Labour of love

And with that, summer is gone. I can't believe that it's been 3 months since my last post! Unacceptable - blogging CANNOT and will not fall at the wayside, and I will be held to that. But the last 3 months have been lovely....A summer of sunshine, weddings, old friends, new friends...and of course, delicious food. I spent an amazing week on the West Coast in August and there, had the most delicious, fresh, tender seafood and sushi, the like of which I have never experienced. My standards have been irrevocably raised. Sue me.

 I have to admit, summer is not the best time to get down and dirty with your stove, so my adventurous culinary spirit was quelled in favour of huevos rancheros and a stroll to a friend's place on a beautifully cool night. But now that school has started (though I guess it never really ended....?), evenings of cooking experiments are back on the table...pardon the pun.

I've decided to start off the cooking year with a simple recipe, for a dish that my mother introduced me to a few years ago. Nutritious, delicious, filling and easy as 1-2-3! What more could you ask for? Pardon the picture - my camera needs some maintenance (read: need to be replaced). 

Cottage cheese pancakes with strawberry maple syrup

Adapted from http://www.allrecipes.com

Pancakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cottage cheese (1% or higher)

4 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Butter or cooking spray

1. Whisk all wet ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.

2. In a second bowl, mix together all dry ingredients/

3. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix well.

4. Using a handmixer, blend batter until smooth. Alternatively, add batter in batches to a blender and blend until smooth.

5. Turn stove on medium heat and heat skillet thoroughly. Use cooking spray or butter to lightly oil the surface.

6. Add roughly 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter (depending on the size of your skillet) to the centre of the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until pancake lifts easily off of the skillet. Flip using a rubber spatula - the cooked side should be lightly golden with a darker gold edge.

7. To test if pancake is done (after about 2 minutes), use your spatula to gently cut open the centre - the inside should be smooth and cut easily.

8. Remove from heat, and repeat with remainder of the batter.

Strawberry maple syrup

1 1/2 cup maple syrup

5-6 frozen strawberries (or to taste)

2 tsp strawberry jam 

Aunt Jemima? No thanks.

1. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Mix well and let simmer on medium-low heat for a few minutes, then reduce heat and keep warm until ready to serve.