The Chew, a Review and a Recipe - Apple Pancake Rings

This week, ABC launched a new daytime talk show called "The Chew".  I caught the first two episodes, and while it has a bit of a frantic pace it has the potential to settle into an entertaining and informative program.  The set is a large kitchen including a breakfast bar that seats around a dozen members of their live audience.  Those seated at the bar are able to taste several dishes throughout the broadcast and provide brief feedback to the five co-hosts.  This audience participation directly ties into one of the show's overarching themes, family.  


The hosts, most already familiar faces on television, were going a mile a minute during the two episodes I've seen.  Food Network's "Iron Chef" personalities Mario Batiali and Michael Symon provided most of the cooking demonstrations.   From TLC's "What Not to Wear", Clinton Kelly gives the audience entertaining and presentation tips.  Diet book author Daphne Oz (daughter of ABC's Dr. Oz) refreshingly contributes health tips that are actually healthful.  Rounding out the quintet is former "Top Chef" contestant and fan favorite Carla Hall, who more than any of the others succeeds in making the viewer feel welcome and engaged.


Saturday morning our family sat down to a breakfast taken directly from The Chew's second episode, Carla Hall's Fried Apple Pancake Rings.  These were a fantastic way to round out our apple filled week.  Click on the link to see the recipe and a video of Carla making them.  I made the recipe simply based on watching the show and had great success.  The written version on the website seems a bit over complicated.  


Of course I deviated a little from the recipe as presented.  Here's my version:


Carla Hall's Fried Apple Pancake Rings


2 medium apples (I used honey crisp) - washed, peeled, cored, and sliced into thin 1/8 inch rings.
2 - 2-1/2 cups of your favorite pancake batter (homemade or a mix) a little on the thin side with a generous dash of pumpkin pie spice


Preheat a pancake griddle or large non-stick frying pan to medium heat.
Using toothpicks dredge the apple rings through the batter so they are well coated.  
One at a time, place the rings on a pancake griddle or large non-stick frying pan.
From here cook the rings as you would any regular pancake.  Flip when the top stops bubbling and the bottom begins to turn golden.
The pancakes are finished when both sides are golden and the middle is fluffy.


Unlike the original recipe, by using a non-stick griddle I made ours with no additional fat.  They were amazing!!!  The apple rings were perfectly soft in the middle and they were delicious all on their own.  We drizzled the tiniest bit of sugar-free syrup over them and I had a few with a touch of almond butter.  My toddler ate his plain and probably had more than I did. YUM!!!


I love this idea.  I would serve these any day of the week, to company, for a snack, or even as a dessert.  It speaks to so much of what I strive for when picking recipes for my family.  Making food healthful, simple and delicious doesn't have to be complicated or look unfamiliar.  Put these in front of a crowd and no one will be the wiser!






*editors note: Sorry for the lack of pictures.  By the time I thought to blog about the pancakes they were nothing but crumbs and sweet memories!




*Update*  We had these for breakfast again this weekend and this time I snapped a few photos while I was making them.

A melon baller works really well to remove the core from apples.

After the apples are peeled and cored, slice into rings around 1/8 of an inch thick.

Cooking on a non-stick griddle means larger batches and no oil required.

Cook until golden brown on each side.

So yummy they are ready to eat straight off the griddle, but you can add some toppings if you like.

APPLES! Picking, Saucing, Canning

This summer I have been a bit like a squirrel saving as many summer foods as I can to last us through the winter.  I have been filling our freezer with gallon bags of berries and nectarines for smoothies and baking.  Now that the air is crisper I have been fixated on canning apple sauce.


When I was little my Mom made berry jams in the summer.  I remember picking, slicing, and mashing fruit, and boiling everything; all the while being hot and sticky.  I also remember insane amounts of sugar going into each batch.  I wanted to try canning but I just can't in good conscience make a food with that much sugar for my family.  It's not that I am anti-sugar as much as I am opposed to masking the natural flavors of food.  All of this thinking led me to apple sauce.


A couple weeks back I received an invitation from my aunt and uncle to help myself to their tree's bumper crop.  They have two beautiful trees.  One tree is just bursting with rusty red apples and the second tree has fewer apples but they are big, golden and gorgeous.


I didn't want to be greedy, since they weren't home when we were picking, so I filled half a grocery bag between the two trees.  While I was picking my son entertained himself with foraging for fallen fruit.  He is generally happy to entertain himself with eating (think The Very Hungry Caterpillar).  I try to make sure the food he has access to is wholesome so chomping through a bushel of apples is okay by me.


I'm not sure if I have picked apples in any quantity before but it was surprisingly quick.  In no time at all we were back in the car and headed to the farm stand.


While I was researching canning methods for apple sauce I noticed many recommendations to use an array of apples varieties to achieve the best tasting sauce.  I have driven by this farm stand many times but never checked it out.  I was glad I stopped because it had beautiful produce at great prices.  I picked out three more types of apples to round out my blend.  I didn't weigh them but I am guessing when I had them all mixed together I probably had about thirty pounds of apples.

When I got home and dumped them all into a basket I was excited and a little overwhelmed by the volume of fruit.  So I took some artsy pictures while I worked up the nerve to dig in.

If you have never made apple sauce before I encourage you to give it a try.  It is simple and not particularly time consuming and can be done in any size batch you want.  I have made just a small pot with three or four apples just to have with dinner.


There are varieties of apples that cook down better than others.  I, however, generally use whatever type I have on hand.  I do not recommend using tart apples.  I have found tart apples do not cook down as nicely and need to be sweetened.  For my canning project I used five varieties the two I picked plus Gala, Honey Crisp, and Golden Delicious.  Admittedly it is a bit starchier than I would like. I think it may be from the Golden Delicious but I am not sure.


Here is how I make my apple sauce: 

• Peel all the apples by hand
• Slice them in half and use a melon baller to remove the core
• Using a paring knife, trim the ends to remove any remaining peel or stems
• Quarter the apples
• Toss into large sauce pan or pot depending on the quantity you are making
• Add a cup or two of water
• Squirt with lemon juice, about 1 TB
• Top with 2 or 3 tablespoons of cinnamon
• Cover and cook over medium heat
• When it starts to bubble and boil, turn the heat down to medium low or low
• Stir occasionally and add water as needed to keep the sauce the consistency you would like.

I like a chunkier more substantial sauce to be more like a side dish or a snack so I just stir with a wooden spoon to break up the apple pieces.  For a smoother texture mash with a potato masher, blend or put through a food mill.  If you would like it to be sweeter, add a pinch of brown sugar or honey.

Taking the extra steps to can apple sauce was completely new territory for me.  I don't want to give misinformation on proper canning technique so I recommend doing a little research.  I found good information at a website called Simply Canning.  True to form I fudged their instructions a bit.  I don't have a canning pot, funnel or canning tongs so I put a stone trivet on the bottom of a large pot and used my standard tongs and a pot holder to move my jars around.  Honestly it would have been better to use the proper equipment but I was impatient so I just went for it.


I was super excited when my jar lids sealed properly.  My first batch yielded three quarts of apple-y goodness.  The next batch was a bit bigger and I added some chopped ginger.  I still have another batch worth of apples on my counter.  If you have any suggestions for spices to add, post them in the comments.  It would be fun to have several flavors in the pantry to get us through until next apple season.

Have you tried..., wait how do you say that again?

Quinoa, "Keen-Wa," I love it!  Have you tried it?  If you haven't I hope that what you read here will convince you to sample it.

I can't remember when I first tried quinoa, but I do know that I liked it immediately.  In my opinion the little grains (which are actually seeds) look fun, have a pleasing texture, a mild pleasant flavor and cook in about 15 minutes!  Additionally it is full of all kinds of things that are really good for you, most notably protein, fiber, amino acids, and it is gluten free.  If you'd like to read more details about the crop, its history, and botanical information check out this article in Wikipedia.


Quinoa can almost always be substituted for other grains in recipes.  For instance, serve it as a side dish in lieu of rice, to make fried "rice"; make a nutrient-packed tabbouleh salad that is very similar in texture to couscous, or cook like a porridge instead of oats for breakfast.  (Full disclosure: I haven't tried making it for breakfast yet, as you know I like my oatmeal.)  Served hot or cold it is seriously a super food.  If I have convinced you to add quinoa to your shopping list, look in the bulk or natural foods section of your local store, however, not all grocery stores carry it.  I have found an organic variety at Costco in a large bag (surprise, surprise).


When you are ready to dive right in and make some it is really simple.  Quinoa in its natural state should be soaked and rinsed prior to cooking.  Generally the quinoa in the grocery store has already been through this process but you may find it retains a bit of bitterness.  It helps to give it a quick rinse one last time before you make it at home.  Measure the amount you want to cook into a mesh strainer and swish it under the tap.  You may want to withhold a touch of cooking liquid, play with it to see what happens. Use a 1:2 ratio for cooking, so 1 cup of grain to 2 cups of liquid.  Since quinoa has such a mild flavor, I almost always cook in broth or toss about a tablespoon of bouillon into the water.  (This is a great tip for any grain, particularly if you are not adding other ingredients prior to serving.)  Combine it all into a rice cooker and flip the switch or, in a medium sauce pan, bring the liquid to a boil, add grain, then cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.  It should be fluffy when fully cooked but not hard.  

When you are ready to expand from the basic recipe, try tossing in some spices during cooking like curry powder, cumin, cardamom, or smoked paprika.  Once it has cooked you could add some diced veggies or fresh herbs to make a side dish.  For an awesome one pot meal top the whole thing off with some [leftover] diced chicken, lamb, shrimp, even tofu and you are all set for a great meal!


Have fun in the kitchen and keep playing with your food, it is the best way to discover new things.

A Beginning

I would like to begin my blog as I begin my day, with breakfast.

Growing up we frequently had a box of flavored instant oatmeal in the pantry next to the cold cereal. I remember choosing it often in the winter and making it in the microwave. My favorite flavor was strawberries and cream and I am pretty sure I would make 2 or 3 packets at a time. As an adult I didn't buy instant oatmeal very often but I didn't cook it from scratch either. I didn't find the instant packets to be very filling and once I started paying attention to the nutrition labels I found the volume I wanted to consume to be full was 2 or 3 times the volume I wanted to consume calorie wise. I didn't cook it from scratch because it seemed like a much more involved process than I wanted to engage in and more than that I envisioned the results to be bland and unappetizing.

As I have been losing weight I have found myself revisiting foods that I had previously written off. Part of the joy in this process has come from discovering that I do like many things I thought I didn't, I just needed to cook them differently. When my son was born I read and was told by several people that oatmeal was a good food for nursing moms. I immediately went out and bought a package of oatmeal cookies. I knew the packaged cookies didn't contain the amount of oats I would get from a simple bowl of oatmeal so I had to move on to the grain in its more wholesome form. Initially I cooked the old fashioned variety just as the recipe on the package suggests; on the stove with water. This did not last long since the simple recipe does yield the results I had envisioned previously, bland and boring oatmeal. The good news was it turned out to be a quick and easy breakfast food that my husband was willing to make too. I was motivated to find ways to like oatmeal because it was good for me and benefited my son so in the following weeks we added the standard raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. I wanted to up the protein a bit and tried cooking the oats in half fat free milk and half water. The milk made the oats creamier and I don't think I have used only water since then, I frequently will cook them in only milk and alternate between cow and soy milk for variety.

I was delighted to discover that oatmeal really is a great platform for other flavors and textures. Here are some of the things that I regularly combine with my oats:

Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract (a small amount - about 1/4 of a teaspoon)
Apple sauce or slices
Frozen Berries
Fresh Berries
Raisin or any other dried fruit
Chopped nuts - pecans and walnuts are my favorite especially toasted first
Flax Meal

I haven't tried bananas because I don't really like them but if you do I bet it would be tasty.

One morning I was playing with ideas for getting more protein into my breakfast and stirred in a blob of peanut butter. This was not good. The texture was gluey, the smell was odd and it tasted more savory (think Thai food) than I want for breakfast. My advice is to skip the nut butter and grab a boiled egg if you want more protein with your oatmeal.

All of these are fun, quick and easy for an everyday breakfast and changing the added ingredients keeps it from becoming boring. Oatmeal is also a great special occation or holiday treat too. One morning I posted on Facebook that I was stirring Pumpkin Pie Spice into my breakfast and was rewarded with a link to a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal on The Good Life Eats blog. Thank you to Rainy Day Gal for pointing me to what has become my absolute favorite breakfast.

The Good Life Eats version of Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal was adapted from a previous recipe. I have in turn adapted it again to suit my taste and style. I have modified the original recipe from individual ramekins to one casserole dish for simplicity sake but it is fun to do single portions as well. Please try it, play with it, and adapt it to suit your life.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

adapted from The Good Life Eats posted 9/11/09

• 1 cup old fashioned oats (not quick cook)
• 1 Tbs whole flax seeds (optional)
• 2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar, packed (or 1 1/2 Tbs of Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp butter, softened (or Smart Balance butter alternative)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup milk (cow or soy)

Topping:

• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 tsp butter, softened (or Smart Balance)
• 1 Tbs brown sugar (stick to the regular brown sugar here for the texture)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. In an oven-safe casserole dish, combine the pumpkin, milk and butter. Fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and place into the oven for 10 minutes. While the oatmeal is baking, mix the topping. After 10 minutes spread the topping evenly over the casserole and return to the oven for an additional 7 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Toss a few dried cranberries or raisins on top for some added texture and sweetness. Serves 2-4.