Sometimes yummy is good enough!

It all started the other day when I went out to lunch and decided to order dessert. Well, it actually started with an excellent piece of tilapia and perfectly cooked green beans, which made me feel confident that the desserts were bound to be as good as they looked.
Because you know...sometimes they aren't, and that is just a crying shame!
It was a simple caramel sauce atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream, atop a piece of humble pecan pie. What about this lovely trio caught my fancy you ask? It was that creamy dreamy caramel sauce, so tan and lovely drizzled on the ice cream and around the pie. Folks, I am not ashamed to say that the taste sensation brought about by that sauce had me wiping delicate little tears of joy from my eyes. It was that good.
Now I am not usually much of a caramel girl....I kinda tend to stick to the chocolate realm and am very comfortable there. But that sauce.... sigh.... it might just be a new love of mine!

Well, me being me, I just had to come home and make an attempt at "the sauce". (I think it deserves quotes) I opened my trusty Joy of cooking cookbook and read the recipe. I stood in the kitchen confidently shaking my head in agreement as I read the recipe. Oh yeah, I got this one, no problem. If you'll please remember from my past post....I have mad skills.

Do you have any idea, how fast sugar burns? Ooo, oooo, oooo ask me, I know!
As long as it takes to set up a cute picture of butter.
See, I didn't read my Joy quite closely enough. It specifically said to bring the sugar to a boil, cover for 2 minutes, uncover and boil gently until it reaches a deep amber color. I may have skimmed over the gently part cause mine was a raging cauldron of bubbles.
That is one stick of butter by the way. Which is how much I used in my second try of "the sauce".

So, not to be overcome by a little pan of burnt sugar I set out to try again. My kids were cheering me on at this point because if chocolate sauce is good, then caramel is bound to be as well.
Into the pan went another cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water.
Deep breath, and go.
So, you let the sugar melt in the water, until the granules dissolve, then you let it come to a boil.
Notice in this shot the little bubbles waiting to come up.

Then very shortly after this it is foaming and bubbling. Very exciting, let me tell you. The recipe then says turn up the heat, put a lid on it and let it boil for 2 minutes. With heart palpitating and palms sweating I stood there while the seconds ticked by, just sure that my sugar was going to turn on me again.
Although, I did have time to take this picture of me in the reflection of the pan....isn't that orange color just so fun against the silver.

So, I took the lid off and gave a little sniff. "sniff sniff" No burned smell, so I pressed on.
I am convinced now, I didn't press on quite far enough. I did take this second batch of "the sauce" all the way to the end but it just didn't have the depth of flavor or gorgeous color I was looking for, so....on to batch 3 of "the sauce".
I couldn't give up! After all, I had come this far and I still had sugar!!!

If you have made caramel sauce at this point you are possibly thinking, come on Jennifer it just isn't that tricky. Well, here is the thing. I choose to use unrefined cane sugar instead of white sugar and just look at the difference in color to begin with. Go here to read about that a bit if you want to.

So, when the recipe tells me to look for a deep amber color, I am at a bit of a loss because this sugar starts out at amber.
Sigh. I stirred and stirred and stirred.
Did you know you can stir it too much. Yeah, I made that mistake too. I finally gave up on deep amber after about 3 minutes of boiling. (Come on, give me a break, I didn't want to burn it.)
In went the butter
stirring gently until it was all incorporated. So far so good! Well except maybe for all the sugar that was clinging to the sides at the bottom of the pan. I learned later that my pan was too big and that the chosen pan should have tall sides and fit on the burner with no overhang. Oh, the details!
The last thing to go in this batch was the heavy cream.

That was supposed to be a cute smiley face for you, but like everything else I had done up to this point, it didn't go as planned. So you get a half smile, half grimace in agony because you just wanted some stinkin' caramel sauce but not all of this grief face.

And here is the finished product.
I must admit, the color is not what I wanted. The photo is a bit deceptive because this sauce looks distinctly lighter on vanilla ice cream. While the taste is right on for "the sauce", the color....well it just isn't right. It just doesn't do it justice.
Yes, I want to have my sauce and color it right too!
So, since I still had some sugar left I decided to give it another go, but with a different recipe.
A dry caramel recipe. The sugar just goes straight into the pan with no water. Cool, I will try that, I mean really just how hard can that be?
Why, oh why could I not see the impending disaster!?!
I proceeded to burn two batches back to back, never even making it to the butter adding part.
I decided at this point to raise the white flag of surrender and just be happy with my pale sauce.
What else is a girl to do when she is out of sugar?
Hmmm, now what to do with 1 1/2 cups of decent sauce and 1 1/2 cups of super yummy but pale sauce. Is there such a thing as hot caramel, instead of hot cocoa? That deserves some investigation I think!!

An evil lecture!

Do you ever just feel completely mind boggled when reading food labels?
Okay, wait let me back up.
Do you ever read food labels? Well, you should!!
I want to talk today about the gobbledygook found in the "Ingredients:" list of packaged foods we may pick up while shopping at our local grocery store.
I mean it gets to the point where you feel like you are on an episode of Are You Smarter Than A 5th grader.
Mrs. Watrous....what is monocalcium phosphate?
Uhhhhh............ I don't know.
Well, how about methalparaben, or xanthan gum, or hydrolyzed vegetable protein?
Are you kidding me, my spell check doesn't even recognize these words.
(and yes, I checked... I am spelling them right!)
I have always been told, "If you can't pronounce it, then you probably don't want to eat it." Well, I gotta tell you after doing some research, that really doesn't seem to be an effective gauge.

I can read and pronounce BHT and BHA just fine, and these are both preservatives which in lab tests have shown to be cancer or tumor causing! Ok, that is kind of a lame example but I think the point is easily made. It is not the pronounceability that should convince us, but knowledge of what a particular thing is.
{Listen, I gotta tell you the information I will be writing today from here on out is based on where I am in my eating healthy journey. I imagine that at some point I may choose to be even more conservative than I am now and my choices will change. I will not however get more liberal on this subject, not after reading all that I have. You are where you are and have to choose for you and your family. I am just reporting information for you to read over and make informed decisions with!} Disclaimer over...on to the info!
By the way, I put those two above on my naughty list!
Yes, I am making a list and have checked it more than twice. These are the things that if on the ingredient list; the item will go right back on the shelf. Yes, that has meant giving up some of our favorites. Yes, that has meant finding or cooking substitutes, or just doing without. Yes, that has meant jeers and tears from the crowd.
I looked at about 800 websites that catalog this information and this one is my favorite. Okay, to be honest it wasn't exactly 800, but 800 is my favorite "I am gonna exaggerate" number. Now on to the....
Naughty List
BHA
BHT
High Fructose Corn Syrup
MSG, or monosodium glutamate
Olestra
THBQ
Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils = trans fat
Aspartame
Artificial colors or flavors
Sodium Nitrate or Nitrate
Acesulfame-K
Potassium Bromate
Sulfites
Sulfer Dioxide
Tetrasodium Phosphate
Methylparaben

Now I don't want you getting all depressed when you find out which cereals and chips and canned goods have so many of these ingredients in them. What am I talking about, you are gonna get depressed! Just count on it.
I still remember with great sadness the day when I picked up that comforting black labeled can of Appetite Pleasin' Ranch Style Beans and read to my horror....partially hydrogenated soybean oil right there on the ingredient list. I am pretty sure I did one of those big long "NNNNNOOOOOOOooooooooooo" screams as I slowly put the can back on the shelf. You know the kind I am talking about.
I just love Ranch Style beans and have used them for years in recipes. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend.
But, partially hydrogenated oils are trans fat by another name! Just check it out. Here is a common thing these sneaky food companies do. They mark a food with this
0 trans fat *per serving ahhhh see that right there in tiny little print that they hope you won't notice. *Per Serving is your clue to flip that puppy over and read the ingredient list. If hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated is on that list at all, then it means that one serving contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat they just don't have to list it as such. Pay close attention here.... the recommended daily allowance of trans fat by the American Heart Association is less than 2 grams.
So, let's just say for example you grab a chewy granola bar as you head out the door in a rush. Then, with your lunch you have a handful of buttery crackers with your tuna salad. Okay, now... you know we get hungry in the afternoon, so how about a bag of microwave popcorn to see ya thru. While none of those items has a large amount of trans fat on it's own, add them all together and you plunge right over the edge of too much.
Does that mean all granola bars and crackers are "naughty"? Nope it sure doesn't! Does that mean no more popcorn? Well, maybe unless you are willing to invest in an air popper, or cook it on the stove. (It takes less time to air pop than microwave pop by the way.)

I want to encourage you to consider making at least one Ingredient list change this week when you are shopping. Eliminating trans fat is a great place to start!

So, if there is a naughty list, we must have a nice list to balance the scales right? Okay fine, after all I wouldn't want all of my research to go to waste.
There are ingredients that are hard to pronounce that just cannot be included on the bad list. Most of these are additives that come from natural sources, or really fancy names for vitamins.
Not Naughty List ( I hesitate to call it my nice list for so many reasons)
Monocalcium phosphate
maltodextrin
Xanthan gum
Guar gum
Citric Acid
Lecithin or Soy Lecithin
Acetate
Ascorbic acid
Tocorpherols
Thiamine
Riboflavin
Niacin
Biotin
Folate
At this point in my journey, I did not find any information which made me totally opposed to these added vitamins. Read more about that here. It is a website about vitamin supplements, but has great concise information about vitamins and what the different names may be. This website also had a fair amount of information to sort through and read about food additives as well.

Well, if anyone made it to this point in today's blog, then I want to say...
I know I got all serious on you today. Just why do you think I buttered you up with that great cake recipe...to get you to come back of course, so I could lecture you on the evils of trans fat. I really don't want it to come across as a lecture, but an opportunity to gain more knowledge which may change how we think about the foods that we buy. I put both of my lists here, if you would like to print that out to take it as a cheat sheet when you go shopping.

I promise that at another time we will discuss a home recipe for ranch beans to help aid in our struggle to eat better. And, I am working on a fail proof homemade pizza dough for you as well. Be patient with me, these things take time to perfect!

{Additional disclaimer: The information in this blog today was written by a flawed individual in search of knowledge and by no means is meant to be taken as nutritional, medical, or professional advice. She is really just hoping she got all of her links right!}

Look at what I learned!

I am too, too excited! After some research, desperation, frustration, heart palpitation mixed equally with curiosity, tenacity, and good old...by golly I will not let this conquer me! I have figured out how to attach a recipe link so that you can (if you so desire), click on that link and go to a page which only has a recipe on it! AAAAaaaaahhhhh. How cool is that. Well, to me it is super cool.
Alrighty, so on Monday we had the Oatmeal Pancakes, so here you go.

Pancake link BAM....just like that, there it is! Amazing!

If you paid close attention, you may have noticed that I figured out this cool feature in time to put a link on the bottom of the cake page. I think there it says "printable recipe".

I will try to be consistent on where I put them, but haven't decided on exactly where that will be yet. I will try to make it obvious, but not obnoxious.

Oh, and by the way...I did get up this morning and made those yummy pancakes for my family. Accolades were abundant, and it wasn't even chocolate cake!

Worth it!

I find myself having a hard time beginning this particular blog. Each day you read, you just see one little tiny pinprick of my world. A post about pancakes may lead you to believe that I get up and make breakfast for my family daily. (which I don't) A post about soaking beans may have you believing that I would choose to never just cook them straight up for the sake of time. (which I would) A post about decadent cake may have you crying out "hypocrite" to my healthy leanings.

Just know this. I want to do the best I can for my family with the knowledge that I have. The more I learn, the better I can do. On the other hand....I do not want my family to feel deprived of fun foods. What it boils down to is this. I will not buy a box of hostess cupcakes, but I will make a homemade version with the best ingredients possible. Does that make sense?

And yes, I know sugar depresses the immune system. But if we are building it up in our other eating areas, drinking plenty of water, and staying active and fit; well then a treat keeps the depression from the family system. That is all I am gonna say about that today, but be forewarned there are plenty more lectures looming over the horizon.

NOW, Let Them Eat Cake!!!!

Cake!!! That is right, I got your attention didn't I. Not just any old cake mind you, it has been described in many ways around here. "Chocolate yummiest cake ever" by youngest child. Or "Cake Extravaganza" by middle child. Or, "I don't know, it's just like so like good, I don't know like what to like call it." Ha ha ha, I bet you can guess who that was.
We could not agree on a name (yet) but we did all agree that it was a totally amazing, new favorite, I want this for my birthday, can we pretend my birthday is tomorrow cake! So, go gather your ingredients and make out a guest list because you will not want to be alone with the leftovers of this cake in your house mocking you, calling out to you, whispering your name. I can speak from experience.



Let's start with the chocolate cake first...after all where else would we start. Someone from the back row screams...."Can you start with that chocolate drippy stuff on top?" That, my student of culinary greatness is called Ganache and it must wait until later so that it doesn't partially solidify, whereas you would have to eat it out of the bowl with a spoon. Not that I would do that. So start with the cake, ok.
I wanted double layers of everything good about this cake so I chose to use 2 round pans which I lined with Reynold's Release Foil. I totally love using this stuff and highly recommend it over greasing and flouring. Somehow with that system I always end up with the flour dumped on myself and the floor instead of neatly spread around the pan.
Here is the trick when working with the foil...turn your pans upside down.
The words on the foil as this point should look like a bit of a foreign language, backwards, mirror image...whatever you want to call it. You are making a nice little foil mold here. Why you ask? So you won't poke your fingers through the foil when you are trying to cram it into a space it doesn't want to go into naturally. (Yes, I have done that a few times. Trust me on this, do the mold thing.)

So, shape it around the pan, take it off, flip it over. Put the foil right side up into the right side up pan, you should be able to read the words! Your nice little mold should fit down snugly into the pan. I know all that sounds weird, but I bet you can figure it out!
. Pretty great right!
When your cakes come out of the oven, let them cool then peel them right out of this foil. It is truly miraculous. You are gonna love it!
I am trusting that you can get through this cake recipe on your own. It is so very very easy.
Check it out
Cake
Ingredients:
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
* 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 cup oil+ 1/4 cup applesauce)
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. use Reynold's Release Foil, or Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter equally into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes for 2 round pans or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

You can do that right! By the way, this cake doesn't rise much. It is a moist compact delicious little cake. I think you will really like it.

Now on to the....
Vanilla Cream Filling

3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

This is the hard part of the recipe, but you can do this! Go and get your best whisk and a medium sauce pan. Oh, you also need the flour and milk.

Measure out 3T. flour and 1/2 cup milk into your saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium/low and whisk away. Do not for any reason stop whisking. Look at me in the face....I mean it....don't stop! This is your priority for the next few minutes. At first you can whisk slowly, but when the flour starts to thicken the milk give it all you've got. If you have mad skills (like me)...you will come away with a smooth, lovely mixture! But, if you are a culinary newbie and this is your first time at it...don't be discouraged if yours is a lumpy mess.
Try, try again. It is just flour and milk, come on, try again. This is very hard to get right. The original recipe actually calls for putting it thru a fine strainer to get out the lumps.
It should look something like this when you are done! Thick and smooth. If you get yours to this consistency and it has lumps then consider it a success and move on to the next step!
Pour this mixture into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let it cool to room temp. (straining it, if you need to:)

Just a side note here. This particular technique can lead to great things in your life...one of which is homemade gravy. Did you know that gravy is a food group? What? No one ever told you that?
Well, we shall just have to cover that another day too!!


While the milk mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until light.
Add in the milk/flour mixture and the vanilla extract and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes...

...until light and fluffy!!!

Whew, we have made it to the home stretch!!!
For the Ganache:
¼ cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (my favorite is ghiradelli dark chocolate chips)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

In a small saucepan heat cream over medium heat until steaming, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth adding the butter in small pieces until combined.


Personally, I heat both things in the microwave on very low heat just until the chips are soft, stir until they are combined, then add the butter. I am pretty sure I didn't measure this at 1/4 cup each...the important thing is equal parts chocolate and cream!
I must tell you, it looks pretty scary at first...like it is getting all separated and you might feel like crying...but if you have made it to this point then you made it past the hard whisking part, and you just need to hang in there 'cause you are almost to cake blissdom! I believe in you!!!
NEXT
Assemble the cake in layers of wonderfulness. Cake, cream filling, ganache.

deep dark chocolate cake, light and fluffy cream filling, smooth and dreamy ganache.

Yes, blissdom has been reached when the layers are finished. Wanna see it again, so you don't have to scroll all the way back up to the top? Ok here it is

I am telling you right now that this cake is worth the time and effort it takes to make it! You probably have all the ingredients on hand, all you need is a willing heart and hands. I just betcha if you make it you will get accolades beyond your wildest imagination! And really, who doesn't need more accolades? Am I right, or am I right?


I know I have posted everyday this week, but don't get used to that ok?! When I have time, or something is on my mind, or taste buds or my heart.....I will write. So until then, farewell and go make cake!

Printable Recipe

To soak or not to soak, that is the question.

I forgot to soak my beans.
I often forget to soak my beans.
I often forget to do many things but that is not our topic today.

Bean soaking is my chosen topic today. Hey, I told you I was weird yesterday, so you shouldn't be surprised today!
So, why do we soak beans anyway? Did your mom or grandmother soak her beans. Did you see it on a cooking show...soak your beans! Is it merely tradition which has us soaking our beans? WHY oh why do we soak our beans??? Am I the only one out there with these questions???



silence............crickets chirping........more silence......Yes, I probably am.
Somehow that amuses me.

I awoke some time in the middle of the night last night to the song from Fiddler on the Roof, Tradition. Yes, my measly little brain was wondering, as I slept, if soaking beans was done based on tradition or true need.
So, I had to get up and do some research. Not right then mind you, my computer is in my room, the screen faces the bed. Husband would probably not be too happy about me researching bean soaking at 2 in the morning. I calmed my rapidly beating heart and inquisitive brain and went back to sleep.

Well, this morning after getting the kids off to school, I hurried in to do the research I so craved.

Here is what I found out. Hang on, this is boring and you may fall asleep reading it!
Beans have phytates in them. You may also hear it called phytic acid (ha, or not....I had never heard either term before, but remember folks I am on a learning journey) This phytic acid is in our beans and decreases our ability to absorb the minerals found in the beans. Iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium are a few listed to be found in various beans. Apparently soaking beans helps to get rid of the evil phytates allowing for better mineral absorption when we eat the beans.
These minerals in our protein packed beans do a lot for our bodies, but the one thing that kept coming up was that they are depression busters! WHAT!!! So you are telling me I can soak my beans an be happier. Now that is some good news!

Many packages say to soak overnight. I read some research that said you can reduce the phytic acid levels by about the same amount by soaking the dry beans for about 3 hours at 140 degrees. Visit this page for a doctors research on this topic.
Now, if you are like me and laze around all day and have time to constantly meander back into the kitchen to add heated water to your beans to retain the temperature then by all means do that! I am soooo gonna make that my project next week. Otherwise soaking overnight does the trick!

So, there you have it folks.
Soaking beans may not be tradition but there is something to it after all.

Go forth, soak your beans, be happy!
The information in this blog is not meant to be used as medical advice!

I admit that I am weird right here in the title!

I set out today to find out once and for all (sing dramatically)
dun dun duuuunnnnh
dramatic pause...
If I am in fact a supertaster!

The at home test is relatively simple.
Take blue food dye, dab it on your tongue.
Place a piece of wax paper with a hole punched out of it on the blue area.
Using a magnifying glass count the number of fungiform papilae that you can see in the circle.
Easy right!


Wrong.

The first problem was that I could not for the life of me find a magnifying glass anywhere in my house.
Oh, I looked....and looked....and looked. I actually spent more time mentally cataloging where one might possibly be in the midst of all the other things I have to accomplish today...but look I did.
So, I thought, you know I think I will just do the test anyway. I bet you don't really need a magnifying glass to see the fungiform papilae.
Yes, I know it is a strange term and I am kind of grossed out by it...so from now on let's just call what we are attempting to count... taste buds!

So, I assembled all of the other stuff I needed for this test. Blue food dye, wax paper with the hole punched out, myself and my mirror.

I dabbed the blue dye on my tongue (eww it tastes yucky) and proceeded to try to count the fung....I mean taste buds. Are you kidding me? I tried all kinds of ways to figure out how to count those tiny little dots on my tongue. I finally tried transferring the data...kind of like a tongue print, onto a piece of paper. Uhhh, slobbery mess or too dry to read correctly. Man, if I only had a magnifying glass!


What I finally ended up with was a blue tongue, blue tinged fingers...and oh look right over there.... a recipe for Black Magic Cake. Doesn't that sound good. Hmmm let's see it calls for sugar....got that. Flour, yeah. Cocoa...uuhunh.

Alright...I admit it, what I finally ended up with was...well...nothing. I simply could not tell. I am kind of bummed because I do claim to be a supertaster and wanted hard evidence. Come to think of it though, I really shouldn't be so upset. There is no conclusive evidence in either direction, so I can go on with my proposed supposition and self imposed foodie label.

Anyhow, for all of you who know me, and spend time with me, and put up with my wacky food antics lets just keep pretending that I am. Okay?
Thanks, I knew I could count on you.

Let's make a point to meet back here at some later date and super taste that Black Magic Cake, I bet we will have no trouble determining if it is good or not!

Walking and Flipping

So, my oldest son asked me this morning..."What are you going to blog about today?" I replied "baby steps and pancake cooking." Strange look from child followed by "Uh yeah Mom that will be great, talk about walking?" He kinda laughed and shook his head at me. Bah, almost- teenagers what do they know.
This blog opened up a lot of conversation at the dinner table last night, much of which was filled with hilarity, and much of which was a balm to my Mommy soul.
See, I have recently pretty radically changed what I will and will not buy to feed my family. For example when I told the family there would be no more high fructose corn syrup in our house, aforementioned child (who at the time was uuuuhhhh let's see, YES 11 and a half) burst into tears. No, really I am serious. The child loves his high fructose. That meant no more pop-tarts!! GASP (ok, yes I fed my kids pop-tarts and thought nothing of it) It also meant not having many other things which up to that point I had never actually read the label on.
This child last night spoke loud and proud recalling the dismal time which he thought he would never overcome. "This eating healthier thing is like, really working out fine Mom!" "I mean, like I stay like fuller longer and like feel like I have like more energy." (That probably wasn't an exact quote, but as close as I can remember)
Sooooo, I said all that to say...I want to be walking in a healthier direction for myself and for my cherished family. I sure don't know all there is to know about much of anything, but I do consider myself one who is seeking knowledge. I want to know better and healthier and kinder and more loving and more than anything else to be more like Jesus.
So, come and take baby steps with me as I walk along on a road fraught with hazards. If I am not walking and messing up then I am not growing...and either are you! Well, I suppose I will talk more about that later.

Now, there were some questions about this recipe. I chose to write out the one that I thought would be most kid friendly and easily used. Any of you out there who cook up a storm, well you just feel free to do with it what you want, after all that is what I did...taking the bits and pieces of recipes that were interesting and combining them to make this one. So these were the talking points that deserve more attention.
*You are more than welcome to use a full 2 cups of buttermilk should you have that on hand and want to put that in. I made 3 batches of pancakes....one like that and 2 with the curdled milk water combo. There was not enough difference in the batter or outcome to make me want to choose to do it that way only. Give it a try either way and see what you like.
*If you don't have a food processor or only have old fashioned oats.....HA good luck getting your kids to eat them. Oh wait, I didn't mean to say that. I meant to say that is a perfectly fine option though the outcome will have more "tooth", which frankly my kids would whine about so why fight that battle.
*The addition of corn starch was an effort to mimic cake flour which I never have on hand. It is an attempt at light and fluffy. I did think it aided in this!

On to pancake cooking! Now, if you are a pro at this and have made plenty of pancakes and don't care to hear detailed instructions then please by all means move on. This following is meant to be a tutorial for the pancake newbie and is not meant by any means to belittle you grand chefs out there; that is why I put the meat of the post at the top! So bye now to some... and step right over here and pay close attention to others.

Ok so pretend we just finished making our pancake batter. There it is in the bowl ready to hit the griddle, or flat pan, or whatever you happen to have that will hold pancakes. I set my temp to 6 (out of 10) and let my pan heat up. Now... I have a non stick griddle pan. I HIGHLY recommend a non stick pan for this. I have found that I only have to spray my pan for the very first round of cakes then I am good to go.

I used a 1/4 cup measure to scoop my batter onto the griddle pouring it and then spreading it out a bit so that the final outcome wasn't too puffy. I don't like to take the chance on the middle not being done because they are too fluffy.

Ok now see here it is on the pan. Notice that it is shiny all over, that is important! It is thinking about beginning to do this cute little bubbling trick. I am serious....look at the next photo....


Just look at all of those cute little bubbles. You are tempted to turn the pancake now because you are panicking thinking the other side has got to be burning while you are just standing there watching cute bubbles burst. Fear not pancake maker...it is not time to turn. Ahhh ha ha, I can so hear my husband doing his Yoda impersonation here "Flip not the pancake young padawan"
So, let those initial bubbles burst and wait for some more. Not all of them will burst. That is not your signal to turn. Move on to the next picture though and look closely.
See the pancake to the left. Do you see how the edges are no longer shiney? I know it is a fine subtlety but it is there. Do you know you can click on a photo to see it bigger....go ahead and do that and look closely. I will wait for you...go ahead.

Did you see it. That little bit of dullness in the batter just around the edges. THAT is your signal to flip. Just look at his friend right next to him....gorgeous pancake perfection!!!

You are on your own for the other side! Sorry but that is the truth. You just give it a bit then pick up the little edge with your spatula and give it a little glance. A little practice and you will be a pancake pro!!
Let me know about your trials and successes! Oh, I forgot to mention...Yes, the pancakes were eaten and liked here! Trial 1 Success 1 good score don't ya think!