ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

I quite enjoy omelets made with shredded zucchini or baked zucchini egg loaf.  What caught my attention when I saw this recipe was the chickpea flour.  The addition of chickpea flour does make this recipe into pancakes.  The pancakes held together well and were good.  I added about 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese to the batter and used Greek seasoning.  I used a non-stick frying pan to make the pancakes and was able to cook all of the pancakes in 2 batches.   I added oil to the pan at the start but didn't add any oil when I was cooking the second batch.

Chickpea flour is quite different from wheat flour as it is lower in calories, higher in fat and of course higher in fibre and protein.  The three pancakes I ate were quite filling.   I serve the pancakes with oven roasted new potatoes, cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers.

Nutrient contents of chickpea flour.

Cooking in an electric frying pan.

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp oil

2 medium zucchinis, shredded

1 green onion, diced

1/2 tsp Italian, Greek or other seasonings

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup chickpea flour

Topping: Serve with salsa, parmesan cheese or other favorite condiments

DIRECTIONS:

Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine well.  In a large frying pan, heat the oil to medium high heat.  Using a large spoon, spoon about a ¼ cup of the mixture into the pan and spread the pancakes out in the pan so that you have room to flip each one over after 3 to 4 minutes cooking on each side.   You will probably need to make a few batches as the recipe makes 10 to 12 pancakes.  For each batch you will need to add more oil to the frying pan.  Serve with your favorite topping.  

ANDY WILLIAMS - MOON RIVER

I first heard the song 'Moon River' while watching the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's .   That movie has many good memories for me.  One of most powerful memories are the scenes of Audrey Hepburn with her cat in her apartment and when she leaves the cat in the alley as she is running away to South America.  The scene of George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn searching for "Cat" in the alley got me bawling as youngster while watching it.  With the music of Moon River in the background, while searching for the cat, the scene has left a permanent wedge in my mind. 

Audrey Hepburn performed the song in the movie but the song really belonged to Andy Williams.  He recorded it in one take and sang it at the 1962 Academy Awards.  That song became the signature song of Andy Williams.  It was his brand. 

Lyrics to Moon River

Moon River, wider than a mile, 
I'm crossing you in style some day. 
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, 
wherever you're going I'm going your way. 
Two drifters off to see the world. 
There's such a lot of world to see. 
We're after the same rainbow's end-- 
waiting 'round the bend, 
my huckleberry friend, 
Moon River and me.

Andy Williams passed away today and I will always remember him as a wonderful crooner and for the song Moon River.

CHUNKY APPLE CARROT MUFFINS

A friend provided this recipe and calls them 'very healthy as fas as muffins go'.  It is a healthy recipe as it has no additional oil, lots of fiber and I used splenda to reduce the sugar content.  I did a few things in this recipe which made them more chunky.  I didn't use the fine shredded attachment in the food processor but the regular one so the carrots were thicker.  That was an oversight on my part in the attachment I used.  I also likely shredded more than what the recipe called for.  The apples were on the larger side so I used 2 large gala apples and 1 smaller gala apple.  The batter was probably thicker that what it should be and I used three eggs instead of two to add more volume to the liquid.

The muffins are delicious and I did freeze about half of them.  The DH has muffins for the next week.

The photo shows the chunkiness of the muffins.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of flour ( mixture of white and whole wheat)
3/4 cup oatmeal - quick cooking flakes
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup brown sugar or 1/2 cup splenda
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins
1 cup nuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups of finely shredded carrots
3 shredded apples (unpeeled)

3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in the carrots, apples, raisins and nuts and combine.  In a separate small bowl, combine the milk, eggs and vanilla.  Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is moistened.

Grease the muffin tins or use paper muffin cups and fill each muffin cup to almost full.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.  Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen muffins.

TOMATO PATE

Always on the lookout for different recipes to use garden tomatoes, I came across a recipe in the chubby vegetarian and made a few alterations to the original recipe.  The tomatoes cook down and what is left is a concentrated spread of tomatoes - what I call a pate.  This pate can be used as a spread with cheese and crackers, with omelets or with fresh bread.   I have also used this pate as a condiment with baked chicken.

I didn't have three pounds of cherry tomatoes so I used close to 2 pounds of cherry tomatoes and then cut up several tomatoes to make a total of three pounds.   For the red pepper flakes I used dehydrated red pepper flakes that I had purchased from one of the herb and spice companies that are sold by friends who always have catalogs on hand.

Cooking in the pot.

I bagged the tomato pate in half cup portions for freezing.

TOMATO PATE

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds of cherry tomatoes, halved

2/3 cup sugar or ½ cup splenda

juice and lemon zest from one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Add all of the ingredients to a large stock pot and heat on high to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 hours until the mixture is reduced by half and has a thick consistency.   Cool.  Spoon into small canning jars or freezer jars and freeze.  You can also store it in the fridge and it will keep for about two weeks.  Makes about 3 cups.

Adapted from http://chubbyvegetarian.blogspot.ca/

MUFFIN TOP MUFFINS

After receiving a few hints from the DH that he would like muffin top muffins instead of the regular style muffin, I made a batch of blueberry muffins using the different style of tin.  There are recipes that are styled for these kind of muffin tins but I used a regular blueberry muffin recipe.  Some recipes also include a streusel topping but I skipped making a topping to not add additional calories.

If you have never seen a muffin top tin before, the muffin cups are not deep but are wider than regular muffin cups.  The manufacturers also only make the tins with six cups versus the regular 12.  I asked why only six versus 12 cups to a salesperson in a kitchen store that I frequent and she said that the pan would be too big for the oven.  The quantity of batter used in the muffin top tins versus regular muffins is about the same.

In making the blueberry muffins, I used margarine instead of butter, about 1/2 cup of splenda and fresh blueberries.

Muffin top tin before batter is added.

Blueberry dough added.

Out of the oven.

Cooling on a rack.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar or 1/2 cup splenda

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries

       

DIRECTIONS:

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, butter, vanilla and lemon rind. Pour over dry ingredients; stir twice. Sprinkle with blueberries; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin cups.  Bake at 375°F until tops are firm to the touch, 25 minutes.

Adapted from CanadianLiving.com