Whenever I'm at home, I make breakfast for my dad. I think that habit started a couple years ago when I would nag him to eat more oatmeal for his high blood pressure. I make a pretty decent oatmeal, if I do say so myself, fancying it up with a good splash of milk for satisfying creaminess and dried fruit and maple syrup for natural sweetness.
Anyway, that's not to say that I don't throw in a few things in the mix. I often make pancakes and french toast when the morning calls for something a little more fabulous... Yes, I call them Amber's fabulous pancakes because, well, they simply are so. Not only are they relatively healthy, but they flaunt something different everytime. Made with a mix of flours (whole wheat and regular), these pancakes might be dressed up with nutty toasted walnuts one day, decadent chocolate chips the next, bright citrus zest another and maybe even all three at once! I basically take the recipe base and add whatever I want to it.
Amber's fabulous pancakes
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 T. oil
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 T. maple syrup (or other sweetener)
1 t. vanilla
fabulous additions: toasted walnuts, cinnamon, citrus zest, chocolate chips, bananas, dried fruit -- be creative!!
Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in the other and any of your additions (except bananas, they should be sliced and placed on top of the pancakes when they're on the pan/griddle). Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture in. Stir until JUST combined (overmixing will result in tough, yucky pancakes). Use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour onto a pan/griddle on medium high heat. Cook about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Serve with REAL maple syrup (please, not the imitation kind).
Another of my dad's favorite is french toast. I mean, who doesn't love how the fragrant eggy vanilla goodness soaks up the bread that's then lightly browned? I usually use regular sliced bread (if it's frozen, just let the slices thaw first), but today I had a french baguette so I just used that. It's so darn easy and cheap I almost want to cry when people are willing to pay $7 or whatever for a plate of questionably made stuff from IHOP. Whatever floats your boat folks -- here's my version of french toast.
Cut 4 1/4-inch slices from a french loaf at an angle so you have slices with a pretty large surface area (or just use plain sliced toasting bread that you have), set aside. In a flat bowl (one where a slice of the bread is able to sit in), whisk 2 eggs, 3 T. milk, 1 T. maple syrup (or other sweetener), 1/2 t. vanilla, 1/2 t. cinnamon. Dip each slice of bread in this mixture, both sides so that they're well coated, but not soaked. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown, about 4 minutes each side. Serve with REAL maple syrup.
Lastly, let me talk a little bit about one of my favorite things -- dou sa bao zi. These steamed delicacies are lovingly prepared by my mom. They are basically a bun that is filled with redbean paste then shaped and steamed so it acquires a spongy, airy texture. There really isn't anything like it and I really hope I 'm one day able to make these completely on my own so that I can enjoy them home-made well into my old age!
Mom makes the dough and after letting it rise, shapes it into rounds and rolls them flat.
Then she takes the redbean filling and places a cute dollop in the center of each flattened round. She takes the edges and pinches them into their characteristic bao zi shape and gives them a final rise.
They are them steamed for 20 minutes in our metal steamer...
And voila! Plump and slightly sweet, I can't ask for a better treat. Mom had extra dough and made man tou out of them (basically a plain steamed roll) and packed them up in a ziploc baggy for me... whooopeeee!!!
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