Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes: Mm-mm Goodness from Cooking Light

Before we get to today’s recipe …

1) I LOVED everybody’s Food Network substitution ideas from Monday (especially the PBS ones), but alas - the roommates decided to opt for a modest cable package. Since I save much moolah by living with 37 other people, I deferred to the majority. Honestly, I’m kinda looking forward to seeing my beloved Mets again, not to mention the cool sophisticate stylings of a certain Timothy Gunn.

2) WOW, I was off with the Syesha A.I. prediction. If she manages one more week, thus deposing one of the Davids, I’m moving to Siberia and opening a speakeasy. (Note: The move has nothing to do with Idol. I just think it would be cool.)

Now – the food!

While I’ve always been more of a French toast fan, The Boyfriend and I have been on a massive pancake kick lately. Starting with Betty Crocker’s super-easy, super-quick, five-ingredient flapjack recipe, we’ve had them every weekend for the last month, plus a few nights for dinner, as well. The problem is, pancakes aren’t the leanest things in the world, especially after a few pounds of butter and liters of syrup are added.

Enter Cooking Light’s Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes. They’re not tremendously leaner than standard diner 5-inch pancakes, but they’re so tasty, you wouldn’t want to mask the warm, welcoming flavor with too many add-ons. What’s more, the whole wheat dealie will make you feel better about flapjacks’ general lack of vitamins and minerals.

As always, the recipe’s listed below, but I did my own nutritional calculations, since I found two big problems with Cooking Light’s numbers:

1) Though the recipe claims to make 12 pancakes, it’s actually more like ten. (Maybe 11 if you stretch the batter.) Overestimating the serving size is standard for CL, and it’s been a constant issue with their meals. Beware.

2) CL included butter and maple syrup in their addition. I left those out of the equation since I usually go butterless, and prefer Aunt Jemima’s Light Butter-Flavored syrup for some strange, chemically-imbalanced reason . If you’re a butter person, expect to add about 33 calories and 4 grams of fat per teaspoon. Two tablespoons of pure maple syrup will pile on another 100 calories.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes 10 pancakes
Adapted from Cooking Light.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
Cooking spray

1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl or pyrex measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg, and egg white. Pour wet ingredients into dry ones. Stir until combined and the dry ingredients are just barely moistened.

2) "Heat a nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat." Using a measuring cup or your judgment, pour 1/4 cup batter on to the hot surface.  Repeat until you've filled the skillet with pancakes.  (You'll probably split this into 2 or 3 batches.)

3) Flip pancakes when their edges look lightly browned and many bubbles appear on the surfaces facing you. Continue to cook until both sides are lightly browned. Serve with butter and syrup or Aunt Jemima. (Because why not?)

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
115 calories, 2.5 g fat, $0.20

Calculations
3/4 cup all-purpose flour: 341 calories, 0.9 g fat, $0.07
3/4 cup whole wheat flour: 305 calories, 1.7 g fat, $0.36
3 tablespoons sugar: 139 calories, 0 g fat, $0.06
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder: 2 calories, 0 g fat, $0.05
1/2 teaspoon baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk: 147 calories, 3.2 g fat, $0.98
1 tablespoon vegetable oil: 124 calories, 14 g fat, $0.06
1 large egg: 74 calories, 5 g fat, $0.17
1 large egg white: 17 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.17
Cooking spray: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
TOTAL: 1149 calories, 24.9 g fat, $1.97
PER SERVING: 115 calories, 2.5 g fat, $0.20

Veggie Might: That Food Crisis Everyone’s Just Raving About

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

Kris, thanks for inviting me to join the CHG tea party. It’s an honor and a pleasure to chime in with my two bits about living and eating vegetarian on just pennies a day.

All the recent talk of food and the economy reminded me of an article from the April issue of VegNews. In “Privilege or Necessity,” Catherine Plato discusses whether vegans and vegetarians are left-field elitists—not just food snobs, but food snobs with a cause—or down-to-Mother Earth pragmatists who are taking a bite out of the environmental crisis.

The article could so easily be an “in defense of my lifestyle” tract, but it goes much deeper into the politics of poverty, health, sustainability, and responsibility.

“A vegetarian diet doesn’t have to consist of expensive meat substitutes, processed foods, and prepared gourmet hummus.” (Just ask Kris.) Plato goes on to say, “A plant-based diet … can actually be more affordable than one heavy with meat and dairy products. The key is relying on unprocessed foods.”

Amen, sister. When I first became a vegetarian, lo, those many years ago, I had no idea where to begin. My family ate meat at every meal—even the vegetables had meat in them. Like many newbies, I bought the line that to get enough protein I had to stuff myself with tons of processed soy and fakery. Now, 17 years later (rock!), I know better. Whole grains, legumes, veggies, fruits do the trick­—and much more affordably. My body and my handbag are much happier.

Of course it’s not that simple. Time is a major player. Try telling an exhausted single mother of three that when she gets home from an eight-hour work day, plus a two-hour commute, not to microwave something from a box. Maude knows, I do that, and it’s just me and my dog. Which leads us directly to access.

The New York Times just ran a piece on Monday about the dearth of supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Because of high rents and low profit margins, grocery stores are being driven out and replaced with drug chains and convenience stores. This graphic shows the correlation between the lack of fresh food in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity and diabetes.

Education and outreach, as always, is key: reminding folks that it’s cheaper to cook at home, that it’s healthier for people and the planet. The veg community has long maintained that a plant-based diet yields environmental sustainability. Crops are cheaper and require fewer fossil fuels to produce than livestock. Don’t forget about all that methane snacking on our atmosphere.

According to John Ikerd at the University of Missouri, “...about 90% of all food crops produced in the U.S. is fed to livestock and poultry....” If we could eat the food we grow to feed the livestock that we slaughter to eat, we’d have enough affordable food to feed Every Body. And think of all of the other resources that would free up. Hold on, I think I just solved the oil crisis! Okay, I’m willing to share credit with the other 4.7 million or so Vegetarian-Americans out there. And maybe some science dudes.

I’m curious what others think. Just in the last week, there have been higher prices at the market that made me adjust my grocery list. Omnivores, are you cutting back on meat purchases as food prices rise? It’s easier than ever to give veg a go. The InterWebs are chock full of amazing recipes and tips, and almost anything can be made vegetarian or vegan with minor substitutions.
A group of friends, of whom I am the only vegetarian, just had our monthly potluck, and it turned out to be an all veg success. I’ll even venture to say that no one missed the meat. Come on, food crisis, I’m ready for you. What else have you got?

CHG Favorites of the Week

Hey everybody! Just a quick heads up: be on the lookout later today, as we here at CHG are launching a new feature on the great wide world of vegetarianism. Going meatless ties in beautifully with the blog’s central themes of health and frugality, and I’m eager to learn more, so we're gonna give it a whirl. More specifically, my friend Leigh, a 17-year Veggie vet, is gonna give it a whirl. A wondrous writer of copious skill and excellence, she’ll be penning pieces about all kinds of vegetarian trends, issues, and recipes. Hopefully, she’ll also include at least one picture of her dog, the smushy-faced and adorable Snack. (Seriously, this pup will melt your face.) (In a good way.)

So, stay tuned! 3pm! It’s coming.

Food Blog of the Week
Ramblings of a Frantic Home Cook
Of course the writing’s pretty great and the recipes look dang good, but the highlight of this super-neat blog are the picture captions. Case in point: May 5th’s top picture includes the phrase “tomatillo cleavage." Which? HA!

Food Comedy of the Week
“Great White North” from SCTV
What’s this all aboot, you might ask, eh? Well, back in the early ‘80s, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) thought that too much of the country’s TV programming was being provided by the U.S., so they required all channels under their jurisdiction to have some distinctly Canadian content. SCTV’s Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas responded with Bob and Doug McKenzie, two over-the-top Great White North stereotypes who loved nothing more than beer, hockey, and the word “hoser.” Eventually, they became SCTV’s most famous running characters. (The previous facts were brought to you by three years of grad school. Finally, the degree comes in handy!)



Food Organization of the Week
AIDtoCHILDREN
This week’s site includes another vocabulary game, with the proceeds going directly toward WorldVision, a philanthropic org focusing primarily on poverty-stricken kids. Charity Navigator gives WV four stars, and you can read more about them. Thanks to reader bluesky for the suggestion. (Incidentally, sweet readers, if you have a favorite local, national, or global food-related charity, lemme know and I’ll make every effort to highlight it here. My knowledge of philanthropies is distressingly limited, and I’d love the chance to pitch in and spread the word.)

Food Quote of the Week
“Annie, there's a big lobster behind the refrigerator. I can't get it out. This thing's heavy. Maybe if I put a little dish of butter sauce here with a nutcracker, it will run out the other side.” – Alvy Singer (Woody Allen), Annie Hall

Food Tip of the Week
This one is probably intuitive to most readers, but a lot of supermarkets have an About to Go Bad bin located somewhere near the back of the produce aisle. Usually, you can pick up deeply-discounted fruit and veggies, which can be cooked up that very night or frozen for future use. I’ve scored broccoli, snow peas, and the occasional apple from those shelves, but have also seen salad in various states of horrifying decay, so be careful about what you choose.

Untried Cheap, Healthy Recipe of the Week
Tofu and Bok Choy with Sesame Ginger Udon Noodles at A Good American Wife
Lemme know if anyone can find the recipe for this, because Mama likes. (Mama being me, but also Anne, who is actually a real Mama of the ever-adorable Walter.)

Food Video of the Week
“Red Red Wine” by UB40
Neil Diamond’s tipsy standard is given the semi-reggae treatment by UB40, who I can only recall ever having covered other artists’ songs. Speaking of that, I’m of the opinion that for a cover song to be successful, it has to bring something new to the tune. Like: Jeff Buckley doing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Sinead O’Connor juicing up Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Johnny Cash totally reworking Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” and the Cowboy Junkies slowing down Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.” Any other suggestions? We should make a mix!



Extra Special Totally Unrelated Bonus Essay of the Week
“The Tinkler” by Lisa Kogan
Oprah's O Magazine is great for many, many reasons, including, but not limited to:
A) Substantive articles,
B) Writing that doesn’t assume women are idiots,
C) Headlines that don’t read like Anorexia How-to Guides,
D) Lisa Kogan.
Kogan is O’s monthly Life columnist, and she cracks me up in a clever, post-modern Erma Bombeck sort of way. This piece, about her office’s resident toilet seat sprinkler is hilarious, not to mention deeply, deeply resonant.

Classy Parties on the Cheap: Baby Showers, Barbecues, and Beyond

The Boyfriend and I are expecting a few friends for a Mothers Day barbecue this weekend. Normally, when our buds gather in any significant number, it’s not a problem. Cheap beer, two dozen Nathan’s Famous, and a token pack of veggie burgers are enough to keep the circle pretty sated. This time, however, our MOMS are among the invited. They’ve never met, and my Ma only rarely visits the outer boroughs (“Why would I want to go back to a place our family spent three generations trying to leave?”), so it’s morphed from Modest Backyard Hootenanny to Actual Adult Gathering.

As such, we’ve had to strategize. And I’m not talking, “Let’s see, we need 18 forks. Maybe.” I’m talking, “This document lists the recipe for every dish we’re making, along with ingredients, scheduled oven-time, and appropriate serving plate.” It’s a tad obsessive, and I’m pretty sure the architects of most major World War II campaigns would be like, “Chick crazy,” but it saves me cash and provides a little variety beyond the rote one-two punch of potato and macaroni salad. (Which both contain mayo and should thusly be killed.)

To help others impress their own friends and family members, here are a few tricks I picked up while planning/researching my own small-to-mid-sized bashes. Really, it’s a whole strategy, and hopefully, it’ll keep costs down, provide some healthy alternatives, and save an aneurysm or two.

Alas, I am far (oh, so very far) from an expert on this stuff, so I’d love to hear recommendations from readers. Together, we can create the ultimate party: a 50-person Lobster Thermidore and champagne celebration for under $1.50, total.

Consider a potluck and/or BYOB. This simple, age-old idea provides tons of variety for all kinds of diets, prevents the hostess from having a nervous breakdown, and ensures that a larger gathering won’t put the mortgage payments in danger. While it may not be suitable for some occasions, I did potluck it for a smaller baby shower last year, and it seemed to work well. If you decide against it …

Send out invites/Evites early. Three to four weeks before the par-tay is a good timeframe to shoot for, since it allows you to plan a menu, schedule preparations, and start stockpiling sales items early. Plus, you can always follow it up with a “Hey! It would be awesome if everybody could RSVP!” email two weeks prior to the event. Which leads us to …

Get an approximate headcount. This will give you a rough idea of how many folks you have to feed and supply with utensils, as well as the dietary restrictions (vegetarians, pregnant people, lacto-ovo-graino-arians, etc.) you might need to account for. From this, you can start devising your plan of attack.

Figure out the food numbers. Based on the number of guests, how much food should you serve? This is my guideline:

• 2 meats per carnivore. (We know a lot of vegetarians.)
• 3-5 large side dishes. (No meat added, for said 'tarians.)
• a few bags of basic snacks
• a few bottles of seltzer and/or soda
• a few homemade dips and salsas
• a crudite platter
• hors d’oeuvres: cheese, crackers, fruit, etc.
• 2-3 alcoholic drinks per person (bottle of wine = 4-5 drinks)
• cookies and dessert-type offerings for later

Other folks have very, very different systems, and those can be found in places like this. Or this. Or even this.

Read Frugal Menu Ideas for a Fussy Crowd. This was one of the first Wednesday articles here on CHG, and I’m reviving it just for today. Inside, there are quite a few ideas for feeding a large, picky crew inexpensively. Suggestions are totally welcomed.

Create a menu as soon as possible. Based on in-season produce, affordable staples, and what you have lying around the house, make up a list of dishes you’d want to eat at a good gathering. Think about incorporating a few make-ahead sides (to save yourself some stress on Shindig Day) and try to base at least half around fruits, vegetables, or grains, which are usually cheaper and healthier. To wow folks with your cooking skillz, you might even play with classics like green, fruit, and pasta salads by adding creative flourishes or funky, inexpensive dressings. They can make simple foods (and thus, the barbecue) that much more memorable. (Oh, and store-bought dishes are fine, but this is a food blog, see. I gotta represent for the cooks.)

Based on your menu, make up a grocery list. This one’s pretty simple: what do you need that you don’t already have on-hand? Don't forget to account for decorations or staples like condiments, ice, and charcoal.

Start looking for sales. Depending on how far in advance you’ve planned, there’s a good possibility you can snag nearly everything on sale. Start checking local circulars as soon as you have your grocery list, and jump on good discounts. If your party is happening on a holiday, odds are lots of related products will be offered at a markdown, anyway. (Be careful of buying produce too far ahead, though. Some of that stuff rots, but quick.)

Buy decent alcohol en masse. While deeply beloved for all kinds of reasons, classy gatherings may not be the place for Schlitz and Alabama Slammers. On the other hand, $40 bottles of Veuve Cliquot are out of the question for most people (read: everyone) I know. There’s a nice compromise here, though, which is buying a nice stock of middle-of-the-road alcohol at a beer distributor, discount store (a la Trader Joe’s), or wholesale depot. Some supermarkets offer decent sales, as well, so be on the lookout. Oo! And don’t discount a BYOB policy, either. Contingent on the fanciness level of the party, I don’t think it’s uncouth to ask folks to bring a bottle of wine if they’ll be quaffing.

Make a schedule. You see this in magazines all the time. Starting a few days ahead of the get-together, create a step-by-step calendar of STD. (Uh, meaning “Stuff to Do.”) (On second thought, not such a good acronym.) It might look something like:

• WEDNESDAY: final grocery shopping
• THURSDAY: clean, make dips, make iPod mix
• FRIDAY: make cookies and pasta salad, start defrosting meat
• SATURDAY: cut crudite veggies, make salad and dressings, decorate, set tables
• SUNDAY A.M.: make fruit salad, chill beverages, marinate chicken
• SUNDAY P.M.: relax, have double-shot of expensive tequila

Assembling this should accomplish two things: 1) keep you from buying expensive, last-minute fillers and 2) ease your mind about when/where/how things will get done. For reference, there are some other neato schedule examples here and here.

Consider eschewing paper plates and plastic forks. This may be absolutely ludicrous for larger bashes, but for a home-hosted barbecue for ten, it could work. Simply, using your china will save cash, not to mention the environment.

Clean. While it has zero to do with food, if there’s one thing Ma has instilled in me since birth (besides a deep and terrible love of puns), it’s this: people will not give a flying doo-doo about the quality of your turkey burgers if they’re forced to eat in a hovel. Does that sound terribly old-fashioned? You bet. But I’ve done my time at frat parties, and there comes an age where pee stains and dust no longer count as decoration.

Don’t go crazy. It’s easy to drive yourself insane preparing for a nice-n-mature party, but just remember: these things are supposed to be fun. If you’re already clenching your jaw pondering the preparation, try reducing the previous tips to these three: plan ahead, look for bargains, and clean a little. See? Easy peasy.

And that’s it. Readers? You got anything to say? Bring!

(Photos courtesy of Jupiter Images, Barrels and Bottles, and .)