a fresh start

If you're here, that means you've followed me through a long journey of discovering myself, and discovering an even deeper respect for food than I thought I had. Thank you.

Let's begin.

We're starting with pancakes. Everyone loves pancakes, and they can be so simple! And this version is full of texture, delicious, easy, and really good for you. And with my blackberry kiwi sauce on top with a little dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream, you won't be going back to a box mix again.

 This recipe is based on a basic pancake recipe, which is inspired by Japanese-style hot cakes. Japanese hot cakes are thick and sweet and fluffy, with lots of vanilla fragrance. They're often eaten as an afternoon snack instead of breakfast. In our house, we eat them for pretty much any meal of the day.

This version, though, has things like wheat germ and cornmeal and yogurt that make you feel pretty good about letting yourself take another one. And with some fresh fruit sauce on top, you might even be ok with adding a little dollop of whipped cream. This is my kind of mid-week breakfast. Easy, tasty, and good for you.

Multi-grain pancakes with blackberry-kiwi sauce

for the pancakes:
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar or maple syrup)
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup low fat milk
2 tablespoons light olive oil or canola oil (or other light tasting oil--or butter, of course)
1 large egg
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F; have an oven proof platter ready in the oven to keep cooked pancakes warm while you finish your batch. In a small bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together honey, yogurt, milk, oil, and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix).
3. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Using a paper towel folded and moistened with canola oil, rub the griddle with very light coat of oil.
4. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter onto the oiled griddle, using the back of a spoon to spread the batter into a round. (*hint: if you spray the back of the spoon with cooking spray, it won't stick to the batter)
5. Cook until surface of the pancakes have some bubbles. Flip over and cook until the other side is lightly browned, 1 to 2 more minutes. Transfer to the platter in the oven. Serve warm.

for the sauce:
8~10 oz fresh blackberries, washed
4 kiwi, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey

1. In a medium saucepan, add all of the ingredients. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until fruit begins to break down and soften, about 5 minutes. Break fruit pieces with the wooden spoon as you stir. (*hint: using a potato masher will make this job a lot easier and faster)
2. Turn the heat to medium-low, and let the fruit mixture thicken. (At this point, you want to taste it to make sure it's the right sweetness. Depending on how in-season the fruit is, you might want to add some more agave nectar for sweetness or a little squeeze of citrus for brightness) Once it reaches the desired thickness, take off heat and let cool slightly. Serve over hot pancakes.