Egg and Coconut Flour Pancakes

Yum Yum. I have really developed a love for these pancakes. They are mostly egg and so much more nutritious than traditional pancakes which are made of a wheat flour batter topped with sugar syrup. They are really quick and easy to make too!

The initial recipe I tried came from Nom Nom Paleo was just 3 eggs mixed with 2T of coconut flour and a little salt. They looked and tasted like an eggy pancake but were kind of dry and not as thick as a traditional pancake. A few days later I decided to add a mashed up ripe banana to the mixture. I hit the jackpot! The results were a pancake that was thick, fluffy and moist. There are a variety of recipes out there but this is the one I now use:

4 eggs

¼ coconut flour

½ to 1 mashed ripe banana or 2-4 T applesauce or canned pumpkin

¼ t salt

¼ t baking soda

¼ t cinnamon, optional

Combine all ingredients and mix with a fork or wisk. The coconut flour takes a little while to absorb the liquid so I mix it up, let it stand while I'm getting my pan hot and then mix again to get a smooth consistency. Heat up a skillet with some butter (or your fat of choice) and pour in the batter. I use a ¼ cup measure which is not too large and makes them easier to turn. These pancakes are pretty filling and this recipe makes 6 pancakes which feeds 2 people in our house. I top with a little bit of butter and maple syrup. Also, have tried topping with some plain yogurt which I like.

I haven't actually tried the pumpkin variety yet, but I'm sure it would work. You can't sub regular flour in these pancakes. Coconut flour is an entirely different animal. It is very absorbent, therefore you only need a small amount in relation to the amount of eggs. It is also high in fiber—5 grams in only 2 tablespoons of flour. If you want to learn more about coconut flour check out this article on Nourished Kitchen. Coconut flour can be found in health food stores and some grocery stores (my local Publix carries it) and, of course, on Amazon.

If you try them, let me know what you think.

Flavored Iced Tea

I finally convinced my husband to quit drinking pop/soda, but, because he doesn't like plain water I had to find a substitute thirst quencher.  So I started keeping a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge.  I got the idea to make a flavored tea  which contained cinnamon.  It only takes a few minutes (most of which is steeping time) to make a 2-quart pitcher.  Here is how I do it:

Cinnamon Tea

1.  Heat 2 cups of water in a glass measuring cup (or container of your choice) in microwave for 2 minutes.

2.  Remove and add 1 family size tea bag or 4 regular size tea bags (regular or decaf).  You can add another tea bag if you like a stronger tea.

3.  Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and let it brew for 5 minutes.  I put my cinnamon in a T-sac,*   (Alternately, you could also pour the brewed tea through a fine mesh strainer.)

4.  Fill a 2-quart pitcher halfway with ice cubes.  Remove the tea bag and cinnamon from the tea and pour it into the pitcher.  Fill to the top with cold tap water.  Tea is ready to drink!

Pretty simple and a different flavor that regular iced tea.  And, if you drink a lot of tea, a lot cheaper than those herbal teas you can buy at the grocery store.

Lavender Tea

Another alternative to cinnamon tea that I made recently is lavender iced tea.  I ran across a package of dried lavender flowers that I had purchased a while back and forgot about.  I made it exactly like the cinnamon except I used a rounded teaspoon of the dried lavender flowers (adjust to your liking).  Lavender tea has a nice smooth taste.

I have a lavender plant that I put in about a month ago.  When it starts blooming, I will save the flowers for my tea.

Hibiscus Tea

Next on my list.  I have some flowers blooming right now!  Supposed to be good for lowering your blood pressure too.





Lemongrass Tea

Hey, you get the idea--right?  I also have some of this growing in a pot.  Actually, I grow it for Charlie (my cockapoo).  He absolutely loves lemongrass and I always try to keep some growing for him.  When I let him out on the front porch, he heads straight for the lemongrass.  You can also use it in cooking to add a little lemon flavor.


*When I first started making the tea I just dumped the cinnamon right in the water.  As we got down to the bottom of the pitcher I noticed that there was quite a bit of sentiment on the bottom.  After looking up the problem online (what would we do without the internet?), I discovered that cinnamon is actually the bark of a tree and therefore doesn't dissolve when you put it into water--therefore tiny pieces of bark at the bottom.

Walkabout

I recently checked this DVD out from our local library. Walkabout was filmed over 40 years ago and is still appealing. It is a story about two English children, a boy of 7 or 8 and his teenage sister who are stranded in the Australian desert. An Aboriginal teen on "walkabout" helps them to survive.

The cinematography was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpses of the animal and plant life of Australia. The view of the two cultures--the primitive Aborigine world and the more modern "civilized" Australia was interesting also.

Walkabout is a wonderful adventure/survival story with a good amount of depth and tragedy in it. I didn't care for the plot at the beginning that left the children stranded and would rather have seen it as some sort of accident. There is no outright sex in this movie, but definitely some nudity and sexual tension; also some harsh and brutal scenes. It is a very simple story and doesn't go off on some crazy unbelievable tangent. There are some parts of the movie in which the meaning is not always clear but overall, I enjoyed it.

I Love Jack Reacher

He is a character . . . in a series of novels (16 so far) by Lee Child.  I really love books with interesting characters, and the fact that Child continues to write great stories using him is a real bonus.  Jack is a man who travels (no car or driver's license) with just a toothbrush in his pocket.  He is an ex-army MP, butt-kicker, escape artist, cool-headed, quiet, a loner and drifter who defends the underdog and has a "moral code that outweighs his sense of duty to the law."   What's not to love?

Child's most recent novel, The Affair, is actually a flashback to Reacher's Army career and tells the story behind why he is now ex-Army.  If you have never read any of the series, you can start anywhere.  Each book stands on its own.

I've been thinking that these books would make some great movies and see that One Shot is coming out in February of 2013 as a movie.  Tom Cruise is starring.  Not my pick for the character (6'5" and 200+ lbs--I don't think so), but they didn't ask me.

The next Reacher thriller--A Wanted Man-- is due out in September or October 2012.  I'm putting it at the top of my list.

My Favorite Recipe for Beef Pot Roast

I ran across a  recipe for beef pot roast not too long ago and thought it sounded interesting.  I really love the flavor that the coffee and rosemary gives this beef--it is really rather subtle.  I just use the cheap chuck roast cut and it always turns out tender and delicious but you could probably use other cuts also.  This is my version of  the recipe I found on food dot com (#37258).

I like cooking a big hunk of meat so I can have leftovers and not spend so much time cooking a night or two later.  Of course, you can also freeze extras to reheat again in a week or two.  I'm sure this would probably come out great if using a crock pot also.  If you try it, let me know what you think!  I think I'm addicted.

Ingredients:

1 (2 1/2-3 lb) beef chuck roast
1 T of fat to brown in (I use coconut oil for it's high heat tolerance)
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup brewed coffee
1 cup chicken or beef broth
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I just throw in a fresh sprig of rosemary and remove the stem later)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Brown roast on all sides in a Dutch oven.
Add onion and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add coffee, broth, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer on low for 2-1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
Slice and serve with juices (or make a gravy if desired).