) but we look forward to our next trip to Germany!

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Lemon, Chicken, and Rice Soup

I made this soup back in November, but didn't like how the picture turned out, so I haven't posted the recipe until now.  The recipe is good, though, so ignore the picture and make this if you like chicken soup and lemons.  :)  I was inspired after a trip to our fave soup-and-salad lunch restaurant here, where the soup of the day was lemon, chicken and rice soup.  This turned out well, but I learned two things:  1)  Rice in leftover soup absorbs all the liquid overnight and you are left with mushy-rice slosh the next day.  2)  Don't accidentally leave a lemon rind in your soup overnight (fish them out before serving in the 1st place!) because it will make your rice-slosh very bitter. 

Don't be scared though.  I'd make this soup again.

Lemon, Chicken and Rice Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth

2-3 cups water

2-3 teaspoons Better than Bouillon

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces

sea salt & fresh pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2-3 thick yellow lemon rind pieces; not the white part

1-2 cups cooked rice

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot.  Cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for about 5 minutes.  Add the celery and carrots, and then add the chicken broth, water, and better than bouillon.  Bring to a boil.  Add the raw chicken.  Simmer 15-20 minutes.

2.  When the chicken is cooked through, taste and add salt or pepper if necessary.  Add the fresh lemon juice, and the lemon rind, and simmer another 5 minutes.  Remove and discard lemon rinds.  Add rice, stir to heat through, and serve soup.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **