Early Riser

I have always loved the fact that I am a morning person. There is something so peaceful about the early morning hours, and while some prefer to dedicate those hours to sleep, I can’t help but savor them.


Last Saturday I woke up at 6 AM, not to an alarm clock, but the incredible booming of thunder. I opened my window, to see the rain showering my window. Rain instantly brings out a inner feeling of comfort, the type of weather that makes us want to cozy up with a blanket. I am not saying I could handle rain every day, but on certain mornings when you are not forced to rush out the door, I wrap myself in fleece, and listen to the rain fall.

When I think of comfort food, my mind instantly goes to breakfast. On days I am up extra early, I spend the extra time to go all out with homemade pancakes. As they require more time than an omelet or simple oatmeal, they truly feel like a special treat.

I have no shame in admitting I grew up on Bisquick. It was a common ritual for my father and I to make pancakes on the weekend, and every batter always started the same way.. I have since moved on from Bisquick to experiment with different homemade recipes and new flavors, but it’s those early memories of making weekend pancakes that cemented my love for breakfast. 

I have experimented with different pancake recipes over the years; some coming out better than others, but one flavor I have never tried was blueberry. Since I had a fridge full of fresh Michigan blueberries I knew it was meant to be. I went to the ultimate source” The Food Network website” to find a recipe and the first recipe to catch my eye was made by Ina Garten. If there is one thing I have learned in the kitchen, following an Ina Garten recipe has always led to success, from entrées to dessert.

The recipe featured bananas, rather than blueberries, but after reading the glorious reviews I knew this was the recipe I wanted to use and assumed that blueberries would be an acceptable substitution for the bananas. The recipe called for the basic pancake components, milk, eggs, flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla and salt. However, a surprise ingredient that caught my eye was sour cream. I figured it was involved for the banana, as I often find it as part of most banana recipes, but I thought it would add a nice texture for the pancake with or without banana. I also separated the eggs in the recipe and folded in the egg whites last. I read it helps create a lighter pancake, a goal I am always after.

There is a general notion that the first pancake of a batter is a tester pancake, and that is often the case when I make pancakes. However, with this recipe every pancake from start to finish came out light and fluffy.

It is mornings such as that I am truly glad to be an early riser.


Blueberry Pancakes

Recipe Adapted from Ina Garten

1 ½ cups flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt

½ cup sour cream

¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. milk

2 eggs, separated

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. lemon zest

Unsalted Butter

1 ½ cups blueberries

Directions:

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, egg yolks, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing just until combined.

By hand or with a mix master, whip the egg whites until they reach a stiff peak stage and can hold their shape out of the bowl. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, just until combined.

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium low- heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan, about ¼ cup for each pancake. Distribute blueberries on the top of the pancake. Cook until bubbles appear on top of the pancake and flip. Cook for another minute or so, or until lightly browned.

Continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve with more blueberries, warm maple syrup and butter.

Meant to be- The story of PB&J

There is not always a rhyme or reason why two ingredients are paired together, but the result can often lead to something truly memorable. There are some combinations created out of necessity whether it’s for texture, flavor or cost, but endured by choice. From our perspective today it would be hard to imagine peanut butter and jelly apart, they have become one for better or worst. The exact origin of peanut butter and jelly is hazy, however as history proves what resulted was meant to be.

I like millions of others had peanut butter and jelly just about every day for lunch in high school. I always used the same bread from a local bread store, Jiff peanut butter and Smucker’s Grape Jelly. Part of the reason I clung to it was simplicity, but I can’t say I ever got sick of it. I don’t eat it as often anymore, but I occasionally still get a craving for a PB&J and with every bite I am sent right back to childhood.

With only three ingredients, every flavor plays a starring role. How these three ingredients were brought together is part ingenuity, but I would like to believe the rest is fate.

Bread- As the foundation of any PB&J, over the years there has become personal standards as to what bread is acceptable. I personally favor whole wheat or white bread that has some substance, but is soft enough to mold together with the peanut butter and jelly. Whatever bread you favor and whether served with crust or without, the sandwich never would have gained so much popularity if it had not been for the creation of sliced bread by Otto Rohwedder in the early 1900s. Gustav Papendick improved the slicer in 1920 setting the stage for an American classic to be born.

Peanut Butter – Peanut butter was created by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in 1895 and sold as a health food, that was packed with protein. Peanut butter began as an expensive treat, but it quickly became commercialized. By the 1920’s Skippy and Peter Pan created the peanut butter brands we are still familiar with today. Peanut butter sandwiches quickly became a quick and easy meal during the Great Depression, as it was simple to make and inexpensive. Yet, throughout good times and bad peanut butter has remained one of our favorite treats.

Jelly- If you have ever had a straight peanut butter sandwich, you can understand why the addition of jelly would be a welcome partnership. It proved to be the perfect balance of sweetness, without overpowering and manages to keep the peanut butter in check ( a.k.a no peanut butter on the roof of your mouth). Food historians note that jelly was added to the sandwich during WWII . Peanut butter and jelly were both on the military rations list and GI soldiers added the jelly to the sandwich to make it go down smoother and improve taste. The combination was loved so much they continued to make it at home.

Various creations of the classic have been adapted over the years. From the infamous Fluffernutter to Elvis’s addition of the banana, jelly has faced some stiff competition. While I have yet to find a combination that tops jelly, this is the kind of ingenuity that inspires me as a foodie. However, as PB&J proves sometimes simplicity is the best method.

Summer Fruit

Berries, plums, peaches and watermelon, it must be summer. What I love about summer fruit is the way it dominates our summer palate without any force, it just simply blends itself into our meals. In fact, without taking a moment to sit down and savor the joy of seasonal fruit it’s easy to forget the connection it has to so many of our summer memories.



Imagine a summer without giant slices of watermelon or a warm scoop of peach and blueberry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream that melts instantly as the two meet. Fruit even makes a name for itself in summer entrees. It easily blends itself into salsas that make a perfect topping for fish and poultry, and adds the perfect touch to salads. It’s a natural sweetener in any summer drink, from lemonade to mojitos.

This list could go on for a whole page, but listing off uses for summer fruit is not the message I want to be taken away from this blog post. I want to use this post to remind us all that it’s our history and our memories that made seasonal fruit an invaluable aspect of summer. Before the days of fast food and convenience food, seasonal food was what our grandparents and great- grandparents relied on to make a meal. It’s our ancestors we have to thank for turning fresh berries and melons into icons of summer. The memories we remember from our own childhood, is what turns fruit into an individual comfort during the summer months. Every year the uses of fruit become more inventive and creative, setting the stage for new generations of memories.

Before we know it summer will be over, and we will be preparing for the harvest of fall. However, right now at this very moment I have a house full of fresh picked Michigan cherries, blueberries , peaches and more, and I plan to savor every bite summer has to offer.