The Return of the Veg-eh-tables!!!!!!

Spring means CSA time again!!!!! We love the farm we buy a share in Harmony Valley and are thrilled to be getting weekly deliveries again. It was hard to live off supermarket produced (sad, sad stuff) all winter long. This week marks our fourth delivery already this spring and we've been basking in the early spring goodness.

The Home Stretch

Cari (9 months pregnant) & Nathan 05/22/2010
at DeAnn and Del's wedding

I am 37 weeks pregnant today. This is considered full-term, which means that if the baby was born today, she'd be just fine. By 37 weeks, all of the vital organs are fully developed, including the lungs which are the last to finish up. Soooooooo.......this girl is welcome to come anytime! My due date is still three weeks out, June 14, however so its just waiting now for her to make her move.

All signs are good. I am not experiencing any of the problems I had at the end of Henry's pregnancy. My blood pressure remains good, I have not had any swelling in my feet or hands and my weight gain is right on. With any luck, she will NOT be 10 pounds like her brother was. I am predicting 7 lbs 7 ounces on June 7th, but I'm likely dreaming...

For the Love of Pancakes

I love making pancakes and perfected my version of them a long time ago. I make a number of variations based on the same basic recipe and am always experimenting. I am currently thinking of grinding my own oat flour in the food processor and creating an oatmeal-raisin pancake.

Homemade pancakes are so easy that I never used boxed mix. I've even made my own mix and stored it in a zip-lock for making while camping. Here's my basic recipe, based on an old Better Homes cookbook recipe. I always use half whole wheat flour, but you could use all unbleached all-purpose.

Whisk together the following dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbls granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Whisk together in a 2 cup measuring cup:
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbls canola oil

Stir the wet into the dry just until incorporated. It will be lumpy - do not overmix.
Let batter stand for 10-20 minutes while the griddle heats up. Spray the griddle or pan lightly with non-stick spray.
I turn the oven on to 200 degrees and put the pancakes in there as they are done to keep warm while I'm making them.
Always serve with real maple syrup!!! Fake maple syrup, which is just maple-flavored corn syrup is a crime.

Here are a few of my favorite variations. Really the options are endless and Henry loves them all!

Banana Pancakes:
Add one mashed overripe banana and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract. Great topped with toasted walnuts and slices of fresh banana.

Sweet Potato Pancakes:
Add 1/2 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato (I use leftovers, usually) and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Top with toasted pecans and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Blueberry Pancakes:
As the batter cooks on the first side, sprinkle with a small handful of fresh or frozen blueberries, then flip as usual. I like these with vanilla or lemon yogurt on them.

That's it. I love pancakes.