recipe box Wednesday

The new Cooking Channel makes me happy.  They are showing old episodes of Julia Child,

the Galloping Gourmet, and the Two Fat Ladies.  Love it. 

 

I have also been watching Nigella Lawson, who I have adored for years.  It all started when I read "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" and I was hooked.  I have been collecting her cookbooks, which read more like stories than cookbooks.  Just utterly delightful.  On top of that, she is a real woman with curves, and they show her enjoying her food, and indulging in midnight snacks.  How refreshing to watch a female chef that isn't a size zero!

And now the new Cooking Channel gives me Nigella Express, and I have the companion cookbook, and seeing her bring the recipes to life is such a joy.  Monday night I caught up on some episodes I had recorded, and was compelled to whip this up on Tuesday morning for a happy Charlie:

Blueberry Syrup for Pancakes

1/2 cup maple syrup (use the real stuff for goodness sake)

1 1/2 cups blueberries (in season and delish
Put in a pan and bring to a boil for 8-10 minutes until burst and thickened, pour into a pitcher.

Pancake Mix (make it ahead of time and have on hand for whenever you crave them)
4 cups flour
3 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking spice (I added this from my Penzey's collection, not in the original recipe)
Mix all ingredients and store in a jar.

When you want to make pancakes, add this to each cup of mix.  One cup of dry mix added to the below ingredients will make about 15 3" pancakes, I ended up with about 12 four inchers.
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
The batter will be thinnish, it cooks up fast and fluffy.  Nigella said using the melted butter means they won't stick to the griddle, but I ended up spraying it with cooking spray after the first batch stuck a wee bit.

Serve with the warm blueberry syrup and watch the smiles spread across the happy eater's faces!

And if you get a chance, check out Nigella's cookbooks at your local library or bookstore.  Or feel free to borrow mine!