Weekend Favorite: Pancakes

First of all, let me start by saying, Tim and I went to 2 different farmers markets yesterday, and had a blast... we got a new-to-us product called pepper grass cress that literally tastes like watercress with black pepper on it.  So intriguing.  We also got some farm fresh eggs, grass fed beef, buffalo wings (I'm not sure which part of the chicken is its buffalo wing, but I'd love for it to show me sometime :) ), green onions, lettuce, pickled okra, tomatoes, cilantro, and a few other goodies I'm sure I'm forgetting.  If you can find a place near you to buy locally, do it.  It's great for the economy, and you get better products generally speaking, even if it is slightly more expensive. 

So on to the recipe of the day... I tried to make low-carb pancakes before and it was a tottttaaalllll fail... They weren't sweet, they were too thick and dry, and overall, we did not care for them.  So this weekend, I got a new idea, tried it, and it went super well.  Hope you enjoy.

Things you'll need:
2 cups Almond Flour (the best I've found so far is at Trader Joes.  If you're not close to a TJ's or a place that sells almond flour or almond meal, which is basically the same, you can get almonds and grind them in a coffee grinder.  You just want them to be completely ground up, and have no big "pieces" in them.)

This is what I get at TJ's.  It's in the "Nuts" section, named both for the content and the people who purchase it.

1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 packets of Splenda
Optional: If you are in a place in your diet where you are allowed to have chocolate, you can add chocolate chips as well.  Dark chocolate are most recommended because they have a lower carb count.  (Minis are probably better if you can find them, because 1 tbsp of the big ones was NOT that many haha)

Put your pan/skillet on the stove to let it get hot.  Prep it with whatever oil you are going to use, or Pam if you use that, and let it heat up.

Meanwhile, add all the ingredients together, and stir.  It's super simple, and really good in the end.  It should be a just-thicker-than-soup texture.  

Texture of the batter.

Then, just like you would with regular pancakes, spoon the batter into the pan, or onto your skillet.  I made my about sand dollar size, and it yielded 10. 

Before...

After.  

Enjoy, let me know how it goes, and let me know what you add to them.  Always looking for good ideas. 

Coming soon: Pico de gallo, pesto, and hopefully some kind of bread... I'm still working out how to make that best!

Maintain,

Virginia

Hummus is Yummus

So, let's get started with some good recipes that I LOVE.  Our all time favorite low carb snack right now is homemade hummus and low-carb "pita" chips.  Here's what you'll need for this recipe:

1 15.5 oz can of Garbanzo beans
Tahini 
Lemon Juice
Garlic
Olive Oil

 

No idea why this won't flip... I've tried twice to fix it, and I don't know why this is happening... Whatever.  There are my ingredients for you to see.

Some tips for these things:
Trader Joe's has a Tahini Spread that is just as good if you can't find tahini somewhere near you... I used that, and it worked and was just as tasty.  I just found some tahini at Fresh Market, but not everyone has one of those so use what you can.

Directions:

Here's the easiest recipe you've ever made.  Ever.
1. Take the garbanzo beans and drain them.  Put them in a blender or food processor (I use my blender, a Cuisinart from Tim's parents for Christmas, but I had a really great blender before that my sister still has from WalMart for $18...  A fantastic addition to your kitchen if you don't have one yet) and add a heaping tablespoon of tahini (use a soup spoon, doesn't have to be super scientific), three to four peeled cloves of garlic (cut the ends off, it's tough and unnecessary) depending on how much garlic you like, and three to four shakes of lemon juice.

2. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, and begin slowly to blend it together.

3. Fill the can from the beans with water, and slowly add it as necessary to achieve the desired texture... if you want it to be smooth without the slightly larger pieces, a little less water is fine, but if you want it to be very smooth, a little more water and the "puree" setting will do you just fine.

I chose the slightly more textured version, but the first time I made it, it was very smooth.  Both are good, just whatever your preference is.  I store mine in an old hummus container... good vibes or something.

Let it sit together (it's better the next day or at least after it has had time to set) while you make the chips.

"Pita" chips
(I call them that because they taste more like that than tortilla chips, but whatever, they're made out of tortillas.)

Things you need
Low-carb Tortillas (I like the Mission brand... I got them from Target, but there should be some other places too)
Olive Oil
Seasonings (I have been using garlic salt and freshly ground pepper, which is fantastic)

 There are two options for this: fried or baked.  Depends on your preference, but mine is the fried ones.  Your body processes fats differently than conventional wisdom tells you, so don't think that it's going to be worse for you if you fry them than bake them... if you're counting carbs, you don't need to be counting calories, because at some point, you're going to have nothing to eat.

Fried chips:
1. Put a skillet on the stove, and cover the bottom with olive oil.  Turn it up halfway between low and high (mine is numbers between 1-10, so I put it on 5... anymore than that and the oil is going to start to scorch at some point, and it's a problem... haha).  Let that heat up for a while... it should sizzle and start bubbling a little bit when you put the tortillas in.

2. Lay out your tortillas, and brush the top with olive oil (Tip: Don't worry about getting dirty... embrace it.  If you don't have a pastry brush, drip a little olive oil on top of the tortilla and rub it on with your fingers, and get it spread all over the top of the tortilla.  If you miss a spot, the spices aren't going to stick).

3. Sprinkle on top whatever you've decided to use.  Cut them with a pizza slicer, depending on your preference of shape.  You could cut them like a pie, or into squares.

4. Place the tortilla slices in the oil, and leave them until the edges start turning a little brown.  Flip them, and then after a few minutes, take them out.  Note that they will probably puff up a little in the middle, so you may need to push them down a little bit.  Repeat until they're all done!

ORRRRR...

Baked Chips:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

1. Brush a little oil on the pan (shouldn't be pooled, just a light coating to make sure they don't stick and crisp up the bottom a little bit).

2. See #2 and #3 from above.  Do those things.

You can fill the tray, since they're not going to cook together or anything.

3. Place the chips on the tray.  Bake on the first side for 8 minutes, flip them, and bake them again for 8 minutes.

After picture!!

Let me know how it goes for you!!

Maintain,

Virginia

An Introduction

So... for those of you who followed my last blog about student teaching, you already are aware that I'm not thaaaat great at keeping up with blogging.  But, given that a lot of my friends are doing this low-carb kick, I'm doing it, and my boyfriend is, AND given that I have a hard time finding things that I like and end up adapting them mostly anyway, I wanted to start a spot where I can post and taut the successes of my friends and I and also put up new and exciting recipes that have been enjoyed.

I'm hoping to try and post new recipes weekly, since that's about all I can promise.  Look for new recipes starting tomorrow!! 

For now, I'm off to bed.  Have to be professionally developed tomorrow!!

Maintain,
Virginia