Author Archives for Swati Raje

My nine year old loves pancakes for breakfast.  He would eat them every day if I allowed.  Much like so many others out there I bought frozen pancakes (yes I am admitting it) from Eggo or Aunt Jemima for years.  Being a single mom doesn’t leave me very much time and I thought how bad could it be.  Until one day I decided to actually read the lengthy list of ingredients on the box.  Perhaps I was in denial all those years in opting not to read them.  That day I decided to buy frozen pancakes no longer and find a healthy alternative.

Now I spend about one hour each Sunday morning making some healthy pancakes which I then refrigerate for the rest of the week.  They can also be individually frozen if you need them to last longer.  The kids will never know they’re healthy.  HINT – don’t tell them they’re healthy else you’ve lost them.  Here is my pancake recipe……

Combine 1/2 C sifted all purpose flour, 1/2 C sifted white whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill High Fiber hot cereal, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp salt in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk 1 egg until well beaten.  Add 1 1/4 C skim milk and 3 tbsp canola oil.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine.  Let sit for 10 mins.  Cook pancakes as usual.  Serve with maple syrup (please do not use the imitation stuff) or my son likes to eat them with strawberry or peach jam.

Note: you can buy the Bob’s Red Mill brand at almost any grocery store in the same aisle as the flour.

Variations: 

1 – You can make these into buttermilk pancakes by substituting 1/2 tsp baking soda for the baking powder and 1 1/4 cup of buttermilk for the skim milk.
2 – Try adding a mashed ripe banana to the batter.
3 – I am not a fan of sweet breakfast foods so I make a savory variation of these pancakes for myself.  Here’s how:

Eliminate the sugar and cinnamon.  Add an additional 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 tsp garam masala (found in Indian markets), 1 medium onion chopped and sauteed, 1 finely chopped green chili.  Cook in same manner.  Serve topped with scrambled eggs (egg whites are great too) and a dash of Frank’s Red Hot sauce.

The recipe makes about 10 pancakes depending on size of your ladle.  It actually makes 11 with mine but we all know that the first one is never pretty and meant to be for the cook to taste.

I had my neighbor’s kids over one morning and they went home raving about them.  So if you get a chance try these pancakes out.  Let me know how your kids react.  Would love to hear about any other variations you can think of too…..

Ciao,
Swati

Welcome to The Persnickety Palate!!  This blog is meant to be a journey into the culinary world and I am thrilled that you have joined me!

I discovered food fairly late in life.  Now I realize that sounds silly since we all eat from the day we’re born.  But I am referring to the love of food; the true enjoyment in making it and eating it.  I was born in India and grew up in many different cities throughout India and the U.S.  You would think this would have exposed me to a plethora of cuisines and yet most of my childhood revolved around home made Maharashtrian Indian food.  Mind you my mother is a superb cook and would venture once in a while so no complaints here.  But our outside influences were the basic burgers, pizza (from Pizza Hut no less), pasta with jarred Ragu, and take out Chinese.  Not exactly haute cuisine.

My college years were my missed opportunity.  You see I went to a university with international diversity and met friends from more than 30 countries.  I even had the good fortune of traveling to Greece and Italy to live with the locals for which I will be forever grateful to the two friends who made it possible.  So why do I call this a missed opportunity?  Somewhere around my senior year of high school I decided to go partially vegetarian.  Today, just writing that makes me laugh.  What exactly is a partial vegetarian?  Well, I decided I wouldn’t eat anything with a bone on it – chicken breast only.  No beef – unless I craved a burger.  No seafood – except white fish fillet……you catch my drift.  Needless to say, I missed some amazing foods in my travels.

Luckily my first job was in NYC in corporate america during the glory days of the 80s.  The days of 3 martini lunches and Friday lunches that turned into dinners at the company expense.  Here I met some wonderful mentors who told me how idiotic my little rules were and I began to try new foods.  My most memorable dinner was at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, TX where for the first time I had a 12 course tasting menu with wine pairings…….I was hooked!

Ok, so I had learned to love to eat food but I rejected any notion of cooking it because I saw it as a chore.  Largely because I had watched my mother day in and day out working so hard to make a meal after a hard day at work, and then cleaning up afterward only to do it again the next day.  My culture also has a tendency to make cooking an obligation for women which of course sucks the joy out of it.  Moving out on my own took all those silly notions right out of my head.  I realized I was the one suffering since eating takeout got old very quickly.  You see my mother had spoiled me by providing delicious home cooked meals for all those years.  So it was either learn to cook or give up good food!  I chose wisely and started experimenting.

Today I love to try anything and everything (almost – there are some limitations).  Recent adventures coming in the next post.  I love to cook different types of cuisines and am experimenting all the time.  My son and foodie friends are kind enough to be the guinea pigs and polite enough to eat what I make.  I rarely follow a recipe without changing it and consider it a piece of scientific artwork.

If you have a passion for food, I hope you will share some ideas and experiences with us.  If you are a novice to cooking or want to get started, I hope this blog will provide you with some tips and encouragement to keep at it.  So let’s share some food and some fun!!

Cheers,
Swati