I made Multigrain Pancakes for breakfast, this morning. And they were awesome. But, what is it about the month of January that makes me want to take another look at pancakes? I mean, last January I gave you the Best Buckwheat Pancakes Ever. Now, this?

I think, like most of you, I’m suffering from “Holiday Hangover” – looking back over all the decadent fat and sugar-laden foods we’d consumed over the last couple of months, and saying to myself, “Self, time to get yourself in check.” Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll pass. But in the meantime, I want pancakes. Light, fluffy, tasty pancakes that have something going for them in the nutrition department. Choices. It’s all about choices, people.

Multigrain Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oatmeal, ground
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 packet Truvía (or 2 tsp. sugar)
2 Tbs. Smart Balance Light Spread (or butter or margarine)
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk (or dairy milk of your choice)
1 large egg

Preparation:

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour through sweetener).

Melt the Smart Balance (or butter) and allow to cool a bit. Measure the soy milk into a 2-cup glass measuring cup, add the egg and whisk together. Add the melted Smart Balance or butter and whisk thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together until completely combined.

Spray a large frying pan or griddle with cooking spray and heat it until a few drops of water bounce around before evaporating. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. Turn when the tops develop bubbles and the edges look dry. Cook the second side for about 3 – 4 more minutes, or until brown.

Serve with additional Smart Balance and/or whatever you like. Personally, I think they make a dandy platform for one of my Freakin’ Flamingo Jams. Oh, come on – you would have been disappointed if I hadn’t slipped a plug in there, somewhere! The jam in this photo is a new one I’m working on, Strawberry Mojito. Almost ready for prime time.

Makes about 16, roughly 4-inch pancakes.

Notes:

One more time: I receive no consideration for using Smart Balance Light, or any other brand. I have it in my fridge because we like it and for its stated healthy composition. If you want to use something else, feel free

And, of course, this recipe is easily multiplied to feed a crowd. You can freeze any leftover pancakes with pieces of waxed paper or parchment paper slipped between each one, in a freezer bag, and reheat them from frozen (don’t thaw them) in your oven or toaster oven, whenever you want them!

Mike loved these so much, he instantly began thinking of other uses for them, besides breakfast. Slathered with cold jam, topped with whipped cream and a strawberry, it’s dessert. Leave out the sweetener, make the batter a bit thinner, and cook them at silver dollar size, and you have a savory pancake that’s a perfect base for an appetizer. And then he begged me not to post the recipe!

I love my husband.

A friend recently presented me with a veritable cornucopia of assorted fresh herbs she’d gotten in her CSA box, as she was leaving on vacation the next day and she wouldn’t be able to use them. “What do you do with tarragon, anyway?” she asked.

Tarragon is a really pungent herb that, when used judiciously, enhances poultry, citrus, eggs, and especially cream sauces. Oh, yesssss… especially cream sauces…

I actually discovered tarragon some years ago, when Mike and I used to co-host big St. Patrick’s Day parties at a friend’s home. Back then we lived in a teensy condo and it became a bit too crowded, what with two home businesses going at the same time (don’t ask), to entertain much. Among the advantages of the arrangement, though, was that I didn’t have to put together a kosher St. Patrick’s Day party. I know. Weird. Anyway, I found a recipe for chicken in a tarragon cream sauce in The Best of Irish Cooking, edited by Rosemary Moon. Not exactly low-fat or particularly heart-healthy, but ohmygod delicious!

The conversation with my friend about tarragon motivated me to try to come up with a version that uses no dairy. That accomplished two things: First, I could now prepare this decadent delight in my kosher kitchen, and second, it eliminates pretty much all of the saturated fat and replaces it with soy. I’ve paired it here with some simple steamed Yukon Gold potatoes that I created on the fly, prepared in the microwave.

All in all, you’ll be surprised how quickly this meal comes together – fast enough to fix for your family on a weeknight – but elegant enough for company. You can also multiply this very easily for a large party. I once prepared it for 50+ people and served it buffet-style on warming trays! I’m going to give you the recipe as it appears in Ms. Moon’s collection, with my changes in red next to the original ingredients.

We were really happy with the outcome. As Mike said, when he went into the kitchen searching for seconds, “If you don’t tell anyone that there isn’t any cream in here, they’d never know.”

Chicken in (Non-Dairy) Tarragon Cream Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. unsalted butter (Smart Balance Light Spread)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbs. fresh tarragon leaves
1/2 cup white wine (I was out of white wine – horrors! – and used Calvados)
3/4 cup heavy cream (1/2 cup Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream + 1/2 cup plain soy milk)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat a 10″ skillet on high heat and brown the “pretty” sides of the chicken breasts in the butter. Turn them over, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a heat-safe plate and keep warm while preparing the sauce.

Raise the heat back up to medium-high, add the wine to the skillet (off the stove, please, for safety), then add the fresh tarragon leaves, deglazing the pan and scraping up all the good brown bits. Allow to boil for about a minute, then reduce the heat again to medium. Add the “cream”, salt and pepper to your taste (you won’t need much), and simmer gently (reducing the heat again, if necessary) for another 2 minutes. (Thin with a bit more soy milk if it becomes too thick) Return the chicken to the pan (along with any juices accumulated while it was waiting), for just another couple of minutes.

Serve the chicken with a generous dollop – or two – of the sauce, along with some Simple Microwave Steamed Potatoes and a green salad.

Simple Microwave Steamed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 medium gold potatoes
1 1/2 Tbs. butter (Smart Balance Light Spread)
Salt & pepper

Preparation:

Wash and then roughly cube the potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Place on a large dinner plate and dot with the Smart Balance Light Spread. Cover the plate with plastic wrap, leaving a gap to vent the steam, and microwave on high for 10 minutes, or until fork-tender.

If you, too, have always wondered “what do you do with tarragon, anyway?”, I recommend you start with this dish – either in its original form, or my kosher, lower-fat version. You’ll want to add this versatile herb to your culinary arsenal!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated or induced in any way to use or recommend Tofutti or Smart Balance brands. I wish I had been – I use them all the time in my kitchen, and you should keep them on hand, too. By the way, regular Smart Balance Spread contains dairy. I use the Light version, because it is kosher, pareve, and vegan. Although the package states that it’s not intended for cooking/baking, I use it in both with excellent results. Word.

I’ve got two – count ‘em – two treats for you today! Maybe even three!

I was on the web recently, looking at platform beds for my new space-age foam mattress, when I was struck by an idea for another frozen and healthy concoction (it happens that way, sometimes), and inspired by the new Flickr group,

created by Elle and Heather, I give you treat number one:

Vegan Blueberry “Ice Cream”
(makes about 1-1/2 pints)

Ingredients:

1 dry pint blueberries
1/2 cup agave nectar (divided) -or-
1/2 cup sugar (divided)
1 cup soy milk
1 cup silken tofu
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Preparation:

Make the blueberry syrup at least one hour before preparing the base.

Wash the blueberries, removing any stems in the process. Do not dry.

To make the syrup: In small saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries and 1/4 cup agave nectar or sugar. Bring to a boil, and allow to cook and reduce for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer contents to a heat-proof container, and refrigerate. You should have about 2/3 cup of blueberry syrup. When the syrup is completely cooled (it doesn’t have to be cold – just room temperature is fine), make the “ice cream” base.

To make the base: In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy milk, silken tofu, remaining 1/4 cup agave nectar or sugar, vanilla, and salt. Transfer this mixture to the bowl of your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Put the now-soft ice cream into an air-tight container and mix in the blueberry syrup. Cover and freeze – minimum an hour or two.

So, if you’re vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, diabetic, or just want a sweet, frozen sump’n-sump’n on a hot summer day, that won’t kill your diet and might actually be >gasp!< healthy, give this a try while the blueberries are in season!

I promised you a second treat, didn’t I? I don’t think you’ll be disappointed…

I was contacted recently by CSN Stores – you know, the hugely popular web company with over 200 internet stores that carry everything from patio furniture to (my personal fave) Cookware.com? They asked if I would like to give you – my dear, dear readers – a gift certificate for $50! Think about it – $50 to spend anyway you like in any of those 200 stores! It’s like Christmas in June, isn’t it? I said, “Heck, yeah! My readers deserve a little something special!” Because I love my readers. All of my readers. So I know you won’t be mad when I tell you that only those of you with U.S. and Canadian shipping addresses can play. Sorry!

And because I love you, I’m going to give you several ways to win:

First way, go to CSN and find something you’d love to blow $50 on, come back here and leave a comment about it.

Second way, follow me on Google Friend Connect (over there in the sidebar), and leave another comment that you did.

Third way, follow me on Networked Blogs (also over there in the sidebar), and leave another comment. If you already follow me on Google Friend Connect and/or Networked Blogs, leave a comment for each one that you do.

Fourth way, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and/or mention it on Facebook, then come here and leave the link to your tweet or mention in another comment. You can tweet and FB everyday – but only comments about tweets and mentions with links will be counted. Above all, make sure I have a good e-mail address for you – if I can’t contact you within 3 days after the end of this giveaway, I’ll choose a new winner.

Fifth way, “Like” Flamingo Musings on Facebook, and of course, come back and leave a comment that you’re a “liker” (I really hate that… What was wrong with “fan,” anyway?). Again, if you already like Flamingo Musings, please leave a comment saying that.

Winners will be selected by random.org next Sunday night, June 13, 2010 at 11:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time. I’ll tweet, FB, and e-mail the winner shortly afterward.

Fun, right? Well, guess what? Here’s your third treat: My buddy Barbara, over at Barbara Bakes, is also giving away a CSN gift certificate this week! Double your chances of winning by visiting her, too!

One post, three treats – isn’t that a great way to start off the week?

*Disclosure: I have not been paid in any way or given any inducements of any kind to write this post or participate in this giveaway.

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