pancakes on the brain
Another Sunday, another market. This week the weather was blessedly mild enough to stroll in a sundress without breaking a sweat, so I probably lingered at the market a little longer than usual. (In doing so, I found some gold star, low-priced treasures!)
I had pancakes on the brain for the past week but I’d been holding out for Sunday brunch to curb the craving. So, knowing that the breakfast carb was most definitely on the menu, I went into the shopping spree with more of a game plan than usual.
I had a package of Bo’s Best gingerbread pancake mix waiting at home. Bo’s Best is like the gourmet version of Bisquick – just add eggs and water. It is absolutely brilliant! (Bo’s Best comes in a number of flavors and I’ve really liked all that I’ve tried.) I knew I wanted to do a bacon and mushroom something to pair with my pancakes, as well as a fruit compote since I love summer fruit much more than I care for pancake syrup.
I also couldn’t resist the heirloom tomatoes and the delicate white corn which are both coming into their prime season. (I grabbed a few non-brunch items for myself, including yellow pluots and those French fingerling potatoes with which I’ve become obsessed.)
At the forager’s stand I found an absolute treat: chantarelles! At $2/oz, they are a bit of a splurge but having hunted for the golden mushrooms myself, I found the price more than fair. Then I added to the basket some Japanese dandelion greens to make a little salty/bitter saute. (The Japanese greens are a little more bitter than I would expected and I think I’ll stick to the milder, garden variety in future.)
Chanterelles with Dandelions and Crispy Veggie Bacon
1 sm garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 oz fresh chanterelles
1 bunch dandelion greens (about 2 handfuls)
6 strips veggie bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled*
In a non-stick pan, saute the garlic and shallot in a splash of grapeseed or canola oil for 30 seconds (just enough to soften) then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 3 more minutes, then add the greens and saute until the greens have wilted. Stir in the bacon and remove from heat. Season with salt if necessary.
*You can use the real deal, but having been shot in the eye with flying bacon grease, I’ve developed a real distaste for frying bacon. (Thank goodness I wear contacts, huh?) In this application I think the facon works just as well and requires about 1/4 the cleanup.
After buying my greens, I then asked a farmer with some particularly sexy, velvet-skinned apricots if he had any bruised fruit for a compote. He pointed me to a bin of discards at 60 cents/lb. I picked out a selection of apricots as well as a few yellow peaches that were ripe to the point of drooling.
Peach-Apricot Ginger Compote (serves 6-8 as a pancake topping)
2 tbsp water
8 very ripe apricots, roughly chopped
2 very ripe peaches, roughly chopped
1 tsp ginger, minced
1-2 tsp stevia
lemon juice to taste
In a small sauce pan, heat the water to a simmer then toss in the fruit and stir. Let the fruit simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the fruit doesn’t have a liquidy, compote texture yet, cook for another 3-4 minutes. Sweeten with stevia, starting with 1 tsp and adding up to 2 (yes, you can use regular sugar), stirring until it is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice to brighten flavor to your taste.
I finished off the buffet with those heirloom tomatoes sliced and served with raw, sweet corn kernels, Persian cucumber rounds, avocado slices and little quenelles I made of the Soybean Dip from The Love Diet.
The wine, of course, flowed freely.