Happy New Year's!

Happy New Years Friends!

I have to say I am sad to see 2010 go, its been a great year filled with very exciting moments and big life changes but I am so excited to welcome in a new year cause I know it will be better then the last.  One of the best things that will happen in 2011 is I will have one of my very favorite people in New York with me!  I plan to make her pancakes for breakfast on a very regular basics. 

 

Pancakes just like these coconut pancakes from Mark Bittman. I really like Mark Bittman not only for his NY times contributions but I believe in his food philosophy and want to follow it in the new year.  Less meat and dairy more leafy green things.  I am NOT giving up meat or dairy just cutting back.  Mark's Food Matters cookbook is filled with reasonable and delicious recipes like these pancakes which are vegan but I served them with fresh whipped cream which defeated the purpose of vegan oops!

Since I have been living alone and really only cooking for myself these days, I was so so excited to make breakfast for a friend it was a lovely way to to start the very last day of 2010.  I was actually so excited to be cooking breakfast for someone that I forgot to take any photos after we sat down to eat, he he I was too busy talking loudly (huge surprise I know). 

COCONUT PANCAKES adapted from here

1 cup wheat flour

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 baking soda

1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 250°F. 

Whisk together in a large bowl first 6 ingredients and 3/4 teaspoon salt. 

In a medium bowl whisk coconut milk, 11/4 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and vanilla. 

Whisk coconut milk mixture into dry ingredients until batter is pourable.

Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat; brush with vegetable oil. Working in batches, add batter by 1/4 cupfuls. Working quickly and using back of spoon, spread each pancake to about 4-inch round. Cook until small bubbles appear on surface and bottoms of pancakes are golden, reducing heat if browning too quickly, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. 

Transfer to baking sheet. Keep warm in oven.

BERRY MINT SALAD

1 cup blueberries

1 cup blackberries

1 cup diced strawberries

few springs of fresh mint coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon maple syrup

mix all ingredients in a medium bowl 

I served the pancakes self serve style on a platter with the berries by the side and a big bowl of vanilla whipped cream. You can always plate this 3 pancakes on a plate topped with berries and a dollop of whipped cream.

Miles being towel dried after pancakes and playing in the snow

photo courtesy of priya

eat drink repeat

Well Christmas came and went and Miles and I ate our way through some very delicious meals. 

This year was my first year not at home to help my mom prepare Christmas Eve dinner.  I didn't care at first I mean less work for me but as December went on and the holiday grew closer I had a few moments of melt down.  Tears filled my eyes when I saw a friends advent calendar, that's right tears.  I was a little nervous I may not make it to Christmas without a total breakdown.

Not to fear everything turned out just fine.  I finished classes just in time to have a very glorious day of Christmas shopping in Manhattan filled yummy treats I couldn't pass up and a very exciting run in with a very famous person.  Christmas Eve started with a very delicious and slightly tipsy lunch and was followed but more shopping, a long car ride with 3 hungry people and 2 dogs, and coming home to loads of hugs from the family and really amazing food.  I think I have have been eating every second I have been awake straight though till this moment (coffee and butter cookies are next to me as I type this).

For our post Christmas dinner I was given the task of using up about 16 left over egg whites from the very unbelievably delicious ice cream my mom made for Christmas day dinner, it was the best chocolate ice cream of my life.  The very first thing that came to mind was a pavlova.  Light and fluffy pillows of meringue crisp on the outside chewy on the inside.  We had fresh berries and way to much cream for one house so it was a perfect way to use up the left over ingredients from a very dairy rich holiday. 

 This was my first time making a pavlova but I will be making them all the time this was maybe the easiest dessert I have ever made and one of the most delicious.  I used a combination of recipes I found on the web picking and choosing what I liked from each.  Nigella, Martha, Ina, and one of my favorite blogs ever, all had recipes for chocolate pavlova and chocolate is the way to my heart so its what I went with.  

 I am truly not lying this is the easiest dessert I have EVER made and it was very much enjoyed by all including Miles. If you don't like chocolate add a little vanilla or almond extract to the egg whites instead. No berries no problem add whip cream and cocoa powder still just as delicious. 

 Chocolate Pavlova adapted from here, here, and here.
 serves 8 to 10


12 tablespoons egg whites (egg whites from 6 large eggs)
1 1/2 cups super fine sugar (grind up regular sugar if you don't have super fine)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 oz. good dark chocolate finely chopped
1 teaspoon balsamic
12 oz berries (I used black berries and blueberries)
a squeeze of lemon 
1 tablespoon or so of sugar
2 cups cream
1 teaspoon vanilla


preheat over to 350 degrees F
trace a 9 inch circle on parchment and place upside down on a rimmed cookie sheet
mix in a a bowl a squeeze of lemon and 1 tablespoon sugar with the berries put aside
mix egg whites in a stand mixer until they have formed silky peaks. 
Slowly mix in sugar one tablespoon at a time until all sugar is mix in and the mixture is stiff and shiny.  This will take about 8 minutes
sprinkle cocoa, chocolate and balsamic vinegar on top of egg whites and sugar fold in very gently until cocoa is evenly mixed in
scoop out into cookie sheet using spatula to form a nice circular disk of meringue 9 inches round.
Place in hot oven and turn temperature down to 300 degrees
Baking for 45 minutes then check outside should be crisp and dry but when pushed in the center there is a bit of give. Turn off oven and let cool in the oven with door ajar.
Whip cream and vanilla 
pile whipped cream on top of the pavlova and top with the berries.