Babywearing by rosewx12 on flickr

Let me start this by saying I should be in bed since my baby is finally asleep. If not that I should be writing another post for my How to Cook series. However I saw something that bothered me enough I had to share this story. Motrin has a new ad campaign that is insulting to moms in general and specifically to moms who wear their babies. After watching the ad they are going to have to do some serious PR recovery before I ever consider using their product again.

But they aren’t what’s important. What’s important is to talk about why babywearing rocks. My first daughter got sick when she was young. She never slept and I don’t mean how babies normally never sleep. I mean really almost never slept. She was happy… if she was held constantly. For months I took her to the doctor saying something was wrong and was told she just had a little virus. At 9 months of age she started throwing up daily and the doctors finally listened to me. At 11 months of age she was diagnosed with food allergies/intolerances but it wasn’t until 18 months that we worked out what enough to keep her healthy most of the time.

Two things saved us during this time, nursing and babywearing. Nursing preserved my daughters health. We now know there is one single formula in one single format that is corn free. That means any other formula including several for kids with allergies would have made her a million times sicker. Breastfeeding was the only reason this rough time wasn’t an whole lot rougher.

However constant nursing, special diets, lack of sleep, etc were very hard on me as her mom. The one tool that helped me more then anything was babywearing. My slings were my miracles. They did the following without ever putting down my daughter:

• Chores
• Eat in restaurants (even fancy ones since the baby was asleep on me)
• Grocery shop
• Nurse anywhere discretely (And when your baby nurses every hour it’s that or never leave the house)
• Take walks
• Visit with friends
• Drop in my old work place
• Sleep sitting upright in a chair
• Read a book

My sling let me do my mommy stuff and my me stuff. What was my alternative? Put a sick baby down and just let her wail? Motrin should be ashamed to put out a video that might make new moms see such a useful tool in such a negative light. Babywearing saved my sanity. Babywearing let me have a life. It might not be for everyone but in my case it seriously rocked.

Now if you’ll excuse me I should really be asleep.

If you are interested here’s a link to a great video on other moms reaction.

Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey (2007 by defak on flickr

I remember watching my grandmother make the Thanksgiving Turkey. She seasoned it, stuffed it and put it in the oven. As far as I could tell over the next couple of hours she ignored it. She never basted it. She had no temperature probe to test when it was done. I don’t think she even opened the oven door and peaked at it. Then suddenly she walked over to the oven and pulled the turkey out. It was perfect with a crisp golden skin and a juicy fully cooked interior. At the time I felt like I was watching turkey black magic. When I asked what her secret was she said, “You cook enough and you just know.”

The question is how do you know? Experience plays a part. I’m sure after cooking enough turkeys she knows that an 18 pound turkey takes approximately 4 hours to cook. However that’s not enough to create a perfect turkey. Each turkey will weigh a little different then the others. Over time her oven temperature will vary slightly. However each year she turns out the same perfect turkey. The key is that while walking around the kitchen doing other things she is subconsciously paying attention to the turkey.

• She is listening to the sizzle of the fat that is starting to drip off and splash into the pan.
• She is smelling the rich smell produced by the skin as it turns a perfect crackling brown.
• She is looking at the rich brown color when it’s pulled out of the oven.
• She is feeling how the knife moves through the meat as she carves it.
• She is tasting the meat as she takes her first bite.

Most importantly she’s been doing that year after year, Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving. I’m sure if I’d tasted her first turkey it would not have been perfect. It would have been hovered over. It would have been poked and prodded. Over time her brain correlated a certain sizzle, a certain smell, a certain look with a certain feel, a certain taste. Her subconscious has created the perfect recipe so “you just know”.

Last week we discussed very basic kitchen tools but the truth is the most basic tools can not be bought in a store. The most basic tools are your five senses. To become a good cook you need to become aware of your food on a totally new level. To the point where you pull the cookies out of the oven not because it’s been 9 to 11 minutes but because they smell brown.

Please don’t let this talk of innate knowledge scare you off just because you don’t have it. One big problem of learning to cook is many people have the allusion they should just naturally cook like Martha Stewart (and her staff of 80). The truth is cooking is like anything else a learned skill that takes a lot of practice. You have to burn a lot of cookies before you routinely make them perfectly. If you aren’t messing up you aren’t trying enough new things! The key here is to start paying attention to your senses. When ever you are near food consciously think about what your senses are telling you even when you make mistakes.

Your homework for this week is to start playing with your food. Independent of if you or someone else cooked it start using your senses. Poke it. Prod it. Smell it. Cut it open before it could possibly be done. (If someone else is cooking they may get cranky at some of these suggestions. Restaurants tend to be picky about customers coming back and dissecting half cooked meals. ) Here are some things to watch for:

Listen

• What noises do you here coming from the oven or pan?
• What does the melon sound like when you hold your ear against it and knock?
• How does the green bean sound when you snap off the end?

Smell

• How does the food smell before you cook it?
• How does the smell change while it’s cooking?
• How does it smell when overcooked or undercooked?

Look

• What does the fruit / vegetable look like fresh?
• What color is the meat when done?
• What color is the inside when you slice it open?

Feel

• What does the food feel like when poked before cooking?
• What does it feel like when it’s done?
• How does it feel in your mouth while eating? Juicy? Dry?

Taste

• How do the raw ingredients taste? (Assuming it’s safe to taste raw.)
• How do they change in taste as they cook?
• What individual flavors can you pick out of a dish?

In future lessons we’ll discuss what to expect from the senses in different situations but for now experiment and pay attention to what they tell you. What other things can you watch for with your senses while cooking? What did you discover when you started paying attention to your food? Leave a comment and share with everyone else.

Are you new to this series? Check out How to Cook: Cooking Lessons from the Ground Up for a complete list of lessons.

Next weeks lesson will be “How to Cook: Salt, Pepper, Oil, Fire”. (And this time I really mean it.)

Wooden Spoons by Frank_BB on Flickr

Years ago I took a 12 part cooking class called “Introduction to Fine Cooking”. It should have been called “Introduction to How to Spend a Lot of Money in Our Store”. Each class used a wide range of expensive cooking tools and gadgets that were always conveniently displayed for purchase on a table by the door. By the end of the class every participant was positive they would be come a world renowned chef or at least a hit at their next party if they just shelled out enough $$$.

The truth is, while tools are necessary for cooking, fancy tools do not make a fancy cook. (Note to self… scratch off plan to make a fortune selling mandolin pans to unsuspecting readers. ) The most important aspect of cooking is knowledge of how to handle your ingredients. With the right know how you can eat gourmet over a campfire. Without it you can produce, well, garbage in even the fanciest, fully stocked kitchen.

That said, since we’ve stepped past caveman days, a few tools are necessary. I’m going to assume you have the basic large appliances like refrigerator, stove and counter space. (If you are in college then mini fridge, hot plate and ironing board.) Beyond that you need a surprisingly small selection of tools to create a large selection of good meals. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other tools that are great to have. Just ask my husband about my extensive collection. However when starting out the basics will get you a long way.

When buying tools there are a few important things to keep in mind:

• If it touches a burner it needs a heavy duty bottom. Think of it this way. You cook in a layer. There is a ring of fire, a pan and then your food all stacked on top. If your middle layer, the pan, is too thin you basically have a ring of fire and your food. The food on the fire is going to cook very fast. The food off the fire, in the middle or on the edges is going to cook very slowly. Half your dinner will be burning while the other half will be raw. Save yourself a lot of hassle and start off with a pan with a heavy duty bottom. The thick layer of metal will absorb and spread the heat more evenly. As a general rule of thumb imagine dropping the pan on your toe. If the mere thought doesn’t make you cringe in serious pain get a new pan

• If it cuts things it needs to be very sharp. There is nothing more dangerous in a kitchen then a dull knife. Here’s what happens. You slide a sharp blade across a tomato. It smoothly slides through the tomato like it is butter and you get a tomato slice. You slide a dull blade across a tomato. The blade can’t penetrate the skin and instead slides across the tomato skin towards your fingers. I assume I don’t need to continue the story. Please if you are going to cook keep your knives sharp. Even expensive ones get dull with use. Unless you are trained how take them to a professional. A novice with a knife sharpener can do more harm then good.

• If it comes in multiple sizes bigger is usually better. I have these cute little cutting boards that take up no space in the dishwasher and are completely useless! When cooking you don’t want to feel crowded. You need space to chop, space to mix and space to spread out the food in the pan. (There are exceptions but this is the general rule.) It takes almost the same amount of time to wash a big versus small bowl. However you will mix a lot slower if you are worrying about splashing outside of the small one.

• If it says nonstick run the other way. Why, you ask? Well, first, some people have health concerns about using Teflon. But even if you think there is nothing wrong Teflon doesn’t play nice with a lot of fine cooking. You can’t heat Teflon pans on high heat. You can’t get food to stick to Teflon pans and yes, sometimes you will want the food to stick to get good results. On the other hand it is possible to have nonstick without a nonstick pan. (Which will be covered next week.)

• If it costs a lot you may not need it. In some cases like a knife you will get what you pay for. In other cases like a cutting board cheap is perfectly good. I’ve listed below suggestions for items you don’t already have. These are just suggestions. If you already have something serviceable stick with it. If you don’t want to spend a fortune at amazon consider visiting your local charity thrift store. You can save money and help a good cause.

So what are the basics?

• A large heavy duty frying or everyday pan with lid: The pan that gets the single most use in my kitchen is my Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Everyday Pan with Lid. Ever since I bought it because it was incredibly cheap on amazon I use it nonstop. I’ve actually considered getting a second I like it so much. If you are going to use another pan just make sure it is heavy duty and oven and broiler safe. (No plastic or plastic seals. Double check your handle. And, yes, I learned that the hard way.) I like hard anodized aluminum because it can take a lot of abuse and doesn’t require seasoning.
• One or two heavy saucepans: I use the Calphalon Professional Sauce Pans in 2.5qts and 4.5qts. I wish I could say they were selected with much research but the truth is I won them in a raffle at a work Christmas party about 8 years ago. However I have been more then happy with that win. They are worth every penny I could have paid for them. Sadly I believe they were discontinued so I can’t give a link. I was going to recommend individual pans from the Calphalon Commercial line but amazon currently has such a good sale on Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 9-Piece Cookware Set
  I would go with that. (That will also get you a heavy duty frying pan.)
• A Large Metal Cookie Sheet: I have two Chicago Metallic Commercial Cookie/Jelly Roll Pans
  and I love them. They have held up for years and are still my favorite for baking.
• A Very Sharp Chefs Knife: I love the Global 8-Inch 20cm Cook’s Knife that my husband bought for my birthday last year. This is not a cheap knife and I may like it because I have small hands. If you are going to spend money on a good knife I recommend finding a kitchen store and feeling it in your hand before buying it. While you are there check if they sharpen knives or can recommend someone who can.
• Two Large Plastic Cutting Boards: Ok, in general I hate plastic in the kitchen but this is one case I make an exception. Unless you are a vegan you will be chopping animal products on your cutting board. Plastic is the only substance I know that doesn’t dull knife blades but can also be cleaned in lots of hot soapy water with lots of scrubbing. I use some cheap plastic ones you can pick about basically anywhere.
• A Couple Large Mixing Bowls: My favorite mixing bowls are glass or metal. The glass ones are nice because the extra weight keeps them in place. They aren’t so nice when a 2 year old pulls it out of a drawer and tosses it across the kitchen.
• A Spoon, spatula and tongs: These don’t need to be fancy. I have a cheap, cheap metal spatula and use a wooden spoon I treated myself to from a local wood artist. For tongs I love my Oxo Good Grips 12-Inch Stainless-Steel Locking Tongs. If you are looking to buy the others I’ve never been disappointed with OXO so I would suggest Oxo Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Turner and Oxo Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Spoon.
• Two Oven mitts and two pot holders. I’m not giving any recommendations here since I’m in the process of replacing mine. I’m trying to find ones that are heavy duty but still look nice. My current ones are old, threadbare and scream “I want to get my hand burned because I haven’t bothered to find a replacement.”

So this weeks homework is take stock of your basic kitchen tools. Are you missing something that you need? Do you have something that desperately needs to be replaced? Make sure you have the basics on hand. If you would like to make happy the part of me that’s running a business follow the links to amazon. If you would like to make happy the part of me that wants to help the environment then head out to a local thrift store and buy some recycled goods.

Are you new to this series? Check out How to Cook: Cooking Lessons from the Ground Up for a complete list of lessons.

Next week’s lesson is “How to Cook: The Five Senses in the Kitchen“.

Carrots by Wespionage on Flickr

Last spring I was talking with a very nice mom I met in the park. We were discussing ways to get our families to eat healthier. I mentioned I was excited because I found a local farm that was selling whole free range grass fed chickens. At this point she gave me a very perplexed look and said, “Whole chicken? What do you do with a whole chicken?” It wasn’t just that she didn’t know how to cook it. She was amazed any normal person would know how to cook it. Like a whole chicken was something that should be reserved for gourmet chefs or an episode of “The Next Food Network Star”.

Now a days cooking basics are not basic. It’s common for children to turn 18 and head off into the real word knowing only how to turn on the microwave. If they are lucky they have learned how to read and follow a simple recipe but there’s no underlying knowledge. A lot of people if presented with a chicken and a bag of carrots but no cookbooks would still have to reach for the take out menu.

Is it any wonder obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are sky rocketing? It’s not just a matter of wanting to eat healthier. It’s a matter of learning how to eat healthier. Instead we are sitting targets for the latest nutrition marketing fads. “Buy our product! It’s low fat.” “No wait, Buy ours. It’s low carb.”, “Contains only 100 calories (but you’ll have to eat 10 packs to feel full.)”, “Eat super vitamin X and all your trouble will go away.” etc. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve hear people say, “I give up. According to research everything is bad for me!” Until we learn to truly take back our kitchen we will not be able to truly take back our health.

This article is kicking off a weekly serious to help people take back their kitchen one step at a time. I will step back to the very basics. What you would instinctually learn if you had started cooking at your parents side from the moment you could stand on a stool. The kind of skills you need to run in the door at 5:30, look in the fridge and have a healthy meal on the table for your family by 6:00. You do not need to be a world class chef to put a healthy meal on the table for you and your family. However you do need some basic knowledge that can be easily built in small simple steps.

Each article will introduce a new concept, provide some examples of executing the concept and give a weekly homework assignment for practice. The nice thing about the homework is you get to eat it when you are done. (Or in some cases feed it too the dog but that’s ok too. If you never mess up you aren’t pushing yourself enough.) I’ll post links to all the articles in the series at the bottom of this post so you have one point to go back and reference everything. Next week will kick off the serious with “How to Cook: The Bare Minimum in Equipment.” So if you are totally new in the kitchen or just want to feel more comfortable please join us.

For your first homework assignment, start cleaning your kitchen. It’s very hard to cook when your counter is covered with dirty dishes or old take out boxes. Create a daily routine that empties the dishwasher in the morning, fills it as you use things and runs it before bed. Wash any hand washables as you use them. Depending on your family size and frequency of cooking you may need to do this more then once a day or only every two days but get a repeatable routine of some type. If your kitchen currently sparkles congratulations but make sure you have a routine that will work if you start using it more. Nothing grinds good intentions to a halt like going to start dinner and being faced with a pile of dishes. Post a comment here letting everyone know how you are doing.

How to Cook: Cooking Lessons from the Ground Up

• How to Cook: Very Basic Kitchen Tools
• How to Cook: The Five Senses in the Kitchen
• How to Cook: Salt, Pepper, Oil, Fire (Coming Nov 17!)

Corn by Sasakei on flickr

In the past I considered vitamins at worse a waste of a few dollars and at best insurance against a deficiency in my diet. As I learned how our bodies often require other components of the food that contain vitamins to properly absorb them I leaned more towards a waste of a few dollars. However before now I never considered that mainstream vitamins could be harmful. Especially the prenatal vitamins like folic acid which are considered necessary to prevent all sorts of neural tube defects. However the Austin American Statesman has reported that a recent study by researchers at National Jewish Health and Duke University shows that supplementing with folic acid may not be as clear cut as people thought. According to the article mice given supplements high in methyl-donors like folic acid where much more likely to have babies with severe allergic airway disease, higher levels of IgE and more T-cells that were associated with allergies.

While the article deals with asthma and not food allergies it really makes me wonder. High IgE levels are directly related to food allergies. It sounds like the same problems that increase asthma could easily increase food allergies. Did the prenatal vitamins I took to prevent my daughter from having life long problems actually cause her to have a possible life long problem? Did my attempt to do good actually cause harm? Maybe if I’d been eating foods with folic acid spread out during the day instead of depending on single high dose vitamins to cover any nutritional deficiencies corn wouldn’t have to be evil in our household.

The number one rule of parenting is don’t blame yourself for the past, learn from it. I can’t fix any harm was done but this is firming up my opinion that vitamins should come from food and not little pills. We can’t fix how we’re eating by popping a supplement. Our bodies have spend tens of thousands of years fine tuning getting nutrition in certain packages. We can’t go mess with the delivery system and expect it to be as efficient or even safe in the long run. More and stronger isn’t necessarily better. Sometimes the best way is the way that has worked for ever. My lesson from this is to firm my resolve to drop my last dependency on supplements. It’s time to kick the calcium pill habit and get my calcium from natural sources. Cause who knows what the next study is going to say about women and calcium pills.

So what do you think? Do you think vitamins are safe, a waste of money or out right harmful? What do you depend on to make sure you’re getting proper nutrition?

Newborn by rosewx12 on flickr

I realize the blog has been slow but I was busy working on our latest project. I’m pleased to announce our second daughter was born on August 24th at a little after 3 in the afternoon. Little R.E. caused much excitement in the L&D showing up 15 minutes after they decided that yes they really needed to admit me right NOW! I tried hypnobirthing and was so relaxed during labor I was positive it was another false alarm until the last 30 minutes when I was in transition. If you are having a baby I can not say enough good things about hypnobirthing. I’m a notorious pain wimp and except for about 2 minutes of the pushing at the very end it was a totally different experience then my first birth. I think even that would have been different if I’d practiced more and not had a last minute moment of panic. It was truly amazing! So please welcome my second sweet little girl. I’ll be back to blogging when I’ve had a bit more sleep.

A new web site reports the toxic chemical levels in cars and car seats.

Recalls

Jalepeno Peppers Recalled Because of Health Risk

Undeclared Sulfites in Sweetened Ginger

Jalepeno Peppers, Serrano Peppers and Avocados Recalled Because of Health Risk

It’s MY Binky Personalized Pacifier Recall Due to Choking Hazard

Kid II Recalls Rattles Due to Choking Hazard

Horseshoe Magnets Recalled Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

More Magnets Recalled Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

Remote Controlled Helicopter Recalled Because of Fire Hazard

Federal Authorities Seize Xiadafil VIP Tablets

Smoked Salmon Spread Recalled for Undeclared Egg

Publix Recalls No Sugar Added Cherry Pie Because of Undeclared Soy

Stuffed Toy Dogs Recalled Due to Choking Hazard

It will now be easier to find recalled meat products. The USDA has finally agreed to start posting the names of retail stores that received meat products involved in a Class 1 recall. However they will still not list distribution centers, institutions (hospitals, schools, etc) or restaurants. Thank you to Eat Drink Better for the heads up on this.

Health

The Baltimore Sun reports that a recent study by the University of Southampton in England found a link between artificial coloring and preservatives and ADHD in children. Thank you to Healthy Child Healthy World Blog for pointing out the link.

Cooking

Interested in cooking more whole grains? Here’s a great guide on cooking times from Whole Foods. I found it on an equally interesting article on substituting other grains for wheat at The Keeper of the Home.

Recalls

Nestle Prepared Foods is recalling 199,147 lb of frozen stuffed chicken sandwich products that may contain pieces of plastic.

Roxane Laboratories recalls Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate Suspension

Health

How safe and effective is your sunscreen? The Environmental Working Group has released a review of over 1000 sunscreen brands. I had already switched my daughter and I too Badger SPF 30 after reading Nature Mom’s Safe Sunscreens for the Family. After sending my husband a link to his favorite spray on sun screen he’s agreed to let me pick up a bottle of the much more effective and less toxic KINeSYS Unsented spray.

Another reason to buy your food from local sources. The New York Times reports that federal investigators are still having trouble tracking down the source of salmonella that has made over 1000 people sick and prompted the recent massive tomato recall. They now think some came from fresh jalapeños but tomatoes may still be an issue. The big problem is that laws about tracking source of origin don’t apply to repackaged products. I’m really glad I can track my tomatoes from my table to a green house under 20 miles away.

Food News

The Slow Food USA blog pointed out an interesting article by The American Conservative that discusses how the local food movement can bring together both the left and the right. That in this discussion both sides can agree on things like good family and community values.

Recalls

Salmolux recalls Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon Nova Lox

Lucky Green Trading Recalls Thai Basil

Parragon Books Recalls Children’s Necklaces

Action Products Int Recalls Shoelace and Necklace Children’s Charms

F.A.F. Inc Recalls Lip Gloss and Jewelry Sets Sold at Wal-Mart

1. Show no fear. Let’s get one issue out of the way right away. You are going to kill some plants. Accept and make peace with that fact. 10 years later when your friends think of you as a master gardener you will still occasionally kill some plants. It will just happen a lot less often. The nice thing is most plants, especially vegetables, are cheap. As I recently heard a farmer put it, “The cool thing about gardening is you always get a fresh start next year.” It’s a good thing too since this year I tried growing cauliflower. I’m not sure what I did wrong but it went from angry to dead in about 2 days.
2. Size doesn’t matter. To grow fresh produce you don’t need a farm. You don’t need a yard. You don’t even need a balcony. All you need is a location where you can combine a little sunshine and a little dirt. A garden can be as simple as a single herb or lettuce plant in a pot in the window or as complex as a multi-acre field. In fact if you are just starting out think small. Grand dreams can lead to grand burnout. Dig a little. Plant a little. See if you can maintain it and then expand. I loosely follow the Square Foot Gardening system because it lets you expand literally one foot at a time.
3. Plants forgive a lot. If you sit down and read a garden book you will quickly find yourself overwhelmed with descriptions of soil acidity, sun/shade levels, proper fertilization, etc. By the time you are done reading it will seem like you need a PhD just to plant a tomato. The truth is if you get all these right you will have bigger, stronger, healthier plants. However if you get them all wrong you will still have plants. When starting out don’t let perfection get in the way of having something. Plant a little. See how they do. Fix things if they turn out to be broken. Plants will forgive a lot. For example a strict follower of Square Foot Gardening digs in certain proportions of compost, peat moss, and organic fertilizer. When I did my plots I dug in a layer of each but I have no clue of the exact proportions.
4. Plants need water. This may seem obvious but I actually had to pause at this point and go water my garden… a day late. Sorry plants! Some of you may be lucky enough to live somewhere that rains routinely and your soil is always perfectly moist but not too moist. I will try not to curse you. For the rest of us there will be times when your garden needs water. Usually this will occur the moment you leave for a 2 week vacation. If at any point in the growing season you need to run sprinklers on your lawn you will need to water your garden. Make your life easy and protect your investment in money and labor. Set up a low effort watering system. For example my husband setup a drip irrigation system on a timer for me last summer. This weekend I’m re-enabling it before I almost kill off any more plants. It was relatively cheap from parts at the local hardware store and let me go on vacation… or just have a rough week, garden worry free.
5. Plants can be picky about temperature. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my kale plants survived all winter long. Now I know they are cold hardy and will plant accordingly. On the other hand my tomato plants died the first night it frosted. That’s expected in the fall but it can be quiet a surprise in the spring. The first warm day in early spring is not the time to plant everything. Each plant has a certain amount of cold hardiness. Some will just stall if it frosts… others will die. To save a lot of frustration look up the average frost dates for your area. Then for each plant look up how many weeks before or after the date they like to be planted. Peas are forgiving and can go in early. On the other hand tomatoes better wait until you sure they aren’t going to get frost tinged

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes

Adapted (with changes) from “I’m Just Here for More Food” by Alton Brown.

• 2 c Whole Wheat Flour (I like White Whole Wheat. It has a slightly milder flavor.)
• 1 t Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Baking Soda
• 1 t Salt
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 c Milk
• 1 c Yogurt
• 4 T Melted Butter
• 2 T Honey

1. Whisk together the 4 dry ingredients
2. Whisk together the 5 wet ingredients
3. Poor the wet on dry and mix just until combined
4. Let sit 5 minutes while preheating a lightly oiled pan
5. Cook over medium high to medium heat. Adjust the temperature so the bottom is brown at about the same time as you see bubbles popping on top and leaving a slight hole that doesn’t immediately refill with batter. (This takes a little adjusting.)
6. Flip and cook through.
7. Eat with yogurt, honey or maples syrup and fresh fruit.
8. Freeze leftovers. To defrost either toast or microwave on defrost. In this case I actually like the microwave because the “soggy” bread syndrome actually makes the pancakes nice and soft the second time around.

The key to market shopping in the early spring is to get there early. There’s fresh produce but it can be sparse and goes fast. If you want a good laugh imagine me running around the house trying to hurry everyone into the car. “If we don’t leave now there will not be any baby bok choy!!!” Yes, I really am that crazy about my farm fresh produce.

In the spring and summer my favorite cooking style is to keep it simple. Most spring produce fresh picked out of a garden or farm is so light and tasty it really doesn’t need much help. Not to mention that frees me up to spend more time in the garden, at the park, hiking the foothills, writing this blog, etc. For the vegetable portion of lunch after the market I like to make a simple dip and serve it with a big bowl of the latest fresh vegetables.

All Purpose Farmer’s Market Dip

• 1/4 c Plain Yogurt
• 2 T milk
• 2 T Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise) or Regular Mayonnaise
• 1 t Honey
• 1/2 t Vinegar (Your favorite type)
• 1 Medium Clove Garlic Crushed (Feel free to add more )
• 1 t Dill (Fresh or Dried… I killed my dill plant last year so it’s all dried here)
• Fresh parsley (To taste and optional)
• 1/8 t Salt
• Smoked Paprika to Taste (This makes the dip and is well worth hunting down. It adds a smokey good baconish taste without the added bacon.)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Let sit long enough to wash the vegetables and cut into sticks if needed. Better over night… but I never plan that far ahead.

I’ve currently used the dip with the following spring finds:

• Baby Bok Choy (My Favorite!)
• Carrots in sticks (Some markets have carrots if the farmer winters them over)
• Raw asparagus (Tastes kind of like snow peas with a stronger overtone.)
• Baby greens

The nice thing is this basic meal can be used all spring and summer. It’s always changing based on the vegetables in season but the basic steps are the same. Feel free to customize the dressing with your favorite herbs. I recently discovered I had 3 bottles of dried dill in my spice cabinet… so there’s going to be a lot of dill eating in this household. (Sorry dear.)

Thank you to Eat. Drink. Better. for featuring this article in their Farmers Market Fare.

I have tried four different buttermilk substitutes:

1. Plain Milk - There are two main problems with just using milk. The first is chemistry. Baking recipes are balanced so the acids and bases react in just the right way to create just the right lift and browning level. If you subtract out an acid like buttermilk your finished good may not rise or brown correctly. The second is flavor. Most buttermilk recipes are designed to have a rich tang to them. Regular milk doesn’t come close to adding that depth of flavor.
2. Milk plus Vinegar or Lemon Juice - Adding some acid to the milk corrects the chemistry problem. Now the recipe should behave chemically just the same. However I found it still failed the taste test. The recipes I found suggest letting the milk and acid sit for 5+ minutes to curdle and thicken but even then I found there was something missing from the taste. It just didn’t have the same depth as a real cultured buttermilk.
3. Yogurt- Adding yogurt instead of buttermilk worked wonders for the chemistry and the flavor. I found a good plain yogurt with no extra additives, just milk and cultures, had the same depth of flavor as the buttermilk and contributed lots of acid. However it did create a new problem. It was way, way, way too thick! If you can turn your bowl upside down and shake it and the batter stays put you have a problem. (Ok, I didn’t actually do that… but I’m pretty sure I could have!)
4. 50/50 Milk and Yogurt Blend - This buttermilk substitute is my winning combination. The yogurt half adds the acid and the depth of flavor. The milk half adds enough liquid to create the same consistency. Depending on the brand of yogurt you use you may have to adjust the proportions slightly. I use Nancy’s Plain Organic which is very thick.

I’ve tested the Milk/ Yogurt Blend with both pancakes and drop biscuits and had great results. The only problem I see with this combination is if you have the same issues with yogurt as I do with buttermilk. It’s never arround when you need it. In that case I suggest the following substitutions to keep plain yogurt a constant feature in your kitchen:

• Plain yogurt instead of sour cream. Tastes great… a lot less fat and fillers! I make a killer ranch dip / dressing with this substitution.
• Plain yogurt instead of sweetened yogurt. Just add one or more of the following to taste: apple sauce, pear sauce, jam, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, dried fruit, etc. It’s a staple of fast breakfasts in our house.
• Plain yogurt instead of milk with cereal. I HATE soggy cereal and made this switch a long time ago. It works great with granola and an excessive amount of honey.

Come back later this week for my Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancake recipe. Have you tried any of these buttermilk substitutes or have one of your own? Do you use yogurt as a staple in your cooking? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.