Peach Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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I tend to make pancakes when I am home alone for extended periods of time. I love experimenting with different add-ins. I’ve had success with bananas, chocolate chips, blueberries, and even pumpkin. I love peach pancakes, and there are plenty of beautiful, ripe peaches around these days that need to be used up. So when David went out of town last weekend, I had myself some pancakes. For dinner. And breakfast. And another dinner. They are good, but the repetition was mostly due to my incessant studying for the rapidly approaching bar exam. Please excuse my light posting in the coming week. Trust me, I’d rather be with you.

To make peach chocolate chip pancakes, mix up some pancake batter. If you use a mix, that’s fine. I usually do, but I was out, so I made a batter like this: Mix 3/4 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar together and set it aside. I think this step emulates a buttermilk effect, and it sounds weird, but it tasted fine. In a separate bowl, compile 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, and add it into the milk, along with 1 egg. Mix the milk mixture together so everything is combined, and then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk the batter thoroughly. Add in 1 peach cut into 1/2 inch pieces and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. These measurements are enough to make 4 large pancakes.

Coat a pan with nonstick spray, and heat it over medium-high heat. Add 1 ladle of pancake batter into the pan, making sure to scoop at the bottom of the bowl where chocolate chips tend to settle, and shake the pan so the batter spreads out. When the pancake forms bubbles on its surface and its edges start to look dry, flip it over so it can cook on its other side. I have a HUGE spatula that I use specifically for flipping large pancakes. I don’t know why I have it, but I’m glad I do. When the pancake has cooked for another minute or so and has puffed up, remove it to a side plate, and proceed to cook the rest of your pancakes.

Top your pancakes with whatever accompaniment you prefer, and enjoy! For breakfast, lunch, dinner, or all of the above.

This recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com.

Shopping list:

  • Milk- 3/4 cup
  • White vinegar- 1 tablespoon
  • Egg- 1
  • Butter- 2 tablespoons
  • Flour- 1 cup
  • Sugar- 2 tablespoons
  • Baking powder- 1 teaspoon
  • Baking soda- 1/2 teaspoon
  • Salt- 1/2 teaspoon
  • Peach- 1
  • Chocolate chips- 1/2 cup
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Hairless Corn

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I realize that titling this post, Hairless Corn, might be a little disturbing, but if you’ve ever eaten a piece of corn on the cob and gotten its silky strands stuck in your teeth, then you’ll forgive me. This corn-cooking method does a great job of getting all of the hairs off of your corn. The method has spread like wildfire through my family, so I thought I’d share it with you too.

My grandmother recently got an iPad, and one of her friends sent her this corn-cooking video. She sent it to my mom, and around it goes. I don’t know if non-grandparent generations have discovered this video or not, but they should.

To make your corn in the microwave, put one ear of unshucked corn in the microwave and cook it for 3 minutes. Repeat with the rest of your corn. If you’d rather cook your corn another way, do so, but leave the corn unshucked. If I had a grill, I’d throw the ears right on there, maybe brushed with a little bit of oil to keep them from sticking.

Once your corn is done cooking, use a serrated knife to cut the bottom of the corn off so that the kernels are at the base.

If your corn is still hot, grab the top of the husk with a glove. The man in the video shakes his corn cob right out of its husk. My corn doesn’t come out that easily. I have to squeeze at it and push down on it, but when the corn pops out, it is perfectly cooked and completely hairless. Season to your liking and eat away!

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Crispy Potatoes in a Foil Pouch

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My mom makes these very fun crispy potatoes in a tin foil pouch that she cooks on the grill. Everyone gets their own little (or big) packet, and everyone loves them. Especially me. Crispy potatoes make the world go round.

The potatoes are seasoned with onion soup mix packets, so they are pretty easy to make. If you have an aversion to mixes, this might be a good time to get over it. Or find a way to snag a dinner at my mom’s house, if you can get that lucky, so you don’t have to make them yourself.

To make these potato packets, dice up 1 potato per person into 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer them to a bowl.

Then add in the onion soup mix. It can be pretty salty, so only add as much as you think you need. Taste test for confirmation. Drizzle on some olive oil to moisten the potatoes, and mix everything together.

Set up one tinfoil square per serving, and scoop the potatoes into the center of them. Wrap them up tight so they look like a Hershey kiss. Or if you’re from the Tomogatchi generation, a poop that you keep trying to feed to your pet.

Put the foil packets on a BBQ grill, close the lid, and let them cook for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and starting to crisp on the bottom. You can also cook them in the oven at 400ºF for the same amount of time. Sometimes my mom microwaves the potatoes in a covered bowl for 5 minutes before putting them in the foil so they cook faster once the packets go on the grill.

Hand out the foil packets when you’re ready to eat, and open them carefully because steam will escape. I hate the feeling my fork takes on when it touches tin foil, so I dump the potatoes out onto my plate. If I have a plastic fork, I can partake in the true joy that is eating them right out of the foil. I hope you have fun with these potatoes!

Shopping list:

  • Potatoes- 1 per person
  • Onion soup mix
  • Olive oil
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