Breakfast

Sweet Corn Pancakes

I’ve been desperately trying to find time to write here and tell you something pretty exciting. After over six years together in this incredible city, it’s time for a new adventure. Dan and I are moving to London!

It still feels entirely surreal but we are so excited to take a big leap and experience something new and completely different together. I can’t wait to experience living in a city as vibrant as London and to have all of Europe on our doorstep.

Despite our heady anticipation we’re also very sad to be saying goodbye to Minnepolis and all our friends and family here. In the midst of the dog days of summer we’ve been packing, selling and donating things, paring down, and planning our hearts out.

I had my last day at work earlier this week, which filled me with melancholy. There’s so much of that feeling right now, as we prepare to say goodbye to so much that we love: family, close friends, and an incredible city. The rest of this week has been a daze of organising madness and yet, Dan and I have been trying to inject it with moments of relaxation by taking breaks for smoothies and walks by the river, sunny (sweaty) runs, lots of time with friends, afternoons at the beach and – this morning – pancakes for breakfast.

Sweetcorn Pancakes

Sweetcorn, as I’m sure you are well aware, is at its peak right now — maybe even passing its peak — and we are doing our best to consume as much as possible. Dan bought a dozen cobs from a farm stand the other day and since then there have been tacos filled with grilled corn salsa and many evenings where we just eat it plain off the cob. (Other corn favourites include arepas and these moreish sweetcorn fritters.) This morning we decided something sweeter was in order.

I have America to thank for bringing pancakes into my life. I never ate them growing up (unless it was Shrove Tuesday, and that’s a very different kind of pancake). Since living here I’ve experimented with blueberry cornmeal pancakes, buckwheat pancakes, pumpkin spice pancakesfresh cranberry cornmeal pancakes, and many more that never made it to this blog. Now, we have sweetcorn pancakes which I know I’ll carry on making wherever we live. Thanks, America.

Sweetcorn Pancake

Sweetcorn Pancakes

These pancakes are sweetly studded with corn throughout so you might decide to reduce the amount of sugar used in the recipe. I like a sweet breakfast pancake so I loved them like this – Dan prefers something a little more savoury and said he could have used less sugar. I’ll let you decide.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup / 4oz / 113g wholewheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Large pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup / 4oz/ 118ml unsweetened almond milk
  • 2.5 tbsp canola oil
  • Heaping 1/2 cup / 2.9oz / 82g of cooked sweetcorn kernels (from about 2 cobs)

Directions

  1. Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Slowly add the almond milk and oil, then the corn, mixing just until the mixture is smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more almond milk. Set aside to rest for a moment.
  2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Ladle some batter into the hot pan and allow to sit until bubbles appear, about four minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for another few minutes. Serve with maple syrup. Makes two pancakes.

Rhubarb and Berry Jam

July 25, 2013

Rhubarb and Berry Jam

Hello! That’s me, looking all excited and a bit smug about the nine pounds of rhubarb I’m hugging to my chest. We had a bit of a jam-making extravaganza last weekend. That lush garden you can see behind me has nothing to do with me though. Sadly, I can claim no responsibility. It’s my friend’s garden and I know – it’s hard not to be envious of it if you don’t have one of your own.

We had plans to deal with the mega amount of rhubarb still going strong over there so a few of us decided to make enough jam to feed a small army. We tripled the recipe you see below and used 9 pounds of rhubarb. So, I’m essentially carrying a chubby newborn’s worth of rhubarb in that photo. Aren’t I a natural?

Berry and Rhubarb Jam

Since we’re in the midst of berry season we added berries to balance out the rhubarb’s tartness. I’ve mentioned before that despite rhubarb and strawberry being the classic American pairing, I much prefer a rhubarb-raspberry combo. As David Lebovitz puts it, raspberries are a bit more assertive and I like that bold flavour so much more than the super-sweetness of strawberries. You could also use a mix of black and red currants, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, if you like.

Rhubarb Berry Jam

We ended up doing a mix of strawberries and raspberries with a heavy bias toward the raspberries and that was some good business. Dan proclaimed it delicious immediately and was raving about its flavour. It’s lovely on thick slices of toasted wholewheat bread and it makes a great “pb & j” alongside the deep nuttiness of almond butter. I’ve been eating more toast than is really reasonable for one person because of it. It’s tastes like sweet summer goodness at its simplest and finest.

Rhubarb Raspberry Jam

Rhubarb and Berry Jam
adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds (1.25kg) rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 1/2-inch (2cm) pieces
  • 2 cups (250g) packed fresh raspberries (or other berries of your choice)
  • 1 cup (250ml) water
  • 5 1/2 cups (1kg, plus 100g) sugar
  • juice of one lemon
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. In a large pot, mix the rhubarb, berries and the water. Cook, covered, stirring frequently over moderate heat, until the rhubarb is cooked through and thoroughly tender. It should take about 15 minutes. Put a small plate in the freezer.
  2. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and cook uncovered until the jam is thick and passes the wrinkle test.
  3. The wrinkle test: place a small spoonful of  jam on the frozen plate. Return it to the freezer and check it a few minutes later; if the jam wrinkles when nudged, it’s done. You can also use a candy thermometer; jam jells at approximately 220F (104C).
  4. Ladle the jam into clean jars, cover, and store in the refrigerator (it will last several weeks if kept in a tight-lidded container) or can them. We found simple instructions here. Makes 5 one cup (250ml) jars.

Summer Eats

July 26, 2012

Avocado on toast with olive oil and sea salt; heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on toast.

Fried eggs on toast; sauteed rainbow chard; strawberries.

Raw oats with Greek yoghurt, sunflower seeds, almonds, peaches and strawberries.

As is always the way in the summertime, I’m cooking less. More time spent outside in the hot sun and less time inside my sweltering kitchen.

I thought it might be fun to show you a snap shot of how I eat in these hot weeks when I’m sharing fewer recipes with you. Imagine a healthy amount of peanut butter on toast and smoothies thrown into the mix and you have a pretty accurate portrayal here.

What are you eating?

P.S. More summer eats.

(Photos from Instagram. I’m @angharad_guy.)