Whole Grain Pancake Mix

My beautiful friend and sister, Donna, wanted this recipe so I just thought that I would share it here.


1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. other whole grain flour (I usually use oatmeal ground up into a flour in the food processor or Vita-Mix but any other grain will do)
2 t. sugar (optional)
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt (I use sea salt.)

This part of the recipe can be doubled, tripled, whatever. I usually make eight times. That gives me enough for eight recipes. If you decide to double then just scoop out 1 and 1/3 c. of mix for each recipe.

To the above, I add:

1 generous cup kefir
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs if large or 3 if small
1 T. oil (I use olive)
1/4 t. vanilla (I never measure)

If you want to, you can also add ground flax seed, blueberries, apples, pears, cranberries, sesame seeds or whatever suits your fancy. You could even add apple sauce for the milk and oil if you wanted to.

As you can see, you can be very creative with this so that your family doesn't get tired of it, but it is still essentially the same mix. I keep the mix refrigerated.

Garden Update #2

I know that I have not posted in quite a while, but truly, circumstances have prevented me!

My first born got married this past Saturday!!

I will post some pictures when I get them from the photographer. Needless to say, we are just thrilled with our new daughter-in-love. She is beautiful inside and out.

We have had some disappointments in the garden. First, a rabbit kept getting in at night and eating my yellow and zucchini squash! I used to love the Tale of Peter Rabbit. Now, though, I believe I identify with Farmer McGreggor more than Peter!



Recipe Tip: With the squash that we have gotten so far, I used a nifty little gadget called a Spiralizer to cut them in thin ringlets. (Actually, sweetie pie, Lydia, cut them and then proceeded to eat them! Yes, Miss Picky!) By marinading them in olive oil and soy sauce, they could be eaten raw, but tasted as though they had been sauteed. Mmmmmm!

The green beans have just about played out and I am going to replant them this weekend. I got about 12 pounds of beans from these plants. I don't know if that is remarkable or just average, but they were delicious. I don't know the price of organic fresh green beans, but the local grocery store had them priced at $2.99 yesterday so those yummy beans would have cost me around $35! We had some seed from last year, but my husband wanted to try a different variety this year so I did buy the seed, but that cost is minimal.



Recipe Tip: Take a jelly roll pan and brush it lightly with coconut oil. Spread out about a pound of green beans with ends snapped. Thinly slice an onion and top the beans. Add about 10 (yes, I said 10) cloves of garlic and place over the top. Once roasted the garlic will be deliciously mild. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 400 until beans are to your liking! I love them as they are, but my husband and sons like to sprinkle them with balsamic vinegar!

I have had about a dozen tomatoes to ripen so far, but about 75-80 have not ripened yet. I'm sure, with my luck, that they will all ripen on the same day! :)

Sun-dried tomatoes will definitely be on the menu.




Our fruit trees have totally shocked me! We just planted them along with our Spring garden and lo and behold, all the fig trees are bearing fruit along with several pears. I believe a delicious pear crisp is in order! I thought that you could not expect to have fruit for at least three years from when you planted.





Did you know that pears actually need to be picked before they are ripe? Bill was reading about them in one of our organic gardening books and that was the advice given.



I have already harvested and made pesto with my basil and am going to havest and make more today. Companion gardeners say to plant basil alongside tomatoes. I tried that this year and I seem to be having a "bumper" crop! I will also dry some of the basil for use this winter, but I really prefer it fresh.



My only regret so far with this years garden is that we did not plant even more!

Hmmmm...

I think I said the same thing last year!

Tarragon Chicken & Thrifty Fun

Here's a little recipe that I thought looked easy and yummy! Enjoy!

Tarragon Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium high heat. Add chicken breast and cook; turning once, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes a side. Remove and set aside.

Add wine to the pan. Bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooded spoon. Stir in mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in cream and boil until mixture thickens slightly about 3 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet; turn in sauce to coat, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to a serving dish, and spoon sauce over all the chicken.

Source: A friend, Maureen

By Raymonde from North Bay, Ontario

I got it from a website called Thrifty Fun. Check it out for a million tips on saving money

Once In a Lifetime Soup

Hello Everyone,
Just thought I would share my idea for Once in a Lifetime Soup. I don't really enjoy a leftover day. It is more fun to use different bits from leftovers in the frig to make a creative soup that has no real recipe.

I usually start with some broth, add my leftovers (bits of meat, vegetables, rice or other grain, beans) and then add something fresh to the pot. Perhaps some fresh chopped spinach or frozen peas or corn. One of my husband's favorites is sweet potato!

Then comes the creative part! I add unusual, but handy spices to the mix. I have added cinnamon, cloves, curry, cayenne, ginger, creole seasoning, and even coconut!

When I serve this, I always tell my family that they are getting a "once in a lifetime" soup that can never be repeated. They love it! It has really made eating ordinary leftovers into an adventure.
Hope you can use this!

Blessings,
Robin