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Posts tagged ‘buttermilk’

Sep 8

LavenderBlueberryScones-5
29 Comments

lavender blueberry scones

Imagine this … a little girl turning 4. She tells her mother she knows exactly what she wants for her birthday. She’ll ask all her funnest of friends to dress in their finest of fine. She’ll tell them each to bring along their favorite furry stuffed companion.  And they’ll all come, laughing and tittering to her tea party! The stuffed friends will have their own table with their own tea set and treats. { They’ll get to know each other this way.}  And all the girls will gather around a table set with floral linens, lace doilies, silver tea service, brilliant bouquets of flowers, all sorts of fruits in bite-size, and scones in miniature. { Some will even practice speaking in their idea of a good British accent. } And when their tummies are full they can all retire to the lawn out back and be blindfolded and spun and play pin the cup on the saucer; then they’ll take turns (being as how they’re young ladies) swinging upside down like monkeys from the swing set!

This was Clara’s idea of the perfect birthday party.

Not a one of us could disagree.

♥

When Clara was first learning to say her name, she called herself Lala. We’ve a hard time calling her anything but Lala ever since because Lala somehow suits her best.

~  She’s a sweet little song in the mouth, that girl!  ~

And thus, we’ve named these little treats…

Lala’s Lavender & Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon lavender sugar (See NOTE)

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 stick ( 4 ounces ) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup ( approximately ) buttermilk

1/4  to 1/3 cup dried blueberries

~ 

2 Tablespoons butter melted ( for brushing )

several tablespoons lavender sugar ( for sprinkling )

~

~ 

NOTE: to make  lavender sugar  (a treat more scrumptious than perhaps you can imagine!) :

Place 1 Tablespoon culinary lavender (you can find sources on line or I’ll share one at the bottom of the post)

along with 1 Tablespoon sugar in a little spice grinder. Whir til all the bits are fully incorporated into the sugar. (This will be a fine lavender-y powder.) Now stir this in with 2 cups of granulated sugar. Mix thoroughly. Store in a lidded jar. Wait about 2 days before using, and then use frequently – on sliced fruits (berries, peaches)! Dusting cookies. In your tea. In dozens of desserts to replace regular sugar. Once you’ve tasted this sweetness you’ll figure it out!

I’ve used a mini-scone pan for these, but you can make them without. Simply cut as instructed and lay out about 1/4-inch apart on a baking sheet.

~

Preheat oven to 375F (190C)

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingers, squeezing the pieces of butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Allowing some largish pieces of butter to remain will add to the scones’ flakiness. Add the dried blueberries and stir.

Pour in  2/3 cup of buttermilk and, using a fork, mix only until the ingredients are just moistened. What you’ll have at this point is a soft dough with a rather rough look. (If the dough is dry and crumbly add 1 teaspoon or so more buttermilk.)

Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it together gently until it holds together. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it briefly. About a dozen turns should do the trick.

Before kneading.

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Sep 6

ButtermilkSkilletCornBread-1
22 Comments

buttermilk skillet cornbread

I had a slumber party last night. You might think I’m too old for that sort of thing, but I’m not. Guinea Pig was on a business trip so my very good buddy came to spend the night. We had that gazpacho that I shared with you yesterday...though honestly, when we were finished, there was little left to share. Here’s the corn bread that sat on the plate beside. Caralina made a pig of herself. She wouldn’t mind me saying that. Probably because she’s like my little sister, and I made a pig of myself first.

Buttermilk Skillet Corn Bread

  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup stone-ground white or yellow cornmeal (I like medium grind for this)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar or honey (or maple syrup – I used the syrup)
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

Variations: You could add ½ cup of grated Jack cheese and ¼ cup of roasted green chiles to the batter too. I didn’t this time but have and we like it that way too.

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Sep 3

CornPancakesCherrySauce-7
27 Comments

buttermilk cornmeal pancakes with warm Cherry sauce

Earlier this season I was asked to participate in the Northwest Cherries ~ Tree to Table campaign, bringing dishes from chefs around the country to our tables at home. I said Yes, and then…life threw a few curve balls our way. I caught a couple balls but sadly dropped the cherries. Luckily (for us in the NW anyway) our produce stands are still teeming with beautiful cherries so I thought I’d bring you breakfast.

I’m still hoping to bring you one gorgeous dessert from a phenomenal chef, famous in these parts, but recently I’ve learned, while keeping hopes high, it’s best to keep promises to a minimum.

These are whole-grain pancakes made with cornmeal and white whole wheat flour, and it’s buttermilk that keeps them deliciously tender. They’re topped with a seductive warm cherry sauce scented with orange and cloves. It seems to me a fitting breakfast for this time of year caught between warm summer days and crisp fall mornings.

Cornmeal Pancakes with Warm Cherry Sauce

Pancakes:

  • 1 cup medium-grind (or fine to medium-) stone ground cornmeal (4 oz.)
  • ½ cup white whole wheat flour (2.25 ounces)
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1½ cups lowfat buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Cherry Sauce:

  • 2 cups sweet pitted cherries (about 10 ounces – do not thaw if using frozen)
  • ¼ cup water (+ 1 Tablespoon later)
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (from about 1 orange)
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

* You may have noticed…I generally have a preference for mixing varieties of fruit when cooking with them. I think it’s visually more appealing, but more important I think the flavor profile is broadened and deepened…what one variety lacks, another makes up for. For this sauce, I used Bing and Rainier cherries.

Pancakes:

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and then whisk in buttermilk and olive oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. (Don’t over mix or your tender cakes will turn tough. There should be lumps.) Set aside for 15 minutes – or longer if need be, but not less than.

If you’re going to be making the pancakes all at once and then serving everyone together, place a large baking sheet in a 200°F oven, on the middle rack.

In the meantime, prepare the cherry sauce. Combine the cherries, ¼ cup water, honey, orange zest and cloves in a small saucepan. 

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, cover partially, and set aside for the flavors to marry.

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Mar 18

ButtermilkPancakes-3
48 Comments

insanely good buttermilk pancakes

Our breakfast choices are one of the ways we set the weekend days apart and call them special. Call them restful. Call them sweet. Call the family together, or call a friend. I think we need a day every once in a while in which we can find no good reason to change out of our pajamas – until maybe mid-afternoon in time for dinner.

Alton Brown – you know him? The quirky celebrity chef-author, droll sense of humor, with the  fascinating scientific why’s for everything that takes place in the kitchen. Have you seen all his visual aids? They’re crazy! He’s like “teacher of the year” for foodies! This is from him…

Put together the dry ingredients here, seal in a container, and then simply add a couple cups of this mix to a few wet ingredient when you’re ready for pancakes. Less to measure, less to wash, more reason to eat more pancakes. More reason to stay in pajamas.

These are incredibly light and the flavors perfectly balanced. I think you might love…

Ingredients for the “instant” pancake mix

(yields a bit more than 6 cups, making for 3 batches of fresh buttermilk pancakes)

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda (check expiration date first)
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake very well to mix. And be sure to do so before each use - (otherwise the ingredients will tend to settle out, heavier on the bottom, and what you’ll get won’t be what you’ll want.)

Use the mix within 3 months. That should be no problem. 

“Instant” Buttermilk Pancakes

  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 2 cups buttermilk *
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 cups “Instant” Pancake Mix, recipe above
  • 1 pat of butter, for greasing the pan
  • 2 cups fresh fruit such as blueberries, if desired
  • zest of ½ to 1 whole lemon finely minced (optional, but wonderful)

*  have you made yours yet? you can follow the link to see how.

Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350° F (175° C). Heat oven to 200°F (95° C).

Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. (Just long enough to beat a little air into the them. Not looking for much of a change.) In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter along with the lemon zest. (Alton Brown makes the case for what might be seen as a bit of “fussiness”. You should trust him though. Just do as he says.) 

Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk these together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don’t try to work all the lumps out. You WANT lumps, because you want light-as-a-cloud fluffycakes.

lumpy like me

~ ~ ~

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Mar 17

Buttermilk Lemon Sorbet-2
41 Comments

lemon buttermilk sorbet

I have a weakness for lemons. (Had it all my life – have learned to live with it.) Pair them with the delicate lactic tang of creamy buttermilk and you have (or I do) chilled perfection on a spoon. It’s that simple.

Refreshing, light and (as desserts go)  as low fat as you’d like it to be. I made mine with a whole milk buttermilk (freshly-homemade) – but you could also use a low-fat buttermilk – and in either case, compared to whole cream, it’s a waist-watcher’s dream.

NOTE : Ice-cream makers are relatively inexpensive.  Good ice-cream, gelatos and sorbets on the other hand, are not. But they’re very inexpensive to make. With fresh fruit season nearing us, with all the berries and peaches, and need I go on, it might be something you want to consider? Mine is a simple sort – a canister remains in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. Pull it out, put the cooled liquid in, set it on its base, turn on the machine, leave it 20 to 30 minutes as it whirs away. Return to a well-churned, additive-free, fresh and frozen treat.

Lemon Buttermilk Sorbet

about 12 scoops – you decide how many portions that is :)  

  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon, finely chopped
  • 1 cup sugar (you might be able to get away with slightly less)
  • 1/4 cup neutral-tasting honey or coconut nectar (a syrup) or agave syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
  • 2 cups fresh buttermilk, shaken to blend

Place a container (about quart-size) in the freezer to chill.

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Mar 13

36 Comments

Spreenkle #4

It’s snowing big fluffy rabbits here today. Went to bed with rain pouring thunderously on our roof so loud we could barely hear one another, but woke to 5 inches of pristine white silence covering our patio. So, out of exhilarated appreciation for the quiet beauty of this day, I’m keeping it white.

Have you ever enjoyed buttermilk, freshly bottled from a local dairy? When I was girl, my grandfather (we called him Big Papa and he was indeed bigger than life in many ways) had a dairy farm on the coast in Washington state. Sweet-faced Jersey cows, each one with a name, would line up in the milking barn twice a day. One of these days I’ll share some stories of what life on that farm was like. It was so much MORE than a dairy farm, but I don’t want to give it all away in a little Spreenkle. I remember though, on the tile counter of the old farm house, sat bottles of milk, their skinny necks filled with the sweet cream that had risen. And I remember too the taste of fresh buttermilk our grandma would make.  And occasionally a treat. A milkshake maker, the color green of the day, with its cloth-covered cord and its dented steel container would be pulled from its cupboard and set on the counter. Into it went fresh, chilled whole-buttermilk and orange sherbet. Whirrrr! Pour! Straw! Slurp! Pure deliciousness!

It’s not easy to find a truly wonderful buttermilk in our markets. But we can Make it! And it’ll be wonderful. I’m not talking here about the “trick” of adding vinegar or lemon juice to milk to simulate the real thing when we’ve run out. Read more

Nov 7

GermanAppleWaffles-1-2
12 Comments

autumn waffles

My daughter Ashley and her three – Sici, Jewel-bug and LaLa, were coming for breakfast. What would I fix them? I know that one of their very favorite things in all the world (and they would tell you this) is our traditional Christmas morning breakfast. I knew that at least two of them might be guessing (and even hoping) they’d be having it in November too. How could I thrill them with the familiar and yet surprise them with something different, all at once?  And then it came to me -

German Apple Waffles !

~ ~ ~

For the lightest waffles, I beat the egg whites separately and fold them in at the end. It’s not necessary to do this if you’re horribly pressed for time – but then again why would you choose waffles if you’re in a hurry? The difference though with beaten egg whites is one you’ll appreciate once you’ve tried it. Also, for tenderness, buttermilk instead of plain milk .

German Apple Waffles

For the waffles:

(makes 5 or 6 waffles)

  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cup buttermilk
  • ¼ cup canola oil or melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

For the apples:

  • 4 apples (at least 1 tart, such as Granny Smith, plus others for variety)
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

to finish:

  • juice from ¼ to ½ lemon (depending on sweetness of apples & your own tastes)
  • splash maple syrup
  • whipping cream
  • powdered sugar & vanilla extract

Preparing the waffles:

In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff – set aside.

While you have your mixer out, now is a good time to prepare the whipped cream.  Beat approximately 1 cup of whipping cream until it starts to thicken. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla extract. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set aside or chill for serving.

In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients for the waffles – the flours, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients - lightly beaten egg yolks, the buttermilk, oil or melted butter and vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, all at once, stirring just enough to combine. Batter will be lumpy and we like it that way. (It won’t be evident in the finished waffle.) With a light hand, gently fold in the beaten eggs whites. Your waffle batter is finished.

Preparing the apples:

Peel and core the apples. Slice lengthwise into approximately ¼-inch slices.

Using a large cast iron or other heavy skillet, melt the butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and the apple slices. (If using a non-stick pan, you won’t get quite the same caramel-y results.)

On medium or medium-low heat cook the apples until they’ve softened but aren’t mushy. This may take about 15 minutes. Some varieties of apples will turn soft faster, but the variety in tart-versus-sweet and barely-soft-versus-very-soft is nice. (Plus, if you’ve several varieties of apples you’ll get slight variations in color too which is so pretty.)

Once your apples have softened and the caramely sauce is coating them, add a splash of lemon juice and a splash of maple syrup. Adjust as needed to suit your tastes. You want enough sauciness to moisten your waffle and you want a good balance of flavor which, to my mind, means not overly sweet.

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