Buttermilk Pancakes

These are our buttermilk pancakes, the HB pancakes, the ones that we have written on a piece of paper and taped to the inside of a cupboard. The ones everyone knows how to make. What I mean is that these are our go-to.

taken by mom

I sometimes find myself arrogantly skeptical of “go-to’s” because they are simple and quick and often unquestioned. Is it a go-to because it’s the best, or is it a go-to because it’s familiar? In all honesty, both reasons are valid enough to have something be a go-to, nostalgia is valid and whatever, but mom and I are not really compromisers of quality. So, while these pancakes are very quick and simple, they have a secret: buttermilk. Ok, well, I guess if the secret is in the name it’s not really a secret. A strength, then, or a superpower. Buttermilk adds a depth of flavor and softness that can’t be missed. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand and you’re tempted to replace it with milk and vinegar, I think you’ll be better off choosing another recipe (our cottage cheese pancakes, perhaps?). At least, that was mom’s advice.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Serves 6

• 2c flour

• 2Tb sugar

• 2tsp baking powder

• 1tsp soda

• 1tsp salt

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1/4 c canola oil

• 2c buttermilk

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl. Combine the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, and buttermilk) in a separate bowl, you might use the same whisk, and then pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just smooth (don’t overmix!).

Cooking:

With a ladle or a 1/4 cup measure, scoop and drop the batter onto a gently preheated non-stick or otherwise coated pan. I prefer a medium/low heat for control. Wait for little holes to form in the pancakes before flipping them unless your pan is on a high heat, in which case they might get cooked on the outside more quickly than the inside (holes indicate cooked through, brown on outside indicate cooked on the surface). If you feel so inclined, you might add some blueberries are chocolate chips in on the raw side when the pancake is cooking on the griddle on its first side (don’t pre-mix them in with the batter). If making many for a group, it might help to put your oven on the warm setting and put the pancakes on a cooling wrack inside of a sheet pan. Serve with whatever you fancy.

mom experimenting with photography

The Best Banana Bread

I’ve (Amelia) loved banana bread my whole life. I remember being eleven and eating almost an entire loaf, my mom being shocked, and me feeling like I could still go for more. Given a proper incentive, I’m sure I could still pull it off today. Our banana bread is the best of its kind. Whenever I stray and try a new recipe it’s not the same.

Why is it the best? A combination of butter and coconut oil gives this sweetbread the perfect flavor profile, so it’s moist, sweet, and perfectly balanced. Feel free to skip the chocolate, but also please don’t. And, if you’re feeling like a real treat, we highly recommend banana bread sundaes.

We learned to turn banana bread into a dessert sundae at Sacco’s Bowl Haven in Somerville, MA.

Banana Bread

Makes 2 loaves

• 2 eggs

• 5 bananas

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/2 cup coconut oil or shortening

• 2 cups sugar

• 4 cups flour

• 2 teaspoons soda

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 cup chocolate chips or diced dried apricots, or a combination of both (all optional)

Slice the butter cube in half and put half in each of the two bread pans. Place in the oven for the butter to melt while you heat the oven to 325°. This will not only grease the pan, but also brown the butter a bit, for a little extra wonderful flavor.  

Whisk together the flour, soda, and salt. Peel and smash the bananas with a potato masher.

Beat together the butter, coconut oil or shortening, and sugar for a minute or two until fluffy and thoroughly mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Stir in the banana, then stir in the dry ingredients, but only until some white streaks still remain. Add the chocolate chips or apricots, if desired, and finish stirring so that the batter has a uniform texture.

 Divide the batter between two pans smoothing the tops a bit, and bake for 65 to 70 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to finish cooling on a cooling rack.

We love to eat this simply sliced, or sliced and toasted, or with ice cream and hot fudge sauce, like a brownie sundae with a twist.

Banana bread and hot chocolate for a heavenly 4 pm snack.

Southwestern Layered Bean Dip

This is the ultimate bean dip. It has cheese, salsa, avocado, olives, beans, sour cream —everything you could ever want in a bean dip. After spreading thin layer on top of thin layer on top of thin layer, we scoop it up with tortilla chips. We make it to celebrate the birth of every New Year and it’s always just as good as we remember. I (Amelia) even have it for breakfast, though I admit that’s just me.

This recipe is the brainchild of my lovely grandmother, Kathleen Stewart, who knows her way around dips. Grandma was the inspiration for this lemon bundt cake, and we owe her many a tradition, culinary or not. It’s been hard having to socially distance from her, but eating this dip and thinking of her brought her a little closer.

2020 might be gone, but the problems we encountered then have not vanished. We still need to socially distance, take care of our planet, and work to build a more equal society. So, as we enter into this new year, I suggest doing so with some beans in the belly.

Southwestern Layered Bean Dip

Layer in this order (we use an 18-inch round platter, and smooth smooth each layer with a spatula):

• 1 15-ounce can Refried beans (Taco Bell Brand)

• 1 16-ounce Pace Picante Sauce

• 1 Avocado, cut into ¼” chunks

• Tomato or red pepper, cut into 1/4-inch chunks

• 5 -ounce can diced, mild green chilis

• 1 1/2 cups sour cream

• 1/2 package of McCormick  or 2 tablespoons Penzeys taco seasoning

• small can chopped olives

• 2 to 3 green onions, sliced

• 3/4 cup grated cheese

• Also be good with lime juice squeezed over the top, optional

• 1 to 2 packages of your favorite tortilla chips (we love Juanitas brand), for serving.

This dip is one of the only ways Lucia likes beans.

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal

When I (Kate) first lived in Russia as a twenty-year old, I had an older roommate from the Ukraine who made us oatmeal every morning for breakfast. Ludmila Romanina was her name, and during the few months we lived together she took on oatmeal as a challenge. Had she lived in Brookline, Massachusetts during those early years of Cooks’ Illustrated magazine, I’m certain a symbiotic relationship would have flourished. As it was, she planted an understanding in my heart that oatmeal had considerable potential in terms of flavor and texture worth even more than its offering of sound nutrition.    

Amelia’s bowl

Preparing oatmeal is easy, but the many approaches out there can be misleading. Made with water as the only liquid, you deprive yourself of any creaminess. Using only milk, the resulting richness overwhelms the oats’ chew and delicate flavor. Omit salt and you’ll understand why some people consider oatmeal slop—it’s the equivalent of abducting the poor oats and asking them to communicate with scarves stuffed inside their little mouths.

 The following recipe will get your oatmeal just exactly where it needs to be, freeing you to experiment with toppings—from a simple spoonful of jam to more elaborate glories. On vacation, weekends, or if we awaken five minutes early enough on a weekday, we adorn the oatmeal with granola and, depending on the season, fresh or canned fruit, a spoonful of nut butter, dried currants or cherries, a sprinkle of nuts, muesli—really, the potential combinations are so stimulating you can work yourself into a state. And we have—it’s a state called bliss. 

Mom’s bowl

Old-fashioned Oatmeal

Serves 2 or 3

• 1 cup rolled oats (aka Old-fashioned oats)

• 1 cup milk (of your choice)

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Brown sugar, to taste

Place oats, milk, water, and salt in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, then turn heat to medium low or low, to maintain a simmer but prevent boiling. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add sweetener (I like brown sugar; Amelia prefers it without; it’s also good with honey or maple syrup).

If you are serving the oatmeal in a fairly plain way, these quantities make two satisfying servings. On a busy morning where timing-wise the choice to squeeze in oatmeal was a bit dangerous, we’ll top it with a spoonful of jam and be perfectly content.

Lemon Blueberry Oven Pancake

Happy blueberry season everyone!

To celebrate blueberries’ arrival, I (Amelia) thought we should all make a giant pancake. I adapted this from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, adding lemon and vanilla, swapping the white sugar for brown, and using kosher salt instead of table for a more present flavor. The result was a perfect weekend breakfast, one that does not require individual flipping, scooping, and burning and feeling bad about yourself because you can’t even get pancakes right. Instead, you can enjoy the weekend with something delicious and simple.

Lemon Blueberry Oven Pancake

Serves 5 

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 3/4 cup (3.75 ounces) regular whole wheat flour

• 3/4 cup (3.75 ounces) all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

• Zest of 1/2 medium lemon

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/2 cups blueberries

• White sugar, for sprinkling

Heat the oven to 350 degrees, melt the butter in a medium bowl (doing this earlier will give it time to cool before it meets the egg), and grease a 9x 13-inch baking pan.

Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the brown sugar into the melted butter in a medium bowl, followed by the lemon zest, vanilla, buttermilk, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula until just combined. Carefully dot the batter in blobs with the spatula over the pan (pouring it all in at once will make it much trickier to get an even layer) - it’s VERY thin! It will make you a little nervous, but just do your best to get all of the surface area covered and trust in the power of leaveners. Sprinkle the blueberries on top, followed by about 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite syrup!

Chocolate chip oven pancake: Replace the blueberries with 1 cup of chocolate chips and omit the lemon zest, sprinkling the chocolate chips on and baking it just like the original.

I would try to eat this within the first day. Leftovers look a little sad, though toasting helps.