As I have mentioned in previous posts, I was never exposed to much in the way of vegetables when I was growing up. My father was forced to eat them as a child and hated them. He probably didn’t hate the vegetable itself but more likely in the way in which they were cooked, or should I say, overcooked and probably minimal if any seasoning.
Some of the vegetables we did have when I was growing up were, potatoes, peas, corn and carrots, I’ve always loved carrots. Maybe it was the brainwashing that they are good for your eyes and I didn’t want to wear glasses. Whenever there was a party with a veggie platter, I always went for the carrots and dipped them into gobs of ranch dressing. Continue reading “Ranch Roasted Carrots”
The first gravy is a staple in the South, sausage gravy. Here in the South sausage gravy is a standard in most households. It is served not only at breakfast time but lunch and supper too. Sausage gravy is great on mashed potatoes, fried chicken, chicken fried steak and of course, biscuits. If you are like me, I can eat sausage gravy on its own.
I start off with whole wheat or whole grain spaghetti, you can certainly substitute any type of pasta you want for this recipe; bow tie, elbow, fettuccine, etc. will all work fine. The pasta is cooked to al dente, which is firm to the bite but not hard. Al dente in Italian means “to the tooth”.
Peanut coleslaw is something I had at a barbecue restaurant, I loved it so much more than regular or traditional coleslaw. It was crunchy, tangy and very satisfying, I looked forward to it more than I did the rest of the meal. Of course the restaurant wouldn’t give out their recipe so I had to play around with it until I could make a copycat version of it, which after some tweaking, I preferred more than theirs.
Pancakes go by a variety of names in America; griddlecakes, flapjacks, hotcakes and their counterparts in other countries such as crepes, blintzes and Dutch baby. They come in all shapes and sizes, some are stacked, filled, rolled and are found throughout the world. Some are sweet while others savory and can be served for any type of meal.
Waffles date back to Medieval times but instead of the grid waffle pattern we are accustom to now they depicted religious symbols. Nowadays waffles come in all shapes and sizes and nearly every country has their own version of a waffle. You can find them already made in the freezer section ready to pop in the toaster. Nearly any restaurant that serves breakfast has waffles on the menu. Many hotel chains that offer free breakfast have a waffle iron for you to make your own. Recently there has been a big trend in utilizing the waffle iron to do cornbread, eggs, hash browns and a lot of other delicious foods. 
I wanted to create a healthier waffle with whole wheat goodness and lower the fat by cutting the buttermilk and oil without compromising the taste. I used whole wheat flour, sea salt and baking powder that is then in turn mixed with a little agave nectar, egg, warm buttermilk and unsweetened applesauce. If you wanted to make it dairy free you can certainly substitute the buttermilk with soy or almond milk and add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
While some pulled pork is prepared by smoking the meat, others are cooked and braised in the oven and that is how I prepare mine. I start with a large Dutch oven but you can use any type of roasting pan with a lid even a Römertopf works really well for this dish.
Banana bread is great for breakfast, brunch, dessert or just as a snack. It is a very versatile recipe that you can add other ingredients to. I add walnuts to make banana nut bread but you could add any nut of your choosing. You can add other ingredients such as oats, raisins, peanut butter, chocolate, etc., the possibilities are endless.