Recipe - Pancakes

Photo courtesy of D'Arcy Norman

Over the weekend I wanted to whip up something quick. I decided to make some simple pancakes for brunch. If you have made pancakes before, you know how simple it is to make them. If you have never made pancakes from scratch, here is a very basic recipe using ingredients you already have at home.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons melted butter(optional)

Preparation:
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a big bowl or pan.
In a separate bowl, combine egg and milk
Add egg and milk to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth.
Stir in melted butter.

Cook on a hot, greased griddle or a flat frying pan, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. If you are using a large frying pan, you can make bigger pancakes so it will take less time, using 1/2 cup of batter. I usually just pour until batter looks about the size of the pancake I want. Cook until brown on one side and around edge, you'll see air bubbles rising through the batter as it cooks. Turn and brown the other side.

If it doesn't turn out well the first time, you just need to adjust the heat and cooking time. Cooking is an art, so have fun.

This recipe for pancakes serves 4. You can add any toppings you like, peanut butter, jam, syrup, fruits, concentrate milk, etc...

Are You A SuperCook?

I found this site several months ago but then forgot about it. I recently found a need to look up a recipe and recalled a site that lets me put in the ingredients I have on-hand and gives me a listing of items I can cook. The site is called Super Cook and I think anyone who likes to do a little bit of cooking will find it very helpful.

If you like traditional recipe sites, I like this site called All Recipes. Its a great site to find something for the upcoming holidays. I've also found some great pancake recipes at About.com's Southern Food section.

Do you cook? What recipe sites do you recommend? Have you tried Supercook? Share your thoughts and experiences.

Recipe - Pumpkin Seed

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I went pumpkin picking with my daughter a few weeks ago. She loved the experience at the Queens County Farm Museum. We went on a hayride, she milked a cow and saw many other farm animals. At the end of the visit, we went to the pumpkin patch (just a stack of pumpkins) and picked out a pumpkin!

What to do with the pumpkin? Eat it! My wife cooked the pumpkin in a sweet soup and we roasted the seeds. We sat around a table talking and reading while eating the seeds, its a great family activity.

To cook the pumpkin seeds:

• Cut open the pumpkin, remove the seeds and wash out the stringy core.
• Let seeds dry (optional). We boiled the seeds for a little while to help it cook.
• Add salt or other flavorings that you like.
• Heat Oven or toaster over to 400 degrees.
• Toast in over for about 20 minutes or until shells are slightly dark.

Enjoy over a nice Fall time conversation! Here is another toasted pumpkin seed recipe I like or you can search Google for Pumpkin Seed Recipe. Have you been pumpkin picking? What other fall activities have you been involved in? Have you visited the farm museum? If so, share your experience!