woo-hoo!-whole wheat pancakes (from scratch) & rooibos tea

cooking has always been one of my pleasures
and therefore... eating!

these days i am cutting in a lot of pre-made food
'cause of the migraines, i am glad i like cooking
'cause most of my meals most be fresh-cooked
and free of preservatives and/or chemical additives

but i must confess i do find a peaceful pleasure
on setting myself to cook
nothing like chopping tons of veggies or
garlic on my sunny kitchen
i get 'in the zone' and disconnect from daily stresses...
if you don't cook in a rush or a dirty kitchen
then you can find real pleasure on mixing ingredients
and smelling the fragrances of fresh cooked dishes...

one thing that i have understood a while ago
is the importance of eating whole grains and also
i have always loved pancakes, who doesn't?
or 'hot-cakes' as we call them in México
but they are usually made with white flour

the pre-made mixes i've found for making
whole-wheat pancakes at the supermarket are OK
but usually the pancakes come out too thick, not fluffy
and not so tasty... also i don't use pre-mixed flours anymore
because of the preservatives and chemicals they add
it's scary to read the list of ingredients of most food
that you find in the supermarkets! lots of names of
chemicals that we don't even understand

so i took over the challenge of making the perfect
woo-hoo!-whole-wheat pancakes, and i think now i got it!
for a couple of months now, i've been 'perfecting' this recipe
i found the original recipe online for making pancakes from scratch
Charles' Pancakes from scratch
but i substituted the cup of all purpose flour with
3/4 of a cup of whole wheat flour + 1/4 of white flour

in case you want to make them at home
and i invite you to! well,
here the ingredients:

1 egg
1 cup of low fat milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt

optional:
1/2 cup or more of berries or any chopped fruit

now the secret to make the whole wheat pancakes
really fluffy was given to me by my friend Tina
a couple of weeks ago

First, you mix all the dry ingredients together,
that is the flours, baking powder, and salt

Then, on a separate container, you mix the wet ingredients,
the milk, the vanilla extract, and ONLY the egg yolk
you keep the egg white apart and beat it well until is
white, fluffy, and hold a stiff peak

Now you can mix the dry and wet ingredients
(do not add the egg white yet!)
mix the ingredients slightly, you don't want to beat
the batter, if the batter is a little lumpy is OK!
do not over-mix the batter or you'll get bad pancakes

and at the end, once you are ready to cook the pancakes
just then, you fold in the beaten egg white
with rest of the batter, again do not over mix!

i usually add another 1/2 or 1 cup of blackberries
or blueberries, strawberries, or chopped peaches
or bananas
(not so many bananas lately since they are a migraine trigger too!)

also, if you prepare batter and want to refrigerate
the left overs, do NOT add the fruit until you are ready to
cook another batch of pancakes

here the result, some delicious, tasty, light, and fluffy
woo-hoo! whole wheat pancakes



top with Maple Syrup, grade B, which is less processed
than grade A, and thicker, tastier, too!
it tastes almost like you are biting on a Canadian tree!
and if you didn't mix the fruit with the batter
you can always put it on top of your pancakes
delicious stuff!

also, since i've been asked to cut on caffeine
(not that i don't drink now & then a sip of coffee,
but shhhhh, don't tell my neurologist... i just drink
about a 1/4 of a cup, or little sips of black gold
when i am too tired, sleepy, or can't hold the cravings
but for me these days a sip of coffee is enough...
i haven't drink a whole cup in about 3 weeks!)

so now i've been drinking now more Rooibos tea
this tea comes from South Africa originally
it's naturally caffeine free but it doesn't taste
like an herbal infusion, the flavor is a little sweet
and nutty and it has many health benefits
give it a try too!



another sunny picture of my morning Rooibos



now enjoy some healthy snacks
or unhealthy ones if your body can afford it

simple green tea noodle soup

for cold or sunny days
this soup is very easy to make
and very healthy too



after trying some wild vegetable soup
with some green noodles
at a little Tokyo Izakaya in Los Angeles
named Haru Ulala, a couple of months later
i saw the same kind at a 99 Ranch store
and realized that the green color of the noodles
was 'cause they were Green tea flavored noodles

i didn't know how to replicate the recipe
of the original soup but i remembered
some of the ingredients, shiitake mushrooms
and green beans, and other veggies



so gave it a try since the ingredients are cheap
i thought, oh well! if i doesn't come OK i can just toss it...
i made a very small batch and
since i didn't have green beans i made my soup with only
dried shiitake mushrooms
and some small broccoli florets
at the 1st try came out OK, very similar to the soup i had
and very edible indeed, by now it has become a favorite
quick fix when craving soup

here the quick instructions:

-soak the dry mushrooms for at least 15 minutes
in lukewarm water

- cut the broccoli or any other veggies in very small sizes
(i don't cook the veggies, they just cook with the boiling water
of the soup right after serving, so they are still crunchy and crisp
but make sure to use veggies that don't require a lot of cooking time
such as potatoes, i think small carrots or green beans are good options)

-in boiling water, add the amount of noodles you will eat
and cook for 4 to 5 minutes

-in the same water you cooked the noodles, add the mushrooms
and the broccoli (or other veggies)

- serve & eat it right away! while steaming

it has a very earthy fresh healthy taste
and afterwards your belly & spirit shall be warm

ein Seltsamer Samstag

gestern war
yesterday was
ayer fué un día extraño con tintes de tristeza



and some words took me by surprise
[surprised more like a little perplexed me above]

& it's too sunny too hot
too dry & too dry & too dry
again here in California
since Friday night
and i can feel my head, my soul
and my heart drying out to the compass of
lost, confused Summer days dancing
around our Autumn time bringing
Santa Ana winds and fires
up & down

and like this dry land
today my heart too
got another little crack

oh well! to comfort myself
the best way i know around
cooking myself some comfort

here a Summer-type of pasta
chunky but fresh-tasting tomato sauce

the ingredients
- 1 can of peeled diced tomatoes* (14.5 oz or 411 gr)
- olive oil
- fresh basil [i got mine from my little plant outside]
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 or a 1/3 of an onion
- fresh grounded black pepper
- sea salt
- oregano
- Parmesan cheese if Parmigiano Reggiano** better,
but any kind will do



the cooking
- heat the olive oil on a medium sauce pan
- add the fined chopped garlic and onion for 3 minutes to the hot oil
- add the diced tomatoes and the basil
- season to taste with the sea salt, fresh grounded black pepper, and oregano
- cook on medium heat covered for about 20 minutes
- toss with the fresh cooked & drained pasta of your choice



top the pasta with the sauce and serve topped w/ Parmesan cheese
i didn't have Parmesan but i had this delicious
Asiago BelGioioso, dry enough to be excellent on pasta
and it has a distinctive sweet and nutty flavor



so here my comforting dinner for
an uncomfortable day



the fresh pasta accompanied of some
whole wheat french bread with softened butter
not that i need more butter looking at the size of my hips
or that the butter needs to be softened in this heat

and sadly no wine no beer
it's so dry here! drinking alcohol just adds to the dehydration
so just more mineral sparkling water for me

let's see what Sunday has reserved for me
under it's Sundayish sunny reheating sleeve...

* please notice that i don't use tomato paste or puree for this sauce, you can replace the canned tomatoes for fresh roma tomatoes for an even fresher taste!

** i had NO idea that Parmigiano Reggiano Formaggio had a consortium, that's what i call being a BIG cheese