Renewed

It has been a while since I last blogged. I guess life in general has gotten in the way. So much so that we picked up some old bad habits along the way of trying to simply eat healthy, home-made meals. Although religiously only buying organic produce and minimizing processed foods, the word 'Local' was once again lost in our vocabulary. So, how could I blog about something that I was not really doing? How do I pick up where I left off? As I pondered these questions, I heard from a friend of mine that Michael Pollan would be in town (Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food) so I joined her and went to hear him talk. We spent an evening listening to him and meeting with all the local food producers that normally participate in the farmers markets around town. We both walked out re-inspired!

Yesterday, my husband and I visited our nearby farmers market (it had been a while) and stocked up on fresh veggies and grass-fed beef. We did go to WF but only to compliment our local produce and we have once again promised ourselves that eating local organic produce would become our priority. So here I am again! I am going to include a favorite recipe of ours because the sweet potatoes were plentiful this weekend. Try it and enjoy!

Sweet Potato-Pecan Pancakes

Cooking Light, March 2000

1 1/4 cups all=purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted and divded

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumkin-pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup (about) of cooked sweet potatoes (original recipe calls for a can of sweet potatoes but we have always cooked our own)

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, 2 tbs pecans, baking powder, pumpkin-pie spice,

and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients;

add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Stir in sweet potatoes.

Spoon about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot nonstick griddle or large

nonstick skillet. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles

and edges look cooked. Sprinkle pancakes with 2 tbs pecans.