Amazing Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

These cookie bars are just incredible. The first time I had them, years ago, it was just incredible. I'm pretty sure I had them at someone's house and ran home to search for the recipe. I found one on Hershey's site and made it the first chance I got... and somewhere, over time, I forgot about these bars. Last summer, I had them again and the memories of my love for them flooded back.

I pulled the recipe up again and was surprised that it had cocoa as the main ingredient for the chocolate filling.... I decided to use real chocolate instead and holy amazingness. It's just heaven in every bite! I can't remember exactly how much bittersweet chocolate I added but I just kept adding it in until it screamed of chocolate. One can never get too much chocolate, right?!?


Chocolate Filled Oatmeal Walnut Bars
adapted from Hershey

Oatmeal Part:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon powdered instant coffee(optional)
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts, divided

Chocolate filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
12 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
4-6 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla and instant coffee, if desired; beat until fluffy. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, salt and 1 cup walnuts; gradually stir into butter mixture with spoon. (Dough will be thick.) Set aside 2 cups dough.

3. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in chocolate. Add sweetened condensed milk; cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

4. Press remaining dough evenly onto bottom of ungreased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan (I didn't have a jelly roll pan so I used a 9x13 pan). Spread chocolate filling evenly over dough. Crumble reserved dough evenly over filling. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts.

5. Bake 25 minutes or until top is golden brown (chocolate will be soft). Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.



Stay tuned next week for the cool sugar cookie stars in this picture!

Goodbye Bisquick!

Bisquick, what?! I will never house bisquick in my home again. When I make pancakes from scratch, I tend to make these oatmeal pancakes, but when it comes to regular chocolate chip pancakes, I used to grab the bisquick. Never again. I'm pretty sure Danimal is sold on this recipe as well. It takes about 3 minutes to mix the ingredients... which is not much more time than measuring out the bisquick mix and tastes sooooo much better.

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Pancakes
slightly adapted from Joy the Baker which was adapted from Blogchef

2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I never measure mine out!)- Joy uses milk chocolate chips
oil or cooking spray (for cooking)


In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes. I add the chocolate chips in after I pour the batter into the pan.

Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, if or when the drops start to dance its hot enough.

Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Add the chocolate chips into each pancake and push down so that the batter forms around the chips. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone.

Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Grilled Vegetables and Orzo Salad

Every day over the next few weeks, Foodbuzz is posting about their daily special. Today's special features grill baskets & trays. We absolutely love ours and use it quite frequently. Since Danimal is home this week and he loves to use his grill whenever he has the chance, I decided we should use our grill tray to grill an assortment of veggies to go with dinner. I bought a ton of different vegetables at the market but I couldn't use them all since we would be grilling vegetables all night...  so it looks like we'll be having asparagus and squash later this week! I've made a dish similar to this one from Ina Garten but the vegetables were roasted (instead of grilled).


Grilled Vegetables & Orzo Salad
1 box orzo, cooked per directions
4-5 garlic cloves (chop a few, leave a few whole)
1 eggplant, sliced inch thick & quartered
1 red pepper, cut inch 1 inch cubes
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, sliced into half rounds-- or cubed if you'd like
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into 1 inch cubes
olive oil (for tossing vegetables & orzo)
salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1 lemon

Cook orzo per directions, drain and toss with a spray of olive oil. Prepare vegetables as stated above

Combine vegetables (garlic thru mushrooms) in a large bowl, toss with olive oil salt & pepper.

Preheat the grill. Place grill basket on the grill to preheat it then spray with olive oil spray. Add vegetables and place basket back on grill. Let the grill cook the vegetables, shaking the basket every couple of minutes to rotate the vegetables. It took us about 10 minutes to cook a batch of vegetables.

After all the vegetables are cooked, combine with orzo, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar & red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

Incredible Salmon Salad

A few weeks ago, we had my childhood best friend and her husband over for dinner. My go-to meal for guests has been a roast chicken dinner but I wanted to try something different. I had a list of 5 different meals and headed to the market to make the final decision there. I find buying fish to be a stressful experience-- mostly because you never know the price. I pulled up the 5 different recipes on my ipod touch and headed over to the fish counter... it turns out my ipod needs internet connection to scroll between the pages so I lost all the recipes! I called my father and asked him to sent me one of the recipes via text. I'm hoping I get more confident with fish recipes the more I buy it.

This recipe is awesome-- it's absolutely delicious and has a perfect mix of ingredients. I read the recipe reviews and added a soy-honey glaze to the fish before cooking it. Other than that, it's a pretty easy recipe as well as delicious and filling.

Sizzling Salmon-and-Spinach Salad with Soy Vinaigrette
Cooking Light

Dressing:
3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chile paste with garlic or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salad:
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
4 cups thinly sliced shiitake or button mushroom caps (about 8 ounces)
1 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
8 cups baby spinach
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 cup red bell pepper strips

Fish marinade
4 tbsp soy sauce & 2 tsp honey

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
To prepare dressing, combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, and stir well with a whisk.
To prepare salad, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and 1 cup onions; sauté 8 minutes. Stir in corn; remove from heat.

Place the fish on a foil-lined baking sheet; brush evenly with 1 teaspoon oil. Brush salmon with a soy-honey mixture and broil 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. It didn't cook correctly in my oven so I cooked it in the oven for a few minutes since it was still very raw.

Place 2 cups spinach on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup bean sprouts, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, 1/2 cup mushroom mixture, and 1 fillet. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons dressing over each salad.

Jam Cupcakes

I love the concept of these cupcakes but I wasn't extremely pleased with the outcome. People did enjoy them but all in all, I wasn't wowed. I think I'd use fresh raspberries and make a filling from scratch instead. I also wish the frosting was richer-- I just want more chocolate! Maybe adding some melted chocolate would intensify it a bit. Overall, it's a pretty easy recipe so it's a simple dessert to whip up in a pinch.

Jam Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
12 raspberries, for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or use liners. Combine flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla and lemon zest. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture in two parts, alternating with 1/2 cup milk.

2. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, gradually add cocoa mixture, scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Gradually beat in 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.

4. Using a paring knife, cut a 1-inch-deep piece from the top of each cupcake (do not discard). Fill each hole with 1 teaspoon jam and replace cutout pieces. Frost cupcakes and top with raspberries 

Strawberry Bread

When Cate from Cate's World Kitchen posted her Strawberry Bread recipe, it just looked awesome. Strawberries were just starting to come in season and the markets were flooding with great looking berries. I ate a bunch and then made a few loaves of her bread. I added cinnamon and sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar mixture on top to add some extra zing. It's a great recipe and I'm definitely making it anytime I find myself with extra strawberries.

Strawberry Bread
adapted from Cate's World Kitchen

2 eggs
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups fresh diced strawberries
cinnamon & sugar mixture


Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8 x 4″ loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until the evenly yellow (but not frothy). Stir in the yogurt, oil, and vanilla and stir until evenly mixed. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until there are no longer traces of flour.

Gently fold in the strawberries, then pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon & sugar mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the bread and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Farewell Cupcakes

As part of my job, I run a disease-specific support group. The nurse for this clinic co-facilitates the group with me and has been the backbone of this group. She recently announced that she was leaving to pursue a new job opportunity and we had a goodbye party at our last group meeting.

She loves chocolate so I knew I wanted to make something chocolatey... cutting cake in groups is always a hassle and takes too much time so I decided to make cupcakes. I searched high and low for a recipe that I wanted to try and then I was flipping thru Martha Stewart Cupcakes and saw the marble ones. They are so cute! I then found the chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Overall, the cupcakes were good but the frosting was great! Marble cakes are a bit of a hassle but also kind of fun to make. I'd definitely make these again.


Marble Cupcakes
Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Makes 16 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.

2. Cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter.

4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5. To finish dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.


Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Martha Stewart

2 – 2 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
pinch of salt
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
¾ cup sour cream

Directions

Sift sugar, cocoa powder, and salt into a large bowl. Put cream cheese and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add sugar mixture; mix until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in chocolate and sour cream. Use immediately.

Chocolate Decorations
Chocolate Melts
Canola Oil
Wax Paper
Piping bag

Melt chocolate either in microwave or in double boiler. Mix in a few drops of canola oil to thin chocolate. Assemble piping bag with tip and coupler and add chocolate. Pipe the design on the wax paper and let sit until hardened.

I l♥vermont

One of my favorite places in the world is Vermont. I spent four of the best years of my life living there. When I go back to visit friends, I spend weeks leading up to my trip imagining all the places I plan to eat at. Some of the places are no longer and some have changed, but all in all, Vermont has some pretty incredible food.

My no-brainer stop on is always New World Tortilla. They have an amazing Thai Chicken Wrap that cannot be beat. They are closed on Sundays so I have to plan strategically so I can consume as much as possible on Saturday. The Thai Chicken Wrap is a burrito filled with grilled chicken, ginger slaw, rice and spicy peanut sauce. The combination compliments itself incredibly. I've order Thai Chicken Wraps at other places and not a one touches this.



My BFF Kelly and I used to ski all day, grab a Thai Chicken Wrap and eat it down on Lake Champlain watching the sunset. That is a perfect day all around.

Next, I ended up visiting Ben & Jerries and Champlain Chocolates. Both hit the spot for dessert!

On Sunday, we ventured into Stowe and visited Cold Hollow Cider Mill. They have the best cider donuts I've ever had (and I don't even like donuts!). They are light and fresh, and the best when warm! Cold Hollow as incredible cider as well as a great selection of samples of salsas, jams and dips. One of our favorite things about Cold Hollow Cider Mill is their giant checkers board.



I also picked up some peanut butter... Vermont made Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Try it, you won't be sorry!



One of my favorite souveniors from my trip to Vermont is a jar of Vermont Maple Syrup. A few years ago, I visited Kelly and experienced a sugar house and the maple syrup process. It's pretty incredible. I highly suggest visiting a sugar house and seeing the process! Randy, their friend who runs the sugar house, has some of the best syrup in the state. I'm so excited to break this jar open!



And I'll just leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

Hearty Lentil Soup

I never got around to making lentil soup this winter. I always planned on it but never grabbed the ingredients at the store. A few weeks ago, a coworker was asking me about lentil soup and how I make it.... then I had to make it! I never had lentil soup until I spent a semester in Spain and my senora made it for us. And then when I worked in Boston a while ago, there was a bagel place that I had a delicious lentil soup as well. They had a perfect balance of lentils and vegetables and the broth was a nice thickness.


Hearty Lentil Soup

1 1/2 cups dried lentils, rinsed
4-5 potatoes, 1/2 inch cubed
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, minced
a few swigs of balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (48 oz) low-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
2 leaves swiss chard, chopped
1 tbsp thyme (fresh or dried; I used dried)

In a stock pot, add some olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion and sautee for 5 minutes, then add shallots in and sautee for another 5 minutes or until onion is golden. Add garlic, thyme and balsamic vinegar and stir for about 1 minute. Add in potatoes, carrots, lentils and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes and then toss in the chard. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Add in salt & pepper as needed.

Verde is Green

I love calzones and I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while. I really wanted to make my own dough but I'm horrible at planning ahead. I ended up using the canned dough and I'd rather not ever use that again. Blech. I have never used that and I don't think I ever will again. Next time, real fresh pizza dough.

This whole dinner was an experience.... shopping for the ingredients was ridiculously comical. I was pretty sure I knew what salsa verde was (at least at a restaurant). I wasn't sure how it was packaged. I searched all the aisles I thought it would be located in and wasn't having any luck. I finally asked an employee if he knew where "salsa verde" is located... his answer "well, verde is green"... Yes, I'm aware. He drags me over to the salsa... no luck and looks in all the same places. Then he asks someone else where salsa verde is and their answer "verde means green"... I got no where. I finally found it (in the salsa aisle)-- the one option they carried wasn't very well labeled.

Anyway, so I get home and working with that canned pizza dough was an absolute nightmare. I never understand how you unroll the dough from the can-- it turns into mush for me. All in all, the meal was pretty tasty. We both enjoyed it and the black bean salad paired great with it, especially with the addition of avocados.


Tex-Mex Calzones
Cooking Light

 8 ounces ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fat-free fire-roasted salsa verde
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated thin-crust pizza dough
3/4 cup (3 ounces) preshredded Mexican blend cheese
Cooking spray parchment paper
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream


1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring mixture occasionally. Remove turkey mixture from heat; stir in salsa.

3. Unroll dough; divide into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6 x 4–inch rectangle. Working with one rectangle at a time, spoon about 1/2 cup turkey mixture on one side of dough. Top with 3 tablespoons cheese; fold dough over turkey mixture, and press edges together with a fork to seal. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and turkey mixture. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until browned. Serve with sour cream.
 
 
Black Bean Salad
1 (15-ounce) can rinsed and drained black beans
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 avocado, diced

Combine all ingreients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.

Over the Mohn

Growing up, my grandmother, Nina, always made these cookies for us... I was never particularly fond of them, since I tend to be obsessed with chocolate. But then, at some point, I found out I actually liked them! A few years ago, I had my grandmother email the recipe to me... last year, I decided I needed to dig out that recipe and give it a try! The batch I made last year was a bit over-cooked. It was my coworkers birthday last week and I wanted to give these another shot for her. I reduced the cooking time and it made a huge difference. These cookies are great with coffee and tea, or just by themselves. They are really easy to assemble without a mixer and could a be a kid friendly recipe.

Mohn Cookies
My Nina

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp poppy seed
cinnamon & sugar mixture

In a bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil together until blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined. Mix in vanilla and poppy seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pinch off and make balls about the size of a walnut shell. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or greased). Press down on each ball slightly and then use a fork to make crossmarks in the shape of an X. Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar mixture.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Blueberry Pecan Scones

I recently bought Cooking Light's Cook Smart Eat Well cookbook and was flipping through the recipes. I came across a blueberry pecan scone recipe and had all the ingredients so I decided to go for it. The reviews online were mixed and I had never made scones so I didn't have too high of expectations. They weren't the most attractive scones I've seen but they tasted pretty good. Since I have no prior experience of homemade scones, I have nothing to compare them to. I am going to try some other recipes for "fun" anyway, but I'd make these again.


Blueberry Pecan Scones
Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk  fat-free milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
Cooking spray parchment paper
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in blueberries and pecans. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut dough into 10 wedges, and place the dough wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (if no parchment paper, spray with cooking spray). Brush egg white over dough wedges; sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake scones at 375° for 18 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Swedish Pancakes with a View

Last weekend, I visited my best friend in Vermont. She lives on a gorgeous hill overlooking an incredible view of the mountains. We spent the weekend eating great food (be prepared for post about that!), looking at baby items for her registry and walking/ enjoying the outdoors.

On Sunday morning, we planned to take a nice walk and hit up some of my favorite places before I headed home... but before that, we needed breakfast. Kelly realized I had never had her swedish pancakes so she whipped up a batch with some berry sauce and we ate it outside, taking in the sunshine and the amazing views.

Swedish Pancakes
My BFF Kelly

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup flour (mixture of unbleached white flour & whole wheat)
2 tbsp flaxseed meal

Lightly beat eggs and mix in milk. Incorporate flour and flaxseed meal until just mixed.

Heat pan with canola oil over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3 cup of batter to pan, and swivel pan to spread batter to evenly cover bottom of the pan. Let it cook for about a minute or so and then flip the pancake and cook the other side.

Remove from the pan and roll up.


Berry Sauce
1 1/2 - 2 cups Frozen berries (or fresh)
splash of water
1/4 cup maple syrup (add more if you want it sweeter)
dash of cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger
a few drops of orange extract or orange juice

Add ingredients together in a sauce pan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until berries break down.