Farmer J's Goat Milk Pancakes

It always happens this way. You're hosting out-of-town-guests, all excited to show them your hometown.

And, then . . . it's actually your visiting niece who discovers the snakes- much to her cousins's delight- in your stone wall. Or your sister who leads everyone to a secret park in downtown Edgartown.

My sister's crew also introduced us to a nearby goat farm during their recent visit. (Don't get her started on the health benefits of goat milk!)

At this tiny farm, our children fed grass to 'Lily' and her kid, 'Honey Pots'. My sister and I happily forked over some dollars, via the honors system, for fresh goat milk and cheese.

When we got home, we made goat ice cream. Later, we savored crumbled goat cheese over arugula salad.

Best of all, the next morning we made this simple pancake recipe. The goat farmer's, J's, go-to recipe, actually. . .

Farmer J's Goat Milk Pancakes
serves 6
2 c flour (we used 1 c spelt, 1 c all-purpose)
2 T baking powder
2 eggs
2 c goat's milk
3 T melted, cooled butter
3 T cottage cheese
we added:
1/2 t salt
1 T sweetener (local honey/maple syrup/sugar)
1 t vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, butter, vanilla, cottage cheese and honey/syrup.
Combine dry & wet ingredients, stirring until just incorporated.

Cook 'em up! Then, wash and return those milk jars :)

I was surprised that nothing tasted super-goaty! And so pleased to support this local, healthful food effort. We'll be back to see Ole' Lily and Honey Pots again!

PS We miss you, kiwi-cousins!

Grain-free Silva Dollars (or How to Silence a Group of 8)

My sister from New Zealand has been visiting with her family. It's been a happy, crazy time as we love on our four children combined, ages 5 & under. Highlights have included mini golf, beach dates, farm tours and of course pancakes.

Even though they're paleo and my little family has food allergies, we still managed to created this crowd-pleasing, high-protein batch.

Grain-free Silva Dollars (or How to Silence a Group of 8)
adapted from Nourished Kitchen
serves about 8 (about 20 silver dollar pancakes)

Ingredients
8 large eggs
4 T applesauce
2 T honey
1/2 to 1 c coconut flour
1 t unrefined sea salt
1 t baking soda
ghee or coconut oil (for frying pancakes)
cinnamon (for sprinkling the pancakes)




Instructions
Mix eggs, applesauce and honey into a food processor and pulse until slightly mixed. Add coconut flour, salt and baking soda slowly to the liquid ingredients and process until they form a firm batter that is still liquid enough to pour off a spoon. (Or you can just do it really fast by hand like us!)

Melt ghee or coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium to medium-low heat. Pour a heaping tablespoon of the pancake batter into the hot fat, sprinkle with cinnamon. Gently fry the pancake for a few minutes, until browned on the bottom; flip the pancake and fry for a further one to two minutes.

Serve with honey, fruit or yogurt. Enjoy!

I'm thinking pancakes have got to be the easiest way to cook for 8! 

Back-to-School Egg-free Pancakes

We're always crowing about our farm eggs around here, aren't we?
We do realize, though, that not everyone can or wants to eat eggs. O has allergies to nuts while some of his new preschool and soccer buddies have other allergies.
Here is a recipe that anyone, with or without an egg or nut allergy, preschooler or "grown-up", will love. And want to make again and again.

 On your left, you'll see a flash of red between O's school and the garden.
That's him running to the door on his first day last week!

First day of soccer, last week, too! (In red again!)

Back-to-School Egg-free Pancakes

adapted slightly from Art of Dessert

serves 4
1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c oat flour

1/4 c sweetener of choice (date sugar/local honey/pure maple syrup)
1 1/2 T baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
2 c milk of choice (whole milk recommended)
1/4 c organic coconut, olive or grapeseed oil
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c melted butter (for vegan, you can use melted coconut oil/applesauce)

Sift together flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, oil and orange juice. (If using a liquid sweetener like honey or syrup, add it now.) Slowly add in the melted butter. Combine with the dry ingredients. 

Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto a hot nonstick pan. (This batter tends to bubble up and thicken due to the baking powder. You can gently stir it to break down some of the bubbles to bring it back to a pour-able consistency.) Cook until you see a few bubbles rise to the surface and it's dry around the edges, then flip over to cook the other side until lightly browned. 

Serve with butter and maple syrup. (Shh: we've been substituting organic coconut oil for butter lately and no one has complained.)


Wishing all a wondrous, inspired school year!
I am excited for O to build with outdoor blocks, play violin and bake bread with classmates, but I must admit I am now missing his constant company, endless questions and general sweetness.
Our pancake ritual already has more meaning than last week.

Beach Plum Syrup

Shlepping a cooler, a baby, sandpails and wet towels, we are finally ready to leave Lambert's Cove Beach. My little guys and I embark on the long trek down the beach, up a dune and through the woods to our car.

We've overstayed. And bedtimes are dangerously approaching.

In our defense, that thing that happens happened tonight: Lamberts Cove just gets nicer and nicer as the afternoon flows into evening. As the summer winds down, this only happens more intensely.

A perfect August scene: warm, wind-less and dry makes us feel like there is nowhere else on earth we'd rather be.

And, then oblivious to the bedtime rituals that await, O starts picking beach plums. Still clutching the heavy bags and wiggly baby, as the clock nears 7pm, I feel the powdery sand under my feet and let him lead me into dunes to pick from the low bushes.

Without a word, we both know where our precious blue, purple and rosy plums are going . . .

Right into our Sunday morning.

Usually featured in jams, meat sauces or liquors, we dropped these antioxidant & vitamin c-rich plums into a sweet breakfast sauce.

Beach Plum Syrup
serves 4
1 T local honey
1 big handful of beach plums, pitted & halved
1 T+ water
1 t orange zest

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat ingredients for about ten minutes. 

Serve over your favorite breakfast carbs with a kiss of maple syrup. The lively flavor, vivid color and memories of plum-picking are sure to give your morning a boost.


PS Our pancake ritual was featured in Simplicity Parenting's newsletter this month. We are so pleased and honored!

August Corncakes with Warm Cherry Sauce

 I have fond memories of buying corn from roadside stands on Long Island for 10 cents each. Sadly, corn has gotten some well-deserved bad press in recent years. (I've learned why it only cost 10 cents!)

We now only buy it from nearby Morning Glory Farm. Their corn is famously flavorful, sweet and free of GMO's. For weeks and weeks, we eat it ear after ear-  usually grilled at barbecues and again in the next day's salads.

We are also dazzled by juicy summer cherries. Especially since O has discovered 

the delight of cherry-pit-pitting at the beach! Today's recipe combines these two summer stars in a worthy pancake recipe.

August Corncakes with Warm Cherry Sauce 
serves 4
slightly adapted from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck
1 c organic cornmeal
1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t sea salt
1 1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
2 T olive oil
optional 1/2 c of leftover corn from last night's BBQ

cherry sauce
2 c sweet pitted cherries
(10 ounces; do not thaw if using frozen)
1/4 c plus 1 T water
1/4 c honey
2 t orange zest
3 whole cloves
2 t cornstarch

For pancakes: whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and olive oil. Pour buttermilk mixture over dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix- some small lumps should remain. Let rest for 10 minutes. (It's fine to let it sit overnight, too.)

For cherry sauce: Combine cherries, 1/4 c water and honey, orange zest and cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, cover partially and let flavors meld for at least 10 minutes. Combine cornstarch and remaining 1 T water in a small bowl. Add to saucepan with cherries and bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring gently. Cook until mixture thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve. Or prepare up to 3 days ahead and warm before serving.

To make pancakes, heat greased griddle over medium heat. When a drop of water sizzles and briskly evaporates on surface, add 1/4 c batter per pancake. Cook until edges look dry and bottoms turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden, about 1 minute.
Continue . . .

Enjoy your final week of August! We're hoping to make a Menemsha sunset this week and just hang on to our final days together-- chowing corn and spitting cherry pits.


[Caution- Soapbox moment . . . I think if we want kiddos to eat well- a way to start is trying simple twists on everyday favorites. Some different flavors, textures, colors. These pancakes might be a good start. Then a chickpea-kale-feta-farro dish may seem way less scary!]

Wild Berry Millet Pancakes topped with Frozen Yogurt

Our family is all abuzz about the upcoming fair, which is celebrating its 153rd anniversary. It is exciting-- watching rides arrive and wondering if O will be tall enough to ride the Ferris wheel this year. There's been a lot of talk about entering our paintings, nature crafts, muffins and more.

Yesterday, when we matted my raspberry photograph (above) for fairy entry, we learned from the cashier at  Educomp Art Supply Store that these were actually wineberries. A relative of the raspberry.

Whatever they are, these thimble-shaped berries with a pleasingly tart taste make us grin each day we pick and eat them.

Who knows if my photos or O's nature mobile will be blue ribbon-worthy? We'll find out in a few days at the Fair. We only wish the Fair had a pancake category- these wild berry millet pancakes are sure winners. On second thought, they could easily pass for dessert  . . .

Wild Berry Millet Pancakes topped with Frozen Yogurt
slightly adapted from Simply Organic
serves 4
1/3 c millet
2 eggs
1 1/3 c buttermilk
1/4 maple syrup
2 T neutral oil (we chose organic coconut oil- you could use olive oil)
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c whole grain pastry flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t sea salt
1 pint raspberries, wineberries, any berries!
1 pint frozen vanilla yogurt (we used coconut milk ice cream 'cause that what we had on hand)

Hello, Ancient Millet!

We love you for your mild, nutty flavor and wealth of protein, nutrients and fiber.

Toast millet in a medium saucepan over medium heat, shaking often for 3 minutes. Add 1 c water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce head to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, but do no remove cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Combine eggs, buttermilk, syrup, oil and vanilla.

In a large bowl, combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Form a well in center and pour in buttermilk mixture. Stir to incorporate but do not overmix. Add millet and stir gently.

Lightly oil and heat griddle. Drop batter by scant 1/4 c. and cook for 3 minutes (or until uncooked side begins to bubble). Flip over and cook for 2 minutes or until browned.

Serve with frozen yogurt, berries, maple syrup and butter.


It was silence at first bite with these, like they cast a spell over our breakfast table.

We'll crave these again soon- the sprinkling of millet gave them tender chewy bite. And the cool, creamy, melting frozen yogurt over sweet and sour wineberries, outshown maple syrup for once!

This, too, will happen to you!

Whatever turns up in your pint container, this flapjack recipe is a winning complement.

We'll Never Tell Blackberry Pancakes

What a bonus to our usual neighborhood strolls! We were all elated upon discovering this fruitful bush!

While O and I braved the prickers and poison ivy surrounding these gems, my baby boy waited in the stroller patiently (for once!), plied with blackberries.

Something about grasping a berry at its peak, before the birds, feels triumphant. A return to the way our ancestors lived. The pride of discovery. The thrill of thriftiness.

We picked and tasted. Tasted and picked. Nostalgia and euphoria buzzed through the air. For a few minutes, we were living the pages of a Robert McCloskey book.

My boys and I continued walking once our blackberry high subsided. We playfully schemed about how we'd avoid telling any passersby about the location of this magical bush, if they happened to notice our bounty or our seedy grins and stained fingers.

We agreed we'd never tell.

At least not for 10 seconds anyway. We soon ran into the nicest neighbor-friend and offered her a berry and . . . and the truth just tumbled out! Well, now that the secret's out, we might as well throw in a super recipe, too.

We'll Never Tell Blackberry Pancakes
adapted from Amy’s Cooking Adventures Original Recipe
Serves 4
1 ¼ c whole wheat flour
2/3 c unbleached all-purpose white flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t sea salt
1 1/2 heaping T brown sugar
1 1/2+ cup buttermilk (we got sick of buying buttermilk and used this site to make our own)
1 1/2 T olive or softened organic coconut oil
1-2 eggs
1 c blackberries, mashed

3/4 T orange zest

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, and egg.

In a third bowl, mash the blackberries with a fork. Stir in the orange zest.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (batter will still be very lumpy). Fold in the blackberry mixture. Thin mix with extra buttermilk, if desired.

Drop 2-3 tablespoons full of batter onto a hot skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned on one side. Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Tell us you don't love their spongy texture and citrus notes!

O enjoyed photoshop this morning . . .

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Here's a bonus recipe . . .
O's Auntie Trish, who just berry picked on Long Island, recommends an awesome smoothie, which we've been loving, too. Blend: coconut milk, frozen banana, blackberries. Like a dessert.