Good Ol' Fashioned Pancakes

OK...I don't know how old you are, but if you are my age...you remember back in the days when your mom or dad or grandma (or whomever made breakfast for you), actually made pancakes from scratch. YES I said...FROM SCRATCH. Not from a box at your local grocery store...or what is it now? That fancy yellow plastic container that allows you to seal in all fakeness better? Yes that's it. Ugh. No, I am talking about the REAL THING! Where they would take all the ingredients out from the fridge and cupboards, put them all together and you would be laying in bed smelling that delicious concoction of love being put together for you in the kitchen. Well if any of you remember this taste...its hard to beat. Especially first thing in the morning. So here is the recipe so that you can make it for yourself just for the memories of it all, or so that your family can experience the love your family used to give you every morning growing up. Here is the recipe:

Serves 8

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk (might need more if batter is too thick)
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with butter and maple syrup if desired

Bakespace.com

I love food. It's a family thing. We call it the "Salomon trait." Even my daughter was born with it. She will eat just about anything you give her (especially if its a veggie or a sweet). But anything you put in he mouth she savors with absolute delight. She senses the textures and flavors so intensely that you can almost see her tastebuds connecting with her little one year old brain and partying it up it tastes so good! I remember the first time I ever gave her water. She was tiny but she took a big gulp and then looked at me with that big smile of satisfaction and said "ahhhhhhhh." That's when I knew...if even water has taste...a delicious one that allows you to express yourself this way, than you are most definitely carrying the "Salomon trait."

With that being said, I (her mommy) love collecting recipes, visiting cooking sights and reading food blogs. One site that I want to mention to all of you is BakeSpace.com. If you haven't checked it out I consider it a must for those food lovers out there! It's a social site (like most are nowdays) and it allows you to save your recipes, post new recipes, well...there is so much to do there I don't want to take the time to write it all. (Mostly because it's 6 am and I am being lazy and but even more so because its easier if you just head to BakeSpace.com and check it out for yourself.)

If you do head over there, and you join, please add me as a buddy. Let me know you found me through my blog. Hopefully I haven't been a bad friend to you and gotten you addicted to yet another website on the Internet. Afer all, friends don't addict friends to anything right? ; )

Hope you enjoy the site. Here is the link to my page on Bakespace:

http://bakespace.com/my-kitchen/

(For in case you're wondering what the picture on this post has to do with anything, it doesn't lol. I didn't have a picture to add to it and I didn't want to leave it blank so I figured since most of you don't know me, I would post a picture of myself. This way you know who the person writing the blog is! I am Adriana. The one in the far back on the right. The one with the bitchy expression. lol JEESH...i wonder what happened here for me to have that serious look on my face!)

Roast and Stuff Turkey

Ok...So now you know how to carve the turkey, but what about learning how to make the turkey? Here is a great video for Roasting and stuffing it. I am getting hungry thinking about it! BRB...gotta raid the fridge ; )

How to carve a turkey

HOw many of us carve our turkeys and leave them looking like disheveled members of the turkey family but not quite turkeys? I know I do that! Here is an excellent video that teaches us just how to carve a turkey the PROPER way.

Potatoe Ricer

You’ve probably heard people extolling the virtues of potato ricers and thought, "Wait, what does a potato have to do with rice?" Forget the name. Take their advice! This nifty gadget makes the BEST mashed potatoes and even handles whole, unpeeled potatoes. Holiday dinners just got a lot easier!

You can purchase them just about anywhere they sell kitchen gadgets. Here are a few links for you

Amazon.com has a heavy duty strong and powerful one that I would recommend. Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Browne-Cuisipro-Stainless-Steel-Potato-Ricer/dp/B00004SU1J

I've also seen them at Target for much less but not the same quality of course. Here is their link:

http://www.target.com/Potato-Ricer/dp/B00029OQ8G

Hopefully you will invest in one of these babies for the holidays and think of me! ; )

FOODIE HEALTH TIP: Max Out Your Mashed Potatoes

Any of you that read my blog KNOW that I love Dr. Oz. You know...Oprah's Doctor. He is not only handsome and brilliant (he is a doctor after all), but he has a great newsletter that I hightly recommend. All sorts of tips and goodies in there for just about everyone and just about every subject. Whenever he has something interesting about food I like to post it. More than anythig becaue I like my readers (as well as myself) to stay healthy and with Dr. Oz's tips, you can't go wrong. So here you go..."Max Out Your Mashed Potatoes:"

Max Out Your Mashed Potatoes

You can safeguard the nutrients in your mashed potatoes by cooking them a little differently this year.

The trick? Boil them whole. The reason? Cubing your potatoes first will slash their potassium content by as much as 50 percent.

Potassium and More
Okay, boiling them whole does take a bit longer. But the payoff is that you get not only more potassium but more of other important minerals, too: magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. (Roasting, baking, or microwaving whole potatoes also preserves more potassium, by the way.)

Why You Need It
Potassium helps your body regulate blood pressure and heart rate, as well as nerve and muscle function.

RealAge Benefit: Getting the RealAge Optimum dose of potassium (3,000 milligrams per day) can make your RealAge as much as 0.6 years younger.

If you are looking for a mashed potato recipe tha doesn't have all the butter and sour cream and goodies on it, than go to Dr. Oz's link and scroll down towards the bottom of the page. There you will find a few recipes for this kind of mashed potatoe. And while you're there, you might want to sign up for his newsletter. It's Excellent!

Here is the link:
http://www.realage.com/ct/eat-smart/food-and-nutrition/tip/7541#rate

Soft Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon (*OR* 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg if preferred)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
For glaze:
2 cups sifted Confectioner's (powdered) sugar
3 Tbsp milk (2% or whole)
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease cookie sheets (or line with parchment paper).

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in bowl and set aside.
In separate bowl, beat pumpkin, egg, and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Gradually add in flour mixture, beating well with each addition.

Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

Bake 15-18 minutes until edges are firm but not brown.

Allow cookies to cool before glazing.

For glaze, combine sifted powdered sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla, and stir until smooth.

Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

Enjoy! :)

Sudado de Pollo Colombiano

My nationality is Colombian. This dish, "Pollo Sudado" is a very common dish prepared in most homes. It's almost like a chicken stew but it will leave you licking your lips and your fingers.

Everyone has their own version of it. This is not mine, my mother's or my grandmothers but it sounded delicious none the less so decided to post it. Hope you enjoy!

Pollo Sudado Colombiano

8 chicken pieces with or without skin
3 peeled & sliced carrots
8 red potatoes (unpeeled)
2 green onions, chopped
2 chopped tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
a pinch of cumin
pinch of ground black pepper
thyme
oregano
rosemary

Heat a few Tbsp of olive oil in a heavy pot & saute the chicken pieces on all sides until golden. Remove the chicken from the pot.

In the remaining oil prepare a SOFRITO (ogao is the Sofrito in Colombia) with the onion, tomatoes, garlic cloves & red pepper (combine all ingredients in a blender or processor and puree until smooth). It must be at least 1 cup of Sofrito.

Add the chicken to the pot. Add the herbs (try to crush the herbs between your hands before adding, for best flavor & aroma)& seasonings, the carrots & some water or chicken broth to barely cover the chicken.

Cover & simmer for at least 1 hour without moving the chicken.

Add the potatoes & continue cooking at LOW heat until the potatoes are ready. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

Note: If you like you can use cilantro as opposed to parsley

*The photo above is not of this stew*