Soaked Whole Grains--Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

Once upon a time I happened upon this web site. It expounds the benefits of soaking your whole grains before you use them, for nutritional benefit and what not. I don't know about nutritional benefits (if they really are all that), but I can say that it seems to improve the final texture and taste of the finished product. The short of the story is this: soak your whole grains in an acid medium for at least 12 hours before cooking with them. An acid medium can include cultured buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, and vinegar (1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar per 1 cup of water). Heat the acid medium to bath-water temperature before adding it, then let it soak at room temperature for at least 12 hours. And leaving buttermilk out on the counter overnight is not going to make you sick. Anyway, you can find more details and recipes on the web site. Here's something that I tried this morning. Note: do remember that you have to start it the night before. I added blueberries as well, and topped them with strawberries. They were REALLY good. :)


Whole Wheat-Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes

1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups cultured buttermilk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 banana, mashed

Place the rolled oats into the jar of a blender and blend until the texture resembles coarse flour.

Combine the blended oats, whole wheat flour, and buttermilk. Allow so soak at room temperature for at least 12 hours.

Whisk together all-purpose flour, brown sugar, dry milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Whisk together the egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana. Add to buttermilk mixture. Add dry flour mixture and stir just until moistened.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Broccoli Salad

I'm not a huge fan of raw broccoli or onions, but I really like this salad. Use any kind of nut or seed you like (sunflower seeds, cashews, here I used toasted walnuts). I love the colors in this salad, too. To make it healthier, replace half the mayo with lain low-fat yogurt and reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup or so. Still delicious. You could try turkey bacon, too, but I'm afraid that would take the deliciousness down a notch.


2 heads fresh broccoli
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup raisins or craisins
3/4 cup your favorite nuts of seeds
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Cut the broccoli into bite-size. Combine with the onion, bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix well.

To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Chill for at least an hour. Stir into the salad and serve.

I only stirred in enough dressing to cover the salad, and I actually had quite a bit left over. I find that much more appealing than to have the broccoli swimming in dressing, but do what you want.

Pao de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread)

After my husband and I went to Tucanos (a Brazilian grill) we kept craving their cheese puff rolls. So we found this recipe to try, and it's pretty close. Evidently, to be really authentic to Brazil, you'd have to use Queijo Minas, but it's not available in the US. But Parmesan is pretty good, too. Some people say to use half Parmesan and half Mozzarella, but I haven't tried so I don't know. Do what you want! Also, you can find manioc flour (aka manioc starch, or tapioca starch/flour) in any Mexican or Asian food market, or probably also in the specialty food section of your grocery store, though it's probably cheaper at an Asian or Mexican market.


3 cups sweet manioc starch or sour manioc starch
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring the milk, salt, and oil to a boil. Remove from heat. Slowly add manioc starch, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed. Add the cheese and eggs. Knead until smooth.

Form into balls approximately 2-inches in diameter and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until golden brown (15-20 minutes).

Eat while hot.

P.S. Manioc flour is NOT like wheat flour. These rolls will not be light and fluffy, but have more of a rubbery, cheesy texture. It's delicious. Trust me.