Friday Foods

I don’t know about you, but I look forward to Friday, with the impending weekend. Of course, if you work different hours, your weekend may come, say, in the middle of the week. But no matter when, here’s to a couple of days off, with good food to go along with the break. Enjoy!

PAM ANDERSON’S MULTIGRAIN MEDALLIONS

The October 2012 issue of Runner’s World had their Ultimate Guide to Pancakes, titled “Stacked” (pages 70 – 76). This recipe comes with “10 Super Spins” to Pam’s pancakes.

1 cup white flour

1/3 cup each: cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, and old-fashioned rolled oats

4 teaspoons sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup low-fat milk (or water)

2 large eggs

2 Tbls vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing the griddle

1 tsp vanilla

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over low heat. Mix flour, whole grains, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in bowl. Microwave buttermilk and milk for 30 seconds in a 2-cup measuring cup. Whisk in eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry; whisk until just mixed. Return batter to measuring cup. Increase heat to medium and brush skillet with oil. When oil starts to spider, pour batter 1/4 cup at a time. When pancake bottoms are golden brown and tops start to bubble, after about 2 to 3 minutes, flip pancakes; cook until golden brown on other side. Repeat, brushing skillet with oil.

Calories per serving (two pancakes): 296; carbs: 26 g; fiber: 2 g; protein: 8 g; fat: 6 g

SUPER SPINS on MULTIGRAIN MEDALLIONS

These are the extra spins on the previous recipe:

Bake in dates, raisins, and cinnamon

Mix fresh apricot and fresh ginger into batter; top pancakes with honey

Mix ground oats and white flour (1:1 ratio); add oatmeal, dried cranberries and orange zet to better; top pancakes with cooked cranberries and cinnamon

Substitute espresso for half the milk; mix cocoa powder and hazelnuts into batter; top with raspberries

Use only whole-wheat and white flour (1:2 ratio), mix bananas into batter; top pancakes with peanut butter and apple slices

Mix quinoa and white flour (1:1 ratio); add lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and blueberries to batter; dust with powdered sugar

Mix chopped baby spinach leaves into batter; top with strawberry puree and a sprinkle of powdered sugar

Mix corn kernels into batter; top pancakes with homemade guacamole

Mix Ancho chili pepper, unsweetened cocoa powder, and chopped dark chocolate (70% cacao) into batter

Mix figs, pears, and walnuts into batter; top with vanilla Greek yogurt.

VEGAN OATMEAL PANCAKES

This comes from page 68 of the September 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times. It begins, “As the first person out of bed in her house on Saturday mornings, Mary Shore savors the time to ease into the weekend. “We try to keep cooking simple so the relaxed mood lasts through the morning,” she says. These winning pancakes came out of her desire to develop a vegan version of her favorite restaurant pancakes: 'My mom taught me to substitute a little vinegar in milk when there was no buttermilk in the house, and the cider vinegar in soymilk here has the same effect of lending a little zing.'” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

The recipe can be viewed online here.

3/4cup Silk Original Soymilk

2 tsp. Bragg Unfiltered Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbs. Now Real Food Maple Syrup, plus more for drizzling, optional

2 tsp. canola oil, plus more for oiling pan

1/2 cup Now Real Food Rolled Oats

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Combine soymilk, vinegar, maple syrup, and oil in small bowl. Add oats, and let soak 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl. Stir soymilk mixture into flour mixture.

Preheat large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat (400°F), and lightly coat with oil. Ladle 1/4 cup batter into pan for each pancake. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until bubbles form on top and sides are a little dry. Flip, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, or until browned on both sides. Drizzle with maple syrup, if using.

nutritional information Per Serving (2 pancakes): Calories: 196; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 280 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 5 g; Vegan

EASY SPOON BREAD

This comes from Elizabeth Yetter, About.com's Bread Baking guide. She writes, “If you need to serve a bread with your meals, but don't feel like taking a long time preparing a yeast bread, try out this recipe for an easy spoon bread. It rises with baking powder, not active dry yeast, so there is no waiting for rising times.

“This bread goes well with a gravy meal, such as a roast with gravy and mashed potatoes or a roasted chicken with gravy. You can also serve it topped with whipped butter.

“Leftovers can be covered and saved in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. To reheat, cover with gravy and cut meat. Cover dish with plastic wrap or lid and reheat in the microwave. It is not as good as when it was fresh out of the oven, but it is still better than any prepackaged meal you might buy in the freezer department in the grocery store.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Yield: 8 servings

You can view this online here.

Ingredients

1-1/3 cups water1 cup yellow cornmeal

1-1/2 tsp salt

1-1/3 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter

1-1/4 cups milk

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp baking powder

Preparation

Grease a 2 quart pan or casserole dish. Bring water to a boil. Remove from the burner and let cool for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix together the cornmeal, salt, and sugar. Pour the hot water over the cornmeal mix and mix. Add butter and mix until completely melted. Set bowl aside and let the mixture cool. Finally, add the milk, eggs, and baking powder.

Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Place the pan into a larger, shallow pan that is filled with water. Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is a firm crust. Remove from the oven and serve immediately using a spoon.

Note: Elizabeth adds, “You can use any type of milk in this recipe: whole milk, skim, low fat, etc...Soy milk can be replaced with almond milk or any time of milk.”

BROCCOLI CHOWDER

From Diabetic Gourmet. Yield: 6 servings, 1 cup each

Source: "The Eating Well Diabetes Cookbook"

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped (1-1/2 cups)

1 large carrot, diced (1/2 cup)

2 stalks celery, diced (1/2 cup)

1 large potato, peeled and diced (1-1/2 cups)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3-1/2 cups vegetable broth (two 14-ounce cans)

8 ounces broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated (3 cups)

1 cup grated reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more.

Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan. Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through. Season with salt.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 cup each): Calories: 180, Fat: 8 g, Cholesterol: 15 mg, Carbohydrate: 23 g, Protein: 6 g, Fiber: 4 g, Sodium: 354 mg Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1 High-Fat Meat

SWEET POTATOES WITH SAGE AND CRANBERRIES

This comes from Publix Supermarket's Entertaining magazine (possibly the winter 2005 issue).

2 1/2 - 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into eighths

1/2 C finely chopped onion

1/4 C butter

1 Tbs snipped fresh sage or 1 tsp ground sage

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 C dried cranberries

1/4 C half-and-half or light cream

In Dutch oven place potatoes & enough salted water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onion in hot butter over medium heat until tender. Add sage, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in cranberries. Remove from heat.

Drain potatoes. Return to Dutch oven. Add half-and-half; mash with potato masher or beat with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Stir in onion-sage mixture. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 225 cal, 9 g total fat (5 g sat. fat), 25 mg chol., 274 mg sodium, 34 g carbo., 5 g fiber, 3 g protein.