Recipe: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Salted Caramel Syrup

Pancakes make a great breakfast (or dinner!) because there's so many things to do with them. I love salted caramel, and I wondered if it might make a good syrup. Oh, did it ever! It was one of the most lovely things I've ever eaten. Who would have thought that simple pancakes could be made into something so decadent?

 

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Syrup:
1 c. sugar
¼ c. water
6 TBS. unsalted butter
½ c. heavy cream
1 ½ tsp. salt

Ingredients for Pancakes:
1 c. whole wheat flour (about ¾ c. wheat berries)
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. milk

 

Make the syrup first that way it has time to thicken up. Add the sugar and water to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir it until the sugar dissolves, but stop when it starts boiling.

 

Let the mixture boil for several minutes until it turns a dark amber color. I used coconut sugar, which is naturally dark, and it got darker still. Then, add the butter.

Whisk the butter in so it all melts. As soon as it is completely melted, turn off the heat. Add the heavy cream and salt and continue whisking.

Once the remaining ingredients are incorporated, stop and set the pan aside. Let it cool for a couple of minutes, and pour the syrup into a glass jar. It will be thin, but it will thicken up as it cools. This batch of syrup makes about 12 ounces.

Now it's time to make some pancakes!

If you grind your own wheat, mill the wheat berries on the bread setting of your grain mill.

Mix all the pancake ingredients into a large bowl. Don't worry about a few lumps.

Preheat a skillet so it gets nice and hot. When it's ready, drop a couple of spoonfuls of pancake batter on it.

Wait for the batter to bubble. Carefully take a spatula and life up one edge to see if it's ready to flip. If it's not cooked enough, the pancake will break in half.

Cook on the other side until it's done. Repeat with the remaining batter. Put the hot pancakes on a plate and drizzle with the salted caramel syrup. (If your syrup thickened up more than you'd like, just warm it up again to thin it out!)

So, so good! Store the leftover salted caramel syrup in the fridge for up to two weeks, and use it in a variety of ways! If you don't like salted caramel, maple syrup is still great on these fluffy pancakes. I think this is a great combination, and I hope you'll try it!

Printable: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Salted Caramel Syrup

Don't Be Chicken about Chicken

You may have noticed that in all my recipes that call for chicken, I use chicken thighs, sometimes with the skin on. My husband and I are also fans of the drumsticks. All of the chicken we eat is free-range from a local farm, which I happily purchase from my farmers' market or food cooperative.

Some of you may wonder why we only eat dark meat, given its unhealthy reputation. And the skin too! There was a day when I only used to buy chicken breasts (from a grocery store, no less). It's now been about two years since we've consumed white meat at home.

Dark meat only has about 10 more calories per 3-ounce serving than white meat. But dark meat contains good fats, as well as more vitamin B, zinc, and protein. It also contains myoglobin, which is an iron compound found in muscle cells. White meat, as a stationary part of the bird, does not have any myoglobin. Iron deficiency is a problem for up to 40% of Americans. It's so important, because the main function of iron is to carry oxygen to every cell in the body! As for the skin, the amount of fat it adds is actually minimal, so if you like the taste, why not keep it on?

I like the taste of dark meat much better. It's very moist and flavorful. The skin also tastes great in certain recipes. Although there are successful ways of cooking white meat, it's very easy to dry out.

The other reason why I buy chicken thighs and drumsticks is because they are much cheaper than boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. They cost about $1.49 per pound, but I've gotten them on sale several times for 99¢ per pound (yes, farmers' market vendors do put products on sale!). On average, the breasts cost at least 75¢ more per pound, although often it's even more. You end up paying a premium for the coveted chicken breasts even though you get less nutritional value.

That's not to say that white meat is unhealthy! Whether you eat white or dark meat, chicken is a nutritious source of protein, potassium, calcium, and vitamin D. Eat whatever part of the bird you like best. Just don't be afraid of the dark meat.

Today's Farmers' Market Finds

It's been a fairly mild winter here in Oklahoma, but the seasonal rotation at the farmers' market seems to be consistent. There are lots and lots of greens this time of year! Spinach has to be my favorite green, and I love getting it fresh this time of year. I put it in everything. Here's what I got today!

grass-fed milk
arugula
baby leaf lettuce
spinach
Italian parsley
curley parsley
sweet basil
cilantro
mint
pepperjack goat cheese
peanut butter brownies
cinnamon roll

All this for only $30. Have I convinced you yet that your local farmers' market is worth checking out?! So... what does your market have right now? Or are you waiting for it to re-open in spring?

Go Green: No Shampoo

This week, I quit washing my hair.

Now that I have your attention, let me explain the 'No Poo' method for those of you who haven't heard about it before. The 'No Poo' method is meant to get you away from commercial shampoos and conditioners. The goal is that eventually you'll be able to wash your hair only with water, or occasionally with a very natural product such as baking soda.

Why would you not want to use regular shampoo and conditioner?

1. Shampoo and conditioner is expensive, especially if you are buying one that claims to be natural or organic.
2. Natural and organic shampoos still have some (or many) chemical ingredients that aren't natural. I have yet to find a natural or organic shampoo that I am comfortable with, and I've spent plenty of time in the personal care aisle. The product I've found with the cleanest ingredients is Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. I used that for a while, but wasn't really loving the results.
3. Shampoo and conditioner bottles are made with plastic. Most of them end up in landfills, and even the ones that are recycled will eventually go to a landfill as plastic is not endlessly recyclable.
4. Conventional shampoo removes sebum, which is the oil that your scalp naturally produces. In order to compensate for the lost sebum, you scalp will produce more than normal. That's why we have to keep shampooing - to keep the oil away (or so we think).

To get started on going 'No Poo' you'll need just a few products that you probably already have at home. A cup, a tablespoon, baking soda (try to use aluminum-free if you can; Bob's Red Mill makes some), and apple cider vinegar. During the transition period before you can completely stop washing your hair, you hair will appear greasier than normal. To combat this, use one tablespoon of baking soda mixed with one cup of hot water. Massage this into your scalp as you would with shampoo and rinse out. This will dry out your scalp. To condition, use one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with one cup of water. Run it through your scalp and down to the ends of your hair, then rinse. As someone who's always had very tangly hair, I can tell you this works better than any conditioner I've ever used. I wish I'd been using this all along!

Since I just started going 'No Poo', I use baking soda and apple cider vinegar every other day (I only ever needed to shampoo every other day). See what works for you, then eventually phase it out. It may take anywhere from one week to a few months for your hair to balance itself out where you don't need to use the baking soda and apple cider vinegar rinse anymore. Stick with it! You may find out after that you occasionally still need to use the baking soda anyway, and that's okay. Also, this method is not just for girls, it works great for guys' hair too!

If anyone has gone 'No Poo', let me know how it turned out for you! Or, if anyone else wants to start this method as well, keep me updated on how it's going!

Endangered Species Chocolate Giveaway! (ENDED)

What could be sweeter on Valentine's Day than chocolate?

This giveaway is for chocolates from Endangered Species. Endangered Species makes a variety of all-natural and organic chocolate bars using fair trade chocolate. They carefully source their ingredients to benefit and support the environment. One of my favorite things about this company is that 10% of their profits are donated to species and habitat conservation efforts. Each chocolate bar is wrapped in paper that features an animal in danger, and the inside has information about that animal.

The Endangered Species company sent me some samples to try. If you love chocolate, there's no reason why you wouldn't love this! I ate the organic milk chocolate bar within minutes of opening the package. I couldn't resist! It's everything you want a chocolate bar to be - smooth and sweet. My favorite of the samples was the All-Natural Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut Toffee. This bar had a nice crunch. The sweetness of the toffee really balanced the dark chocolate; I think it's a really great combination.

Enter today to win chocolates from Endangered Species, or maybe to share with that special someone!

The Prize:

An assortment of Endangered Species chocolate valued at $20.00

Mandatory Entry:

Leave a comment here telling me what kind of chocolate you love!

Extra Entries:

1. 'Like' me on Facebook, and leave a comment here telling me that you do.

2. 'Follow' me on Twitter, and leave a comment here telling me that you do.

3. Tell people about this giveaway on your Facebook page, making sure to link to my website, and leave a comment here telling me that you did.

4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, making sure to link to my website, and leave a comment here telling me that you did.

5. 'Like' Endangered Species Chocolate on Facebook, and leave a comment on their page telling them that An Organic Wife sent you, and leave a comment here telling me that you did.

Rules:

This contest starts on Friday, February 3 and will end on Friday, February 10 at 12:00 am. A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday morning. Please make sure that I have some way to get a hold of you! Either check back next Friday to see if you won, or leave your e-mail address so I can contact you. Good luck!

__________________________________________________

 

Without further ado, the winner via random generator is... #79.

Kayo

Congratulations, Kayo! Please check your e-mail for information on your prize.