Pumpkin Pancakes

And to finish off the week with a bang- my favorite . . . Pumpkin pancakes! Yes I am totally out of season, (and so are my shoes) but they are my favorite and so I'll enjoy them year round. The first recipe is my moms, the second is one that a friend from Boston sent me. So try one or both but either way I hope you have enjoyed Pancake Week. I know we have!!

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 c. flour
3 T brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t all spice
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1 1/2- 1 3/4 c milk
1 egg
2 T oil
1 c. canned pumpkin

Mix all ingredients in the mixer. The batter is thick- so use a little extra milk if you would like, And don't be afraid to cook them a little longer than regular pancakes. This is my mom's recipe and she loves them with homemade syrup and a dollop of real whipping cream!

Pumpkin Pancakes II
1 c flour (I use wheat flour)
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I substitute 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon & nutmeg)
1 egg
1 c plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 c pumpkin puree
2 Tbs butter melted

In bowl, stir all dry ingredients. In other bowl beat the egg for 30 seconds. Add yogurt, pumpkin, butter and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients and beat until combined. Cook on nonstick skillet on med high heat.
For the treat version: I add about three chocolate chips as I am cooking the batter on the skillet. Then I make a smiley face with whip cream.

Crepes

We had crepes for dinner on Tuesday Night for Pancake day! My kids were in heaven. Crepes stuffed with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas, topped with whipped cream and syrup! This was the first time I had made crepes and they turned out great!! Reminds me of freshman year when we would go to crepe parties. I'm not quite sure what I was putting on my crepe but I don't remember liking them very much. Silly me I was probably lathering them with Nutella and then gagging them down!

Crepes
4 eggs lightly beaten
1 1/3 cup milk
2 T butter melted
1 cup flour
2 T sugar
½ t salt
2 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients in the blender until smooth, and then refrigerate for a couple of hours if you have the time. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel. (I used Pam and it worked great) Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 2- 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. If the batter is the right consistency it should spread out into a nice little circle for you. (add a little milk if you need to) Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Serve immediately with berries, cream, syrup and Nutella if you are into that!

Banana Pancakes & Homemade Syrup

Homemade Syrup
1 c. water
2 c. sugar
1/2 t imitation maple flavoring
1/2 t vanilla

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan and stir frequently to dissolve sugar. Bring to a soft boil. Add maple flavoring and vanilla and then while you are enjoying breakfast allow to simmer and syrup will become (a little) thicker.

Banana Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
¼ t salt
2 T vegetable oil
1 ripe banana mashed

hint: mash your banana in a small Ziploc bag and then cut the corner off and squeeze into bowl.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl mix egg milk, oil and mashed banana, combine wet and dry ingredients but don’t over mix. It is okay if it is lumpy. Pour ¼-1/2 cup batter on hot griddle and flip when bubbles start to form on top. Add chopped pecans or chocolate chips to batter on griddle before flipping if you would like!

German Pancakes

German Pancakes
6 eggs
1 cup milk
½ t salt
1 c. flour
6 T butter
1 t vanilla

Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored. Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in the oven in 9X13 pan. Mix flour, eggs, salt and milk, and pour into hot pan with melted butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot with butter, and powdered sugar or syrup. Enjoy!!

We're Having Pancakes Tonight . . .

Growing up my dad was the one who would make us breakfast and get us off to school. On the weekends he would make us pancakes. I still love his pancakes- straight from the mix, all the same size, hot off the griddle with homemade syrup! love them!


So tonight whip out the pancake mix and celebrate PANCAKE DAY! (Steph's kids will be in heaven). To spice it up gather a few extra ingredients and drop them onto the pancake after you pour batter onto the griddle before it is ready to flip.


Everyone can have their favorite mix in.

The kids love: chocolate chips, blueberries, and m&ms.

Dan & my new favorite is apple cinnamon pancakes:
Peal and dice apples into small pieces, cook in a small saute pan on the stove until the apples are soft, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and then drop the apples onto the batter as above.

NO mix (or feeling adventurous) NO Problem


Light and Fluffy Pancakes

1 ½ cups flour
3 ½ t baking powder
1 t salt
1T sugar
1 ¼ cup milk
1 egg
3 T butter melted (unsalted if you have it, or omit the salt)1/2 t vanilla

Hints: they will be lighter and fluffier if you sift the dry ingredients twice and let the egg and milk sit at room temp, and don't smash or pat the pancake after you flip!

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter and vanilla; mix until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat (350-375). Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. (add your mix ins) wait for the bubbles and then flip to the other side. Serve them hot with your favorite toppings.



Stackers Pancakes (more like the ones my dad used to make)
1 c. flour
1 T sugar
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 scant tsp salt
1 c. milk
1 egg
1 T oil
1 t vanilla


In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and oil and vanilla; mix until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat (350-375). Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. (add your mix ins) wait for the bubbles and then flip to the other side. Serve them hot with your favorite toppings.

Pancake Week

Did you know that another name for MARDI GRAS or FAT TUESDAY is Pancake Day? Yep this Tuesday is National Pancake Day and Ihop is celebrating by giving away a free short stack. Pancake Day dates back to the middle ages when making pancakes was a great way to use up eggs, butter and sugar before the fasting season of Lent. In Russia they celebrate pancake week so we will too! For the next few days there will be a collection of fabulous tried and true pancake recipes!



Do you call them pancakes, flapjacks, hotcakes or silver dollars?



Buttermilk, or whole wheat?



Do you eat them in a stack or one huge one at a time?



Do you like to add bananas, blueberries, apples, nuts, chocolate chips, vanilla and spice to the mix?



A fluffy German pancake, or paper thin crepes filled with nutella, strawberries, bananas and powdered sugar?



And how about the toppings? Butter first? Do you butter the whole stack or just the one on top? Jam, crunchy peanut butter, powdered sugar, fruit and whipping cream, or just syrup?



And we know that all syrup is not created equal. Cold or warm? runny or thick? real maple syrup or straight Karo syrup? Homemade or Mrs. Butterworths?



My perfect pancake you ask? Krusteaz whole wheat pancakes, thin in a stack of about four with butter (on every one) and HOT homemade maple syrup. Mmmm!



Your kids will think you are awesome when you have pancakes for dinner on National Pancake Day! So check back daily to see what's flippin'.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

CONGRATS to Paige, Jenny H., Marianne, Lori, Liz and Brittany you are my lucky winners!!

Remember to post a similar give away on your blogs!

Will you email me at justahintofsalt@gmail.com so we can swap some details?

thanks!

You're a Winner!!

I was lucky enough to happen upon (my sister's cute sister-in law) Holly's blog the other day. And it was a crafty give away tag! I am feeling very crafty at the moment (just made a darling reversible apron, and homemade soap) and I am in to perpetuating good deeds. Makes everybody feel good right?

So here it is...

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

My choice.

Just for you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. (but i will try)
2- What I create will be just for you. (this is the best part- a personalized gift. I like to create- but it is even more fun to do it for a specific someone)
3- It'll be done this year. (actually this month- let's be honest. I am feeling crafty now and I dread doing it 11 months from now)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. (but more likely an apron- cause I am in to that right now, or soap- got lots of left overs, or dinner for a week, or a cute egg wreath for Easter) Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (but I won't- I will want you to LOVE what I craft for you!)

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 5 of your own lucky blog readers. So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.The end.

And the fine print? my family can't win. They get my craftiness all the time. And who knows, I am always in the mood to bake so don't be shy about commenting if you aren't in the first 5 I might make you cookies!

Cauliflower Soup

Is it cold today where you are? I found this fabulous soup recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s Blog. It is delish and even my kids ate it (they called it WHITE BROCCOLI SOUP) I didn’t add the sour cream and it was still plenty creamy and rich! Here is just the basic recipe as copied from her blog (with a couple of my notes) - but she takes amazing step by step pictures if you want to see them here! Enjoy! Hope it warms up your day!

PW’s Mom’s Cauliflower Soup
1 stick butter
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 to 2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped (the more the better)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried parsley
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 cups whole milk (just used the 1% I had)
6 tablespoons flour
1 cup half & half
2 to 4 teaspoons salt, to taste
(1 generous cup sour cream, at room temperature- I didn’t add this)

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an addition couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half & half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir. Serve immediately.

Did any of you try the Tomato Soup? Did you like it?

Presidential Food Trivia

Which US President . . . .

1. Enjoyed ice cream so much that he had two ice cream freezers installed in his home?

2. Preferred simple foods like hot dogs, scrambled eggs and grilled cheese?

3. Liked garden peas so much that there were 19 varieties growing in the kitchen garden?

4. Loved New England Fish Chowder? (hint it is said Chowda)

5. Favorites were beef stew and vegetable soup?

6. Enjoyed whole fruits, especially apples?

7. Loves Mexican Food and hates Broccoli?

8. Is allergic to chocolate and dairy?

9. Was a peanut farmer who loves nuts?

10. Loved chili and said "Chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak apologetic imitation to the real thing?"

11. Loves shrimp, grits and chili?

Thanks to http://www.kaboose.com/ for the fun!!

1. Washington 2. Franklin D. Roosevelt 3. Thomas Jefferson 4. JFK 5. Eisenhower 6. Lincoln 7. George W. Bush 8. Clinton 9. Carter 10. Lyndon B Johnson 11. Obama

Happy Valentines Weekend!!

Happy Valentines to you and yours!

Spread Love Not Germs!

How to make homemade soap

By Annie

1. First gather your supplies: clear Glycerin soap, soap dye and fragrance (all available at the craft store), rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, cookie cutter or mold

2. Take soap and cut it up into little pieces and put into a bowl.

3. Next put the bowl into the microwave. It might take a long time until it is melted. (melt for 1-2 minutes at a time- and it will take about 10 minutes)

4. After it is melted add smell and color.

5. Pour into a cookie pan. Spray with special spray (rubbing alcohol) very quickly to get the bubbles away.

6. Next put it in the fridge and wait about 10 minutes and when it is hard you can cut it out with a cookie cutter.

7. Or after step 4 you can pour it into a mold. The refrigerate until hardened.

8. Last deliver them to your friends with a little note that says " Spread Love Not Germs."

mmm! Valentines Candy!

I am not usually a candy person. But something about the limited engagement of my favorite treats makes me an absolute lunatic in the candy aisle. LOVE, LOVE the sugar covered cinnamon hearts. And although cinnamon shapes appear for almost every holiday ie cinnamon devils and santas - only for valentines are they generously covered in sugar! But please don't confuse them with the jelly hearts- yuck.

I would NEVER buy six bags of candy unless of course it was all in the name of holiday candy! When loading your cart full of assorted varieties is not seen as a weakness but a necessity. It is completely acceptable for the "seasonal aisle" to be jammed with women placing 4, 5 or even 6 bags of candy in their carts. But you would mutter under your breath if you saw similar behavior in the regular candy aisle.

Just like with Girl Scout Cookies we have moments of temporary insanity. Justifying our sweet tooth with that great "limited edition" item. Like today when in search of said cinnamon hearts I discovered Red fruit Starburst Jellybeans - just the Red fruits. Wow! I thought I was going to have to wait until Easter for these. And have you seen the new all green M&Ms. They are rumored to increase your romance levels! Haven't heard whether it is true or not (I was just going to buy them the day after Valentines for my St. Patty's Day candy) but it really makes me wonder which one of my Jr. High Buddies is working for marketing at M&M!

mmm! the jelly beans are awesome!

By Popular Demand . . . .

The original sugar cookie recipe!! Happy baking!

A's Sugar Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda

cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, then vanilla, then gradually add flour salt and baking soda. Put the dough into a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Then roll out & cut into holiday shape of choice. I put my cookies on the pan in the fridge for 10-20 minutes before baking and it helps them to hold their shapes better. Then bake for 10 minutes at 350. cool completely before frosting.

Yummy butter cream frosting
1/2 cup butter softened
1t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/3-1/2 cup EVAPORATED milk
4 cups powdered sugar

beat the butter until fluffy, add additional ingredients, alternate adding powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency, should be thin enough to spread so the frosting appears smooth on the top of the cookie. The frosting will harden slightly and you can used a pastry bag to pipe on additional decorations.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Well here it is, February's cookie of the month! enjoy!!

½ c butter, softened
1 ¼ c sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
½ c. sour cream

2 ½ c flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
½ c. cocoa

In a small bowl add dry ingredients and wisk together. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (about 3- 4 minutes) Beat in egg then vanilla and sour cream and mix well. Add flour mixture slowly and beat until well combined. Place the dough in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight.

Then roll out & cut into shape of your choice. (I cut out two hearts the same size and then cut a cookie out of one of the hearts) Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet. I refrigerate for 10-20 minutes before baking and it helps the cookies to hold their shape better. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ t salt
1 t vanilla
1/3 – ½ c EVAPORATED milk – your frosting will look smooth instead of grainy.

Beat the butter until fluffy, add additional ingredients, alternate adding powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency, should be thin enough to spread so the frosting appears smooth on the top of the cookie. The frosting will harden slightly and you can used a pastry bag to pipe on additional decorations.

Creamy Tomato Soup

3 large carrots
1 med onion chopped
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (28 oz size)
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
4 cups chicken broth
½ pint half and half
2 t dry basil
1 t salt
Pepper


Sauté carrots and onions in a 1 T butter in a large pot, until soft. Add tomatoes, sauce, broth, cream and spices and heat thoroughly. Simmer 10 min. Using a hand blender puree until smooth. (Or cool your soup and then puree in blender in small batches- make sure your soup is cool, and your batches are small, or you will end up with soup all over your ceiling!) Add a just a hint of salt, reheat and serve!

Recipe credit: my good friend Ash sent me a delish ward cookbook for my birthday. This soup is supposed to be Nordstrom’s Tomato Soup as submitted by Cindy Jermasek. I cut the recipe in half and made minor adjustments!

Enjoy! we are having it for dinner tonight and then I will post a picture! Let me know if you decide to try it and what you think!

Sledding

We enjoyed a wonderful day on Saturday sledding up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful day! Bright blue skies and nice and warm. We had our own little hill to ourselves. The girls thought it was awesome to play in the snow.

Why Salt?

So a new blog and a new title. You are either nodding your approval in agreement of the title or you are wondering why salt? so I will explain

I am salt. Or at least was once called salt - as part of an inseparable pair of cousins who looked as different as salt and pepper. My Aunt Annie called us salt and pepper.


Megan was killed in a car accident nearly 10 years ago and now I have a blond little Meg in my life as a reminder of my wonderful friend and cousin.

I am a little salty.
Feel free to read all of the definitions on dictionary.com but I liked
a lively character, sharp, and witty

and for the nature of the blog: interesting and agreeably stimulating

I like salt.
The four basic taste sensations are sweet, bitter, sour or salty. Salt is a THE most important spice in my cupboard. I may even be guilty of over salting my food. I love salt. And did you know that a little salt actually enhances sweetness?

And Salt is my favorite scripture allegory. As found in Matthew 5:13

so please take me with "just a hint of salt"

Families Helping Families

origionally posted Wednesday Jan 21 2009

Over the Christmas break Dan and I went with (part of) the Parker Family to Rocky Point Mexico to participate in a humanitarian project building houses as part of "Families Helping Families"

The premise behind the organization which is patterned after Habitat for Humanity- is that you can't get a loan in Mexico- and we all know we would never be able to save enough money to be able to pay cash for a house. So families can qualify for a house by a) having a job 2) working a certain number of hours on helping to build the houses and 3) paying back the foundation over the next x number of years.

That's how it all looks on paper- but what actually goes on is totally different. You can see in the slide show above the innocent sweet faces of the children that live in the cardboard makeshift house next to where we are building. One of the boys Angel asked if he could have the house we were building because he liked it better than the one he was living in- and then he wrote his name in the cement front porch.

American families give up their Christmas presents and time off from school and work to spend 8+ hours a day laying block, working with messy cement, making new friends, and working together on what will become someones dream home. We eat at road side taco stands and offer our new mexican friends pizza through the barbed wire fence. Families brought with them old clothes and small toys to give away to the children and families they met. We forgot about ourselves for a couple of days and were able to change the lives of 3 families (yes there was a large enough group that we actually built 3 houses)

The first year we went to Mexico to build was in 2005. I didn't get to spend much time on the house because I was in the Condo with my little kids. I honestly didn't love the experience and didn't really understand why my parents insisted on going back year after year. Well this year I caught the bug- I actually got to work (really hard) every day and I truly felt like I was making a difference. So next year we will let Ash & John go and we'll watch their kids. And when our kids are a little bigger we'll take them too so that they can see how blessed they are, and what a great experience it is to help other people.

And speaking of blessed- although this is a lesson that I want to teach my kids, maybe it is really just a lesson that I need to be reminded of first. It is easy to always want more stuff- to fill our large houses with. But watching the mexican kids happy as can be riding their old 1980's bikes and wearing clothes you and I donated to the DI humbled me beyond belief- my kids will wear their shoes a little longer this year, and I will be happier with my old jeans. And I will spend more time helping that glow in my children's faces to be brighter!

want to come next year?? it will change your life!!

Updated Slideshow