Mango and Banana Pancakes

They had some really nice looking mangos at the grocery store this weekend and I could not resist picking up a bunch of them. I remembered seeing a recipe for mango pancakes at more than burnt toast that sounded good. The recipe called for coconut milk and an overripe banana for some extra layers of flavour. I had also been wanting to try experimenting with cardamom and I liked the idea of using some in the pancakes. The pancakes were pretty good! They were nice and moist and light and full of flavour. I could easily have eaten them by themselves but I added some extras. I topped the mango pancakes with some pieces of mango, sliced banana, chopped macadamia nuts and some pureed mango. Of course I had to work maple syrup into the dish somehow so I added some to the mango puree.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cardamom (ground)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 mango (stoned and peeled 1/2 mashed and 1/2 cubed)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 overripe banana (mashed)

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.
2. Mix the mango puree, coconut milk, milk, egg, butter and banana in another bowl.
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients.
4. Heat a pan and melt a touch of butter in it.
5. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan and cook until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Flip the pancake and cook the other side until the bottom is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

Roasted Asparagus and Red Pepper Farro Salad

I have been hearing a lot about whole grains lately and I have been trying to eat them more often. One of my favorite ways to enjoy whole grains is to use them as the base of a salad. Last weekend I picked up some farro and I had to try using it to make a salad. I had some locally grown asparagus so they were a no brainer and went in. I decided to roast the asparagus to maximize its flavour and since I had the oven on anyways I tossed in some red peppers. I like to use beans in my whole grain salads and I thought that chickpeas would go well in this one. Of course I just had to add some feta. This farro salad turned out really well. I enjoyed the chewy texture of the farro. It was kind of like al dente pasta. I liked this salad so much that I made it again except with quinoa. The quinoa version had a lighter texture and tasted just as good as the farro version.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound asparagus (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 roasted red pepper (sliced)
1 cup farro (cooked as directed)
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup feta (crumbled)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Toss the asparagus in the olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Roast the asparagus in a preheated 425F oven for about 10 minutes.
3. Mix the asparagus, red pepper, farro, chickpeas, and feta in a large bowl.
4. Mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
5. Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss to coat.

Similar Recipes:
Tabbouleh
Aztec Quinoa Salad

Take a look at the No Croutons Require roundup at Tinned Tomatoes.

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

I recently came across the concept of a roasted garlic vinaigrette and it sounded really good! It just so happened that I had some roasted garlic and I decided to make the vinaigrette. I also had some roasted garlic olive oil that I used in place of the regular olive oil. The roasted garlic vinaigrette was really tasty! I enjoyed it on salads and asparagus this week. The asparagus was some of the first of the locally grown asparagus that showed up at the farmers market for the first time on the weekend.

Ingredients:
1 head roasted garlic (mashed)
1/4 cup roasted garlic olive oil (or olive oil)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mix everything in a small bowl.





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Oven Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Since it had been a bit warmer lately, I thought that it was time to bring my ice cream maker out of hibernation. Vanilla ice cream is my favorite ice cream and since I had picked up some vanilla beans a while ago and I had been impatiently waiting to make some. I started with my basic ice cream recipe and added a few extra egg yolks to make it even creamier. By the time the mixture was done cooking it was really thick like custard and I could have eaten it all just like that with a spoon. But my goal was vanilla ice cream and not vanilla custard. I used some vanilla sugar that I had made myself by placing the used vanilla bean pods into the container with the sugar. The vanilla bean ice cream turned out really well. It was nice and creamy and the vanilla flavour was nice and strong, just the way I like it. The ice cream was full of nice dark flecks of vanilla bean. I don't seem to have much luck taking photos of ice cream. It always seems to melt before I get a shot that I like.

Ingredients:
1 vanilla bean pod
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cups vanilla sugar
4 egg yolks

Directions:
1. Slice the vanilla bean open lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
2. Heat the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a sauce pan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to low.
4. Add one table spoon of the cream mixture to the eggs to temper them.
5. Add the egg mixture to the sauce pan.
6. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.
7. You may want to strain the mixture at this point to remove any bits that may have formed while cooking.
8. Chill the mixture in the fridge.
9. Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.

Similar Recipes:
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Lamb Chops with Pomegranate and Red Wine Sauce

A while ago I picked up some pomegranate molasses and since then I had only used it once to make some dukkah crusted pomegranate marinated cod. I really enjoyed the pomegranate molasses and I had been itching to use it again. Since I had also been enjoying lamb recently this recipe for lamb chops with pomegranate and red wine sauce grabbed my attention. The lamb chops and sauce came together in less than a half an hour. I made sure to cook the lamb until it was just medium rare and it was nice and tender and juicy. The sauce was tasty and the pomegranate flavour really came through. The honey balanced out the tartness of the pomegranate molasses and the acidity of the balsamic vinegar creating a really nice flavour combination. Of course the rosemary went well in the sauce and I could not resist using fresh to add just a touch of green to the sauce. I served the lamb with some steamed asparagus and apricot couscous.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons oil
4 lamb chops
salt and pepper to taste
3 shallots (chopped)
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup stock
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon butter
a pinch of rosemary (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper.
3. Add the lamb chops to the pan and cook until they reach the desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side to get a thick chop to medium rare.
4. Set the lamb aside.
5. Add the shallots and saute for 1 minute.
6. Add the red wine and deglaze the pan.
7. Add the stock, pomegranate molasses, balsamic vinegar, honey, butter and rosemary, salt and pepper.
8. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer until it thickens to form a sauce, about 6-10 minutes.
9. Pour the sauce over the lamb.



Similar Recipes:
Lamb Chops in Cherry and Port Sauce
Grilled Lamb Chops in Red Currant and Rosemary Sauce

Take a look at the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup at A Scientist in the Kitchen.

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp is one of my favorite foods and I am always looking for new ways to try it. I have been seeing recipes shrimp scampi for a while and I had been wanting to try it. Shrimp scampi is simply shrimp cooked in butter and garlic with a bit of lemon and white wine. I don't think you can go wrong with prawns, butter and garlic. I figured if I was going to cook the shrimp in a butter and garlic sauce that I would make a lot of the sauce, enough to smother the shrimp and pasta with some left over to soak up with bread. The shrimp scampi was really easy to make and it came together in no time. The shrimp were juicy and succulent and the butter and garlic sauce was really tasty. The touch of heat from chili was nice and the lemon and parsley made everything seem a little lighter and fresher. I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/4 cup white wine
1 lemon (juice and zest)
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound linguini (cooked)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped, optional)
1 tablespoon parmigiano reggiano (grated, optional)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the chili flakes and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the shrimp and saute until cooked, about 1-3 minutes per side.
4. Remove the shrimp from the pan.
5. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.
6. Simmer the liquid until reduced by about half, about 3-5 minutes.
7. Add the butter, wait for it to melt and turn off the heat.
8. Add the shrimp, pasta and parsley and toss to coat.
9. Serve with a garnish of parmigiano reggiano if you wish.

Take a look at the Presto Pasta Nights roundup at Once Upon a Feast.

Cinnamon Bread

Cinnamon had been on my mind a lot and I knew that the only way ease my thoughts would be to indulge in it. I went through my bookmarks looking far a recipe that was full of cinnamon and found this one for a cinnamon loaf that sounded really good. This loaf is a plain quick bread with layers of cinnamon and a cinnamon topping. The recipe called for a full two heaping tablespoons of cinnamon which is more that I have ever used at once. This quick bread was a bit more work than most as it called for mixing the ingredients a bit at a time and pouring the ingredients into the loaf pan in layers. Despite the extra effort required it was still really easy to do. The smell of baking cinnamon is just amazing! The cinnamon bread turned out really good. It was light and fluffy and moist. The cinnamon layers were thick and full of cinnamon flavour and the cinnamon top was nice and fragrant and crumbly. Though the thoughts of cinnamon have receded for the moment, I am thinking that a rolled yeast based cinnamon bread is in my future.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl.
3. Beat in the eggs, salt, vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Mix 1/2 of the buttermilk into the wet ingredients.
6. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
7. Mix the remaining buttermilk into the wet ingredients.
8. Mix 1/3 the remaining dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
9. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
10. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
11. Pour 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top.
12. Pour 1/3 of the batter on top.
13. Pour 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top.
14. Pour the remaining batter on top.
15. Pour the remaining cinnamon mixture on top.
16. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about an hour.