Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Split Pea Soup Success and Slow Cookers

One of my fond food memories is from an Alaskan cruise Wyatt and I took in 2008. Our tour included passing through Glacier Bay National Park. Icebergs float along in the water and hump back whales breach alongside the boat while you are surrounded by breathtaking glaciers. Holland America chooses this moment to serve Dutch pea soup deck side. You find yourself enveloped by beauty sipping delicious soup while it is cold enough to see your breath.

I soon after tried making split pea soup and it was a disaster. It just tasted of sweetness and I could hardly eat a few spoonfuls. Our Best Bites, one of my favorite food blogs, recently featured a split pea soup recipe. Their recipes are usually dead on, so I decided to give it another go. I was intrigued by the malt vinegar in the recipe and indeed that was key! I love malt vinegar and dose my fish n chips and fries in it. I suggest adding more to top your bowl if you are a fan of it as well. The soup is savory and smokey and using my homemade chicken stock gave it extra depth of flavor.

The recipe calls for using a slow cooker. I had gone without a slow cooker for years, since I have a Dutch Oven. Dutch Ovens are so versatile since they will brown your food and go between stove top and oven for slow cooking perfection. The downside is mine weighs about 15 lbs and I was looking for a more transportable dish to bring to monthly potlucks at our small group. I have been happy so far with the 6 quart Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker with clip tight lid.

Also check out these gluten free Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls, which are super simple and yummy. A great side for the soup!

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Whole Wheat Pancakes: A Recipe

Pancakes are one of Zoraida's favorite foods. She will almost always eat them, so they have become a staple. I like to make a larger batch at the beginning of the week and then have leftovers to reheat easily for quick breakfasts. They are even great to take on the go and eat them cold!

I typically make blueberry buttermilk pancakes, but have been trying to pack more nutrition into them. I had some left over baked sweet potato from dinner, so I thought I would try adding them into the batter and behold success! I had heard of sweet potato pancakes, so I thought it would work. I added cinnamon and brown sugar since they are a perfect pair with sweet potato. I love it when my experiments turn out!


Dry Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Sweet Potato
A pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
1 Tbs Butter (melted)
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Egg

1. Heat cast iron skillet over medium.
2.Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.
3. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and combine.
4. Spray pan with canola oil.
5. Use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to ladle pancakes into pan.
6. Wait for bubbles and flip. The buttermilk should make them puffy.

Enjoy!

Thought for the Day: In a big family the first child is kind of like the first pancake. If it's not perfect, that's ok, there are a lot more coming along. ~Anthony Scalia



 

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner