Buckwheat Almond Buttermilk Pancakes {Recipe}

I have a problem with pancakes. It seems to run in the family because my father has the same issue. We can't eat a stack with syrup without a dramatic drop in blood sugar that makes our tummies feel sick and our heads spin.

But like every good child, Lil loves pancakes. Alex likes them too - as long as they are light and fluffy.

I've tried adding ricotta or pumpkin and using whole wheat flour, but pancakes always got the best of me. Until last Saturday when I created a buckwheat pancake recipe.

I combined samples of Shagbark Mill's local, organic, freshly milled buckwheat flour with Bob's Red Mill new almond flour as a base with buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs. The resulting buckwheat almond buttermilk pancakes are light and airy with an earthy, slightly soured taste. Fat + higher fiber and protein flours = a breakfast I can enjoy! Alex liked the fluffiness and Lil approved of the flavor.

As a bonus, this recipe can be naturally gluten-free if you use flours that aren't processed on shared equipment.

Buckwheat Almond Buttermilk Pancakes Makes: 24 3-inch pancakes Time: 20-30 minutes

1 1/2 cup freshly ground buckwheat flour 1/2 cup almond flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 cup cultured low-fat buttermilk (you may need to add 1/4 cup additional buttermilk if not using freshly ground buckwheat flour) 2 eggs Fat or oil for frying (I used lard)

1. In a large bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. 2. Melt butter in a glass liquid measure in the microwave or small pot on the stove top. Stir buttermilk and eggs into the butter. 3. Pour wet ingredients into dry, stirring just until combined. 4. Heat a cast iron pan or griddle on the stove over medium. Melt fat or oil over the surface and drop batter by 1/4 cup fulls. Cook for 1-2 minutes, flip once, and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for providing samples of their new line of nut meals and flours.

Buckwheat Almond Buttermilk Pancakes {Recipe}

I have a problem with pancakes. It seems to run in the family because my father has the same issue. We can't eat a stack with syrup without a dramatic drop in blood sugar that makes our tummies feel sick and our heads spin.

But like every good child, Lil loves pancakes. Alex likes them too - as long as they are light and fluffy.

I've tried adding ricotta or pumpkin and using whole wheat flour, but pancakes always got the best of me. Until last Saturday when I created a buckwheat pancake recipe.

I combined samples of Shagbark Mill's local, organic, freshly milled buckwheat flour with Bob's Red Mill new almond flour as a base with buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs. The resulting buckwheat almond buttermilk pancakes are light and airy with an earthy, slightly soured taste. Fat + higher fiber and protein flours = a breakfast I can enjoy! Alex liked the fluffiness and Lil approved of the flavor.

As a bonus, this recipe can be naturally gluten-free if you use flours that aren't processed on shared equipment.

Buckwheat Almond Buttermilk Pancakes Makes: 24 3-inch pancakes Time: 20-30 minutes

1 1/2 cup freshly ground buckwheat flour 1/2 cup almond flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 cup cultured low-fat buttermilk (you may need to add 1/4 cup additional buttermilk if not using freshly ground buckwheat flour) 2 eggs Fat or oil for frying (I used lard)

1. In a large bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. 2. Melt butter in a glass liquid measure in the microwave or small pot on the stove top. Stir buttermilk and eggs into the butter. 3. Pour wet ingredients into dry, stirring just until combined. 4. Heat a cast iron pan or griddle on the stove over medium. Melt fat or oil over the surface and drop batter by 1/4 cup fulls. Cook for 1-2 minutes, flip once, and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for providing samples of their new line of nut meals and flours.

Probiotic Ranch Dressing Recipe with Food Bloggers Against Hunger

Have you ever been hungry? Really hungry like the 16.2 million kids in America who are food-insecure living in families without the means to regularly put nutritious food on the table?

I'm hangry when I forget to eat a big breakfast before becoming immersed in a project and suddenly it's two pm and I want to eat RIGHT NOW. I was hangry yesterday, in fact. I was surrounded by healthy food; I only had to stop a moment to prepare and eat it and my belly would be full. I thankfully have never been truly hungry.

But 48.8 million Americans struggled with hunger at some time during the year 2010. 1 in 4 Americans used at least one of the 15 USDA food and nutrition assistance programs. While many local food advocates like me disagree with some of the food choices available in some USDA nutrition programs, there's no denying that any food, even factory-farmed food, is better than no food at all for those who are hungry.

A country as great as America is cannot stay this way when children and families are hungry. Children cannot learn in school, crime and domestic unrest increase, and our national productivity declines when people are unable to meet their most basic needs.

My family delivers food donations to our local food pantry. We plant extra rows in our garden and share our harvest. The farmers' markets I work at collect fresh seasonal food for donations. But this type of charity is clearly not enough to meet the need when food pantries are inundated with hungry families.

To truly eliminate hunger, governmental leaders must continue to address and fund anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs. Take 30 seconds now to send a letter to Congress lending your voice to the cause.

When you have a little more time, consider the new film A Place At The Table documenting the complex problem of hunger in America. Accompanied by the music of T Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars, the picture also promotes solutions. Find a viewing of the film in your city or on demand through iTunes and Amazon.

Today, April 8, food bloggers around the world are sharing recipes to address hunger. I am proud to contribute my recipe for probiotic ranch dressing to the Food Bloggers Against Hunger project.

One way my family saves money at the grocery and adds flexibility to our dining is by making our own salad dressings. A bottle of dressing is at least a few dollars at the store and often includes manufactured oils, sugars, and stabilizers that I would prefer not to feed my family. The ingredients to make simple, fresh dressings at home are cheaper and healthier.

We whisk together this buttermilk ranch dressing recipe frequently because it pairs well with fresh greens in season now and is useful as a dipping sauce too. It uses buttermilk and sour cream, both full of live active cultures that can aid digestion.

Probiotic Ranch Dressing Time: 2 minutes active, 30 minutes inactive  Makes: 1 cup

1/2 cup buttermilk with live active cultures 1/2 cup sour cream with live active cultures 1-2 teaspoons minced garlic chives (can be grown from a sprouting garlic clove planted in a pot of dirt or foraged from your backyard if you are lucky like us and they grow wild in your area) 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley or 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano flakes 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper salt to taste

1. Mix all ingredients. Adjust consistency to your liking by adding more sour cream for a thicker dressing or more buttermilk for thinner dressing. 2. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes to allow flavors to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. 3. Serve within one week.

Sorta Scones {Recipe}

The urge to make scones hit me in early January. I wanted a perfect-for-me scone: not greasy, not overly sweet, full of whole ingredients, and easy to pull together in the morning before breakfast. I made many batches of scones and finally came up with this recipe.

Alas, Alex doesn't think they are scones. He says they are more like muffins without the shape or biscuits without the fluff. Out the other side of his scone-crumbed mouth he admits that it doesn't matter what I call them so long as I keep making them. Done and done!

These scones are a breakfast or tea time treat. Lil likes them with chocolate, so I use fair trade dark chips, the healthiest chocolate choice. With whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and less fat than most recipes, enjoy my real food interpretation of scones.

Sorta Scones

Makes: 6 Time: 30 minutes 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 cup white whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup cultured buttermilk 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips or a combination thereof

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Mix flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. 3. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until mix resembles fine meal. 4. In a liquid measuring cup, measure buttermilk. Add egg and beat lightly with a fork. Pour vanilla into this liquid measure. 5. Mix together liquids into flours, stirring just until mixed. Add dried fruit, nuts, or chips and stir to distribute evenly. Do not over mix. 6. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Dough will be sticky but use floured hands to gently form into a round. 7. Cut round into six equal triangles. Place each on a silicone- or parchment-lined baking sheet. 8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned on top. Serve warm.

Added to Simple Lives Thursday.