Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/331754
MARISACORLEY—NORCALDESIGNCENTER Strawberries or blueberries (or both!) make excellent toppers for lemon poppyseed pancakes, accompanied with maple syrup. BREAKFAST As a kid, it was the ultimate experience—being served warm food, hot from the griddle, with- out having to move an inch. As I got older, my parents slowly grew away from the breakfast in bed tradition, sometime rising early on their designated day and avoiding it all together. I didn't really un- derstand why until years later. It was because after the deliv- ery of that perfect tray, with its wide plate of stacked pancakes, a tub of hot syrup and butter for beautification and a glass of cool orange julius to accompany it, the rest of the family would go downstairs to enjoy the re- mains of the breakfast together, leaving the person we were cel- ebrating alone in their room. They had already missed out on the laughing and joking of putting breakfast together; they didn't want to miss out on fam- ily breakfast as well. So when my parents came to visit, I decided to do just that— make a family breakfast, but give it a bit of an upgrade from the just-add-water pancakes we'd make when I was a kid. I'd wanted to try making lemon poppy seed pancakes ever since I saw them on a breakfast menu, and they seemed like a more sophisticated thing to serve over my childhood (and still much loved) M&M pan- cakes. And they were a hit! The pancakes were thick and moist, with a strong hint of lemon that complimented the poppy seeds without overpowering them. You always know the food is a success when someone asks for the recipe. LemonPoppySeed Pancakes INGREDIENTS 2tablespoons granulated sugar 2tablespoons fresh lemon zest 2cups all-purpose flour 2teaspoons baking powder 1teaspoon baking soda 1teaspoon salt 2cups buttermilk 2large eggs 2teaspoons vanilla extract 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice 4tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2tablespoons poppy seeds OPTIONAL ADDITIONS butter, shortening, or oil for pan maple syrup for serving fresh fruit for serving DIRECTIONS Combine lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl, mixing together with your fingers until the scent of lemon is fragrant in the sugar. Put aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the sugar and zest from the small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients of buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and butter. Once combined, add to the large bowl of dry mix, stirring well be- fore adding poppy seeds. Some lumps may still be present in the batter. Turn on the griddle or stove to medium and let the batter settle while it heats up. Add oil to the pan or griddle if desired to pre- vent sticking. Pour the amount of batter desired (more for larger pancakes, less for small) onto the hot surface and let cook until the top is bubbling and the bottom is a rich golden brown. Flip the pancake using a spatula and let the other side cook until it matches the first. Keep going until you run out of batter. Pancakes can be served on their own, with maple syrup, and with fresh fruit as desired. Yield: About 24medium-sized pancakes I specifically chose this vari- ety of the recipe because it isn't crazy sweet, and therefore goes well with maple syrup, which is of course as sugary as can be, it seems. I hadn't actually realized we had a zester in the house until I was rummaging through the drawers for a cheese grater, fig- uring it would do the trick. I've zested limes before for a sorbet and hadn't been that delighted with the results, but the smell that comes out of that sugar once it was mixed with the lemon zest had me confident that this was going to be a good recipe. I also goofed on my shopping list, not realizing that I needed baking powder as well as bak- ing soda, and had to send out for groceries mid-cook, as I didn't have any on hand. However, if you happen to have cream of tarter on hand, you can substi- tute that in with a bit more bak- ing soda (1 teaspoon cream of tarter, 1 teaspoon baking soda to make the two teaspoons of baking powder needed). I've also heard it can be done with vine- gar and possibly lemon juice, but haven't tried it. Everything else went off with- out a hitch, and as the master flipper, my dad was soon pouring batter into a large frying pan. Be- cause we apparently own a zester but not a griddle for the stove (I sense a Christmas present com- ing). He had to kind of make lon- ger pancakes rather than round to keep the edges from touching, which is why a sauté pan would be better (though obviously a griddle is best of all). We tend to use a measuring cup to pour out the batter to keep the sizes con- sistent, usually ¼ cup. If you're used to the instant kind of pancakes, realize that this variety is thicker and will therefore take a bit longer to cook. I also recommend putting your oven to warm and placing the finished pancakes in there on a hot plate to keep them warm while the others are being made. You can also put empty plates to warm in there for when it's time to serve the pancakes. Anything that keeps them warm and the syrup gooey works for me. For the fruit topping, I think blueberries would tend to be the go-to fruit, but strawberries also paired well (I used both, because why do one when you have two?). This recipe was just about perfect for the four of us; there were two leftover pancakes that had mysteriously vanished by the next morning. I'm informed that they're good cold, too! By Marisa Corley mcorley@norcaldesigncenter.com @MarisaCorley on Twitter When I was a kid, one of the most exciting days to wake was the morn- ing of my birthday. It wasn't like Christmas, when there was a stocking immediately ready to be opened downstairs, and while summer and the knowledge that I could sleep in almost as late as I wanted (though past ten really didn't fly with Mom) was fun for the first few weeks, they weren't really as special as the day of my birth. And that was because that day, my parents would flip tradition on its head and make me break- fast in bed, much like they would get on Mother's and Father's days. Batteringitup As a kid, it was the ultimate experience— being served warm food, hot from the griddle, without having to move an inch. How are you keeping your gardens going now that wa- ter restrictions are ratcheting up? Like you, I've let my grass go brown. But I won't let my fruit trees or veg- etables bite the dust. Did you know that you could use graywater on your plantings? This is water you recycle from laundry, the shower and other uses. Here's what I've learned. Use the water from your shower on ornamentals. Some people fill up a bucket while waiting for the water to warm up, while others leave buck- ets in the shower while they wash. Dump this on your flow- ers and shrubs. However, do not use it on edible plants be- cause the water could con- tain undesirable bacteria from your body. I've started collecting wa- ter from my washing machine, too, as have some of my neigh- bors. Larry Fogelquist and Donna Bauer have installed special hoses that divert their used laundry water into stor- age tanks. It shocked me to learn that one full wash cycle (that is, one wash and one rinse) re- quires 45 gallons of water in my machine! I now catch the water in buckets as it drains into the laundry sink. Then I store it in the 33-gal- lon trash cans I bought for this purpose. When I got my water bill this month, I knew it was worth the effort. My wa- ter use was reduced by 60 per- cent over the same period last year. Wash water can be used on edible plants, but do not pour it on the edible parts. So you can water your tomatoes at the base of the plant, but not on the tomatoes themselves. The same goes for squash, cu- cumbers, peppers, and simi- lar vegetables. Fruit trees also benefit. Don't use it on lettuce, car- rots, or other vegetables that will touch the graywater. Also, don't use detergent that con- tains sodium or borax (also known as sodium boron). The salt will kill your plants or at least damage them. For more information about recycling your water, go to greywateraction.org. Summertime ice cream I'm so glad to have bought an electric ice cream maker a few years ago. Homemade ice cream is better than any- thing from a store. I've be- come pretty creative with my flavors, adding combinations of mini marshmallows, choc- olate chips, crumbled graham crackers or cookies, crushed peppermint candy, toffee bits, chopped almonds, candied fruit, and other goodies. These can be folded into the ice cream while it's still in the soft-serve stage, and then fro- zen in tightly covered contain- ers. If you make fruit ice cream, such as strawberry or black- berry, cook the fruit first with some sugar until it's a bit syr- upy. Then cool before stirring it into the cream. Adding fresh chopped fruit will not work. I tried it once with chopped strawberries, and they were like frozen marbles. That's be- cause the water in the fruit turns to ice. The only exception is if you plan to serve the ice cream right from the mixer, when it's still soft. In that case, add the fruit and serve immediately. FOOD FOR THOUGHT Water wisdom from the food lady Donna Maurillo MongolianBBQ Mongolian BBQ K K ahunas ahunas AmericanStyle It's all about the choices! ANADULTDINNERBUFFETONLY EXCLUDES SENIOR and CHILDRENS DINNERS and One Per Table $ 2 00 OFF www.kahunasmongolianbbq.com 2151 Market St. Redding, CA 96001 (530) 244-4200 OPEN EVERYDAY 11 AM TO 9 PM Deli-TastyBurgers-Wraps NewTo-GoSection Thursday,Friday&Saturday Lunch&DinnerBuffet Happy Hour with Cocktails, Food & Entertainment Saigon Bistro 723 Walnut St. Red Bluff 528-9670 Reserve our BANQUET ROOM LosMarachis 529-5154 7875 HWY 99E LOS MOLINOS, CA 384-1265 No substitutions ORDERS TO GO HashBrownsor Home Fries & 1 Toast $ 4 99 Served 6:30am- 9:00am Mon.-Fri. BreakfastSpecial 1/2SliceHam 2 Eggs Take 15% off your entire bill dineinonly Open Tues-Sat www. palominoroom .com 723 Main St. 527.5470 FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 18, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4