dave & janet horsman ::: keepin’ it real since 1998

Top o’ the mornin’ to ye!  Happy St. Patty’s Day to you all.  I’m proud to say that I have Irish blood coursing through my viens.  My dear grandmother Campbell was, as far as we know, about as pure Irish as one could be; her maiden name being Ryan, and her mother’s maiden name being Flannigan.  So I guess that makes me 1/4 Irish, and my kids 1/16.  I’ve always loved being able to say that I’m part Irish!  The Irish, I think, have a wonderful sence of humor and whimsy…and also just the right amount of melancholy.  (I like a little melancholy, don’t you?)

Anyway, we had my “fabulous flapjacks” for breakfast on this lovely St. Patrick’s Day morning (with green mashed potatoes, corned beef and cabbage on the menu for supper tonight!)  I suppose the name would imply that I’ve concocted this recipe all on my own, but I guess it’d be a bit of a stretch to say that.  I just combined and reinvented a couple of my favorite pancake recipes…and came up with a new favorite!  These flapjacks are so light and fluffy and yummy and filling.  (Are your kids like mine?  Are they hungry an hour after a meal?) When consumed, these will keep my kids away from the kitchen for a good two hours.  Guaranteed.

Janet’s Fabulous Flapjacks
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tsp aluminum free baking powder*
1/4 tsp salt

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy.  (You can use an electric mixer to do this if you like.  I just use a wire whisk and lots of elbow grease. :))  Then throw all the other ingrediants in, and mix just until they’re all combined.  Cook on a nice hot griddle (like 400 F), a couple of minutes on each side.

This makes quite a few pancakes, but my brood has no problem polishing them off all at once.  If you have leftovers, they’re great kept in the fridge, and toasted for an easy breakfast or afternoon snack. 

*Could one of my Canadian readers answer me this?  Is there aluminum in Canadian baking powder?  I never had this problem till we moved here:  if I use normal baking powder, I can actually taste aluminum in my baking - it’s nasty.  I never remember that happening in Canada.

Oh boy, am I glad that I can stay inside on this cold, miserable winter day!  I just refuse to venture outside on days like this.  Dave even drove the boys to the bus-stop today, so they wouldn’t have to wait in the -40 windchill.  Brrr!

Does this weather make anyone else want to bake?  Or more importantly, eat baked goods?  It must be my instincts kicking in, telling my body it needs to fatten-up, to survive!  Yesterday, I had a serious hankering for something baked, but, sadly, I was out of eggs, (don’t you hate running out of eggs?) and there was no way I was doing a grocery-run yesterday.  Then I remembered this super-easy, one-dish, eggless recipe I had!  It totally hit the spot.  I love that you mix up the ingredients right in the baking dish…

1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt with fork in ungreased square pan  (8×8x2 inches).  Stir in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and powdered sugar.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter. 

Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

So easy!  It makes a nice little after dinner treat.  I like it warm right out of the oven, when the chocolate chips are all melty, but somehow, it seems to taste even better the next day.  Yum!