Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancake Mix- An Easy Homemade Gift

I had been listening to foodie type podcasts of Christmas past, when I heard this idea on an episode of Bon Appetit Foodcast. The topic was edible gifts and this sounded very doable since I already had all the dry ingredients on hand, including lots of jelly sized ball jars. All the receiver of a jar has to do is add the perishable, wet ingredients to make surprisingly fluffy pancakes.

I did do some altering such as leaving out flax seeds and exchanging buttermilk for regular milk (or a nut milk) and vinegar. The original recipe called for whirling everything in a blender, but I don't like extra steps and I do like the fact that unblended pancakes have texture.  Since the recipe calls for buckwheat flour and oatmeal, it could claim to be gluten free.  If needed, I think the buckwheat flour could be changed out for all purpose flour. 

Small confession: because I bought my oatmeal and buckwheat from an Amish bulk food store, I jazzed the "Just Add" label of the mix up to say "Amish Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancakes".  It just sounded better - ha! (There's an old story that people were giving a liter of puppies away for free, but no one was interested in them. When they put out a sign that said "Amish Puppies for $50", the pups were all sold in half an hour!)

What's in the jar:

1 cup old-fashioned oats 

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

What's on the Label - What Needs to be Added

2 eggs

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 cup milk (can be nondairy)

1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

Just stir the dry and wet ingredients together and fry as a regular pancake.  They are great with maple syrup or even yummy with just butter and a fried egg on top.

                   
                                                                                   

Oatmeal Raisin Banana Pancakes

I'm just going to tell you right now - these pancakes are not light and fluffy! But they are healthyish and they do taste yummy. The oatmeal gives them a lot of texture and good-for-you fiber. I started making them for something that was a little fun and different for breakfast, yet I didn't want to jump too far off the mindful eating track. The raisins and cinnamon make them taste good enough for a holiday breakfast. But the banana is key; honestly without it this dish is pretty dry! 

Ingredients and Procedures for Six Medium Sized 6" Pancakes

2 eggs
1 medium banana, mashed
1 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup buckwheat (or all purpose flour)
2 tablespoons almond milk (or regular milk)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup dried raisins

1 tablespoon vegetable oil to fry pancakes

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until the yolk and white are well combined. Add the mashed banana, oatmeal, buckwheat, milk, baking powder maple syrup, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon. Mix well to incorporate all the ingredients into a blended batter. Stir in raisins.

Heat the oil in skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Working in two batches, fry three pancakes at a time by dropping 1/4 cup of batter on skillet for each pancake. When multiple bubbles appear on surface, flip each pancake over and cook for three additional minutes.

Serve with maple syrup.  

Incredibly Delicious Maple and Bacon Pancakes

Roy and I are spending our first weekend home after being gone for three and a half months meandering around the western United States. Being in that part of the country, we couldn't help feeling the cowboy influence. Lots of western genre movies have been filmed out that way and we enjoyed visiting Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills in California as well as the Old Tucson movie set in Arizona. Several John Wayne films were made in both places and local people still are in awe of the Duke. Somewhere along the way, Roy bought me The Official John Wayne Family Cookbook (published by Topix Media Lab, 2016). Turns out Wayne must have really liked pancakes - there are three recipes for them in the breakfast section. The one in this post is adapted from the Maple Pancake recipe in the cookbook. I have to confess that we ate these two times this week; they really are that good. There is just something irresistible about the salty sweetness of maple and bacon!

Ingredients and Directions:

Makes about Six Maple and Bacon Pancakes

6 slices thick-cut bacon
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons uncooked old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup plus more to serve
2 tablespoons bacon grease

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut bacon in half lengthwise, and then into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook in skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy. Stir frequently. When done, remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.

Reserve the bacon grease.

Put oats in blender or food processor and grind to a powder.

Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, eggs, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon grease.

Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container once or twice. Then let sit for 10 minutes. Stir all but a handful of the bacon bits into the batter; save the reserved bits to garnish each serving.

Heat the skillet over medium-low and brush some of the reserved bacon grease on the pan. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet for each pancake. Cook until the pancake has bubble holes showing in the middle and the edges look dry. Then carefully flip over and let it cook for another minute.

Put cooked pancakes on a plate and keep warm in the oven until all the batter is used.

Put some of the bacon bits on top of each serving and pass the maple syrup!