Buckwheat and Yogurt Pancakes

This is one of the few times where I will actually include a recipe, because it’s my own. I haven’t mentioned this before, but everything I cook is gluten free by default. It has to be, because my husband cannot tolerate gluten. It’s not just a dietary preference, it makes him quite sick. It’s not worth the extra effort for me to cook separately,(and risk contamination) so other than the occasional bowl of oatmeal or bagel for myself, I don’t prepare any food with gluten (that’s wheat, rye, barley, oats and anything even possibly derived from them). If you want to know more about the trouble some people have with gluten in their diet, the Celiac Disease Foundation is a good place to start. If you are looking for recipes, (esp. for breads) I suggest the Gluten Free Gourmet series by the late Bette Hagman. There a lot of people blogging about it, too, but I have to admit I haven’t looked too closely at what they are doing.

If you are new to cooking gluten free, pancakes are a good start to making something you might be craving when traditional mixes and recipes are off limits. They are not too fussy to make and are very satisfying. It’s too much for me personally to try to make pancakes on a workday, but I make them for weekend brunch or even for dinner. Give it a try, it might even encourage you to look into making your own pizza crusts, bread, etc.

Nowadays, you can find in most stores at least a few gluten free baking products, and often pancake mix is there on the shelf with the rest of the stuff. If you are going gluten free for the long hall, you should consider making your own stuff. It will taste better and it will be less expensive.

Buckwheat has been cultivated for food by people for thousands of years. It is not related to wheat. However if you buy products with buckwheat in them, such as pancake mix or noodles, be sure to read the label carefully if you are trying to avoid wheat. Often buckwheat is mixed with regular wheat to make these products. It has a sort of earthy flavor which is a bit strong to use on it’s own for most palates.

Buckwheat and Yogurt Pancakes (Printer Friendly PDF)

Feeds 2-4 depending on how hungry everyone is

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup buttermilk powder
(if you don’t have or can’t find buttermilk powder you could use milk powder, or leave it out and substutute a ¼ cup more rice flour; use if if you can, it adds a nice tang to the pancakes)

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt (lowfat or whole milk, either work just fine)

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 tbs maple syrup or honey (or use sugar and add to dry ingredients)

1/2 cup of milk, soymilk, nutmilk, apple juice, or liquid of your choice, plus a little extra if needed

extra vegetable oil for pan or griddle

Start by lightly oiling your cooking surface and heating it on medium. By the time you get the pancake batter ready, it will be hot enough. Naturally, if it starts to smoke, you can turn the heat down a bit. Starting with an adequately hot pan or griddle is one of the main secrets to pancake success. If you are going to cook up the whole batch before serving, turn your oven on to 200° F and put in something oven proof to hold your cooked pancakes, a plate, a pan, a covered dish, what have you.

Whisk together dry ingredients (the flours, the baking powder, the buttermilk powder and the salt) in a small bowl (if you don’t have a whisk,use a fork). Beat the eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, and maple syrup/honey together in a separate larger bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients into the egg mixture alternately with the milk (or whatever liquid you are using). The batter is pretty thin and liquidy. You can see what I mean in this unbelievably bad quality video, but it’ll give you the idea.

Use a small measuring scoop or a large spoon to pour out portions of batter onto your hot cooking surface. Two tablespoons per pancake is about right (you can eyeball it, don’t worry). Unless you have a restaurant style flat top grill in your kitchen, you’ll probably only want to do two or three at a time, so you have enough room to flip your pancakes. Cook until the edges look dry, the surface isn’t as shiny, and lots of little holes cover the surface (see bad video below), somewhere between 2 and 3 minutes. Flip the pancakes (a spatula is the best tool) and cook the other side for another 2 minutes or so. Serve your pancakes right away, or keep them warm on that plate you put in the oven earlier while you cook the rest.

Use a paper towel with some veg. oil on it and carefully put a little more oil on your cooking surface before each new round of pancakes. Stir your batter a bit before you spoon it out, as it has a tendency to settle.

You can top these any number of ways, be creative. The traditional topping is of course butter and maple syrup (please spring for the real stuff, esp. if you live in New England). If your syrup is in the fridge, leave it out on the counter while you make the pancakes so it’s not ice cold when you pour it on. Cooked fruit is also nice. You can put some frozen berries in a pan with a little water and some sweetner, bring to a boil and cook them on medium until saucy, which takes the same amount of time as it takes to cook up your batches of pancake. You’re already standing there at the stove so why not?

Buckwheat Yogurt Pancakes with Blueberries

Grit-Style Chilaquile Casserole

This is another winner from The Grit Cookbook. I think of it as a kind of southwestern/Mexican lasagna. At the center of it all is one of the core recipes from this cookbook (referred to as “fundamentals”) Grit Pintos. These are dried pinto beans cooked with cumin, onion and bay leaf until tender. These are miles and miles above anything you’re going to get out of a can and well worth the minimal effort it takes to make them. They are super tasty all on their own, and keep well so making a big batch is no burden.

The delicious Grit Pintos

The casserole starts with a layer of torn tortillas covering the bottom of the pan. The original recipe specifies flour tortillas, but I think corn are much better. Slightly stale is good, because then they don’t get soggy. My required preferred store bought corn tortillas are Maria and Ricardo’s. I have not encountered any other brand in my local stores that is any good.

The next layer is grated cheese. I like a mix of sharp cheddar and monterey jack. Next, the pintos, well drained. Sometimes I like to top the pintos with a scant layer of spinach that has been cooked and squeezed dry. After that, a mix of chopped onions, zucchini, yellow squash, garlic and seasoning. This mixed is sauted until the whole thing is starting to caramelize before being added to the chilaquile. The caramelization builds flavor and just as important, cooks off any excessive liquid that the vegetables would shed while the chilaquile bakes that would make the whole thing soggy. (Hence also the importance of well drained beans and squeezed dry spinach.)

The squash and onion layer

Finely minced jalapeños top the veggies along with a light layer of the cheese. More torn tortillas go on top. Then a lightly beaten mixture of eggs, buttermilk and prepared mustard is poured over the top (sometimes you have to move the tortillas around a bit to get the liquid to flow down into the rest of the layers. A good quality buttermilk and eggs make a huge difference here. Locally I favor the buttermilk from Mapleline Farm. It’s really thick but still pourable and very flavorful.

Tangent: I’m comforted by the fact that Mapleline delivers, and by the range of products. If I didn’t have a car or something else kept me from making regular trips to the store, I could get yogurt, (or milk to make my own yogurt), granola, bread, butter, cheese, coffee ( and it’s the coffee I like to buy Pierce Brothers) and seltzer. If I could manage to get to Clementine’s, the  fruit and vegetable shop on the other side of the hill from where I am sitting right now, I’d never need go to the supermarket or the coop again. Hmmm…

Anyhoo, another light layer of cheese goes over the buttermilk mixture, and I like to sprinkle on some more minced jalapeños. Then the whole thing is baked up until slightly browned and bubbly. The buttermilk/egg mixture makes a light sort of custard effect throughout the structure. It’s good as is, or topped with a little salsa.

The finished chilaquile

I would have taken a picture of the inside but I was too busy eating.