What does Jack Daniels have to do with Buckwheat Pancakes....

...not much but a little added flavor.

This Sunday morning, after a walk down by the bayou with my sweet puppygirls, I decided breakfast was in order. So, I turned on the oven to cook the last of the jalapeno bacon and heated up my cast iron skillet to make some buckwheat pancakes. I rummaged around to find the pancake ingredients only to discover I was out of milk and thought water would due, until I opened my cupboard, finding a can of Native Forest unsweetened coconut milk.

With this find I made some modifications to my recipe. The recipe calls for 1 cup milk and 2 tablespoons melted butter. If you have never opened a can of this wonderful stuff, you probably have not seen the layer of cream that sits on top of the coconut milk. I scooped two tablespoons of cream off the top and mixed the rest of it into the can. The two scooped tablespoons I used instead of the melted butter. Not melting necessary, just throw it into the batter.

Here is the recipe from Hodgson Mill 100% Stone Ground Buckwheat Flour with my
modifications.

Buckwheat Pancakes
1 cup buckwheat
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar (I used loose packed brown sugar and only 1/12 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk (1 cup organic canned coconut milk)
2 Tbsp. melted butter (2 tablespoons cream off the top of the can of coconut milk, no melting.
Added 1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. Jack Daniels

Put all of your dry ingredients in a bowl, mix them up really good. Mix in egg, milk, butter, & Jack Daniels or any other flavoring you have handy and mix them in with the dry ingredients. If the mixture is too thick add a little water or more milk. You can use a whisk or a fork to stir things up. Don't over mix. Just make sure everything is blended.

Heat griddle until bubbles form when water is sprinkled on the surface. A med. slightly high heat. Pour the batter in the pan. I keep my pancakes kind of small. It makes it easier to flip the. Watch for the edges to look cooked and there are bubbles all over the top of the pancake.  Cook them for another minute or so on the flip side.

The Puppygirls!!

Quote of the day:
"Just play, have fun, enjoy the game." Michael Jordan

I think this quote definitely applies to the kitchen.

Bacon's on my mind...

again.....

Yes, that meat candy wonder of the world is still a favorite. And even more so now that I have learned a new way of cooking it. It is so easy, I wonder how I missed doing it before.

It requires an oven, parchment paper, a pan with some sort of raised edge and bacon, of course.

This is a before and after shot of the pan.

My new best friend.

This is my new favorite find. HEB's Jalapeno Bacon. It adds a bit of a kick to your day.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay parchment paper in a pan with a raised edge. It can be a baking sheet or a pan. I guess it depends on how much bacon you want to cook. Put the bacon in the pan. The pieces can be close, but not touching. Set the pan on the middle rack and let it cook for 15 to 18 minutes. The bacon doesn't curl up. It remains flat. Take it out when it is too your liking of doneness.

The bacon remains flat. No curling.

I still lay it on a paper towel to sop up any residual greasiness. Of course, there is always going to be some. 

It looks beautiful plated.

The next great thing about this whole process is the lack of a greasy splattered mess on your stove top. And clean up is snap.

Snap!

Quote of the Day: "In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present."

Francis Bacon

It seems I like all things Bacon!!!