Highlights

I seem to be doing some serious slacking here at Chez Mama recently. I don't know what to blame, really. Okay, so I'll partially blame the Wii we got last Sunday. I've got a serious case of Wii elbow going on from playing so much tennis. For real! My arm is totally sore. It's so fun, though. So, since it's been a while since I last posted, I'm just going to do some highlights. A few things I made were old standards, like calzones/pizza and pasta pomodoro. I also made the Bean and Corn Lasagna with Avacado from ED&BV. It was really easy and tasty, but I didn't get a good photo of it.

Last Friday night, I decided to make some pancakes. Those are always a hit with the kids. I used Becky's recipe, which she had posted on her blog before. Here is her recipe:


1 egg (or egg substitute)
1 cup whole wheat flour (I like Hudson Cream... King Arthur is good.
You can cut it half-half with white flour if you want fluffier
pancakes)
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp applesauce
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Beat the egg, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until
smooth. Ladle onto hot, nonstick griddle. Flip when pancakes aren't
shiny around the edges and top is covered with bubbles.

I added a little squirt of agave nectar to the batter to give it just a hint of sweetness. These were some really tasty pancakes, and the kids loved them. I can see it becoming my standard pancake recipe, except for the times when I need to just go all out and make Bisquick ones. LOL!


Monday night I made the best channa masala I've ever eaten. It was insane. I made it by adapting a recipe I'd found on vegweb. All the measurements listed are approximate. Here it is:

2 TBS oil
1 onion chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 tsp curry powder
2.5 tsp garam masala
3 TBS tomato paste
3.5 cups of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3/4 can of lite coconut milk
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp salt
cayenne pepper
2 TBS margarine (I used Earth Balance. Butter could be used as well.)

Heat oil in pan, and sautee onion until softened and lightly browned. Add garlic and sautee another minute. Add spices and tomato paste, and stir until well-mixed. Add coconut milk and chickpeas and simmer until chickpeas are nice and soft. Add lemon juice, salt, cayenne and margarine. Stir until margarine melts.

This was just out of control. I swear it's better than any channa masala I've had in an Indian restaurant. I could eat it every day!


This evening, I made some refried beans the usual way. I also made some mashed potatoes, and once again the jalepeno-corn gravy from V-con. This time, I happened to be out of lemons, so I substituted lime juice in the gravy. I also added a few splashes of hot sauce. WAY better than with lemon juice.



Sleek and I saw a really rockin' show last night here in Mo-town. Clutch. Kinda blues-funk-hard rock. We had been wanting to see them for at least a year. They've played Mo-town before, but it's been a pretty long time. I didn't really expect them to return, since they've really grown and become more mainstream. The show was at 123 Pleasant St., which is pretty much our only really good music venue. Last month, I was checking out the 123 website, and saw that Clutch was playing on May 21st. I instantly IMed Sleek at work to tell him. I believe his response was: "SHUT UP!" We had a good time, and the show completely rocked. I'll check them out again any time they're in town.

Breakfast for Dinner

Last week, my son Julian was begging me for pancakes. I promised I would make them for dinner one evening this week. My kids both love pancakes, so it's a real treat for them when I make them. I usually use a whole grain pancake mix, such as Bob's Red Mill. This time all I had was some Bisquick, so I just made the recipe from the box. They turned out beautifully! I have a really hard time getting the griddle to the right temperature when making pancakes. I tend to overheat it. This time the pancakes all came out golden-brown and perfect. I like to make fruit toppings for pancakes and french toast sometimes, but the kids prefer maple syrup. So, that's what we had. I like Grade B maple syrup the best. It has a stronger maple flavor than the rest. We can get local maple syrup at our natural-foods co-op here in town.

I couldn't get started on dinner until Sleek came home, so I listened to the sounds of him playing with the kids while I was cooking. He did come in and make the scrambled eggs for me. I have a hard time making anything else when I'm making pancakes. They definitely seem to require my full attention.

Cute kid quote of the day: "Pancake, meet your new home. My mouth!" That was from Annelies, my 5 year-old daughter.