Getting Fresh

I don't know if I am being hypnotized by the slow food movement, or if it is just because I am home and have "more time", but I find myself cooking less and less from a box. I don't cook healthier, I don't think, but if I am going to make pancakes for my children then I want to know what goes into the mix. It is pretty simple, really. Cook what you want, eat what you want, just know where it came from and what is in it. Buy the staples, flour, real butter, eggs, milk, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, chocolate - the basics- and you can make pretty much make any bread or dessert whenever you want. And you know exactly what you are eating.

I buy as much local produce as I can. Local being within a days drive, or two,  from my local farmers' market or grocery store. Why do I need to buy strawberries in January from Chile when I can wait a month or two and buy some pretty tasty ones from Florida? A few months more, some from Alabama?

In the South, we have the luxury of fresh fruits and vegetables year round, but you do need to adapt to forgoing your favorites if they are out of season. I never eat a tomato out of Alabama's tomato season; that's just wrong. My local grocery store will have local produce and international so I have to pay attention when I shop. There is a wonderful farmers' market here (The Curb Market) with local produce, flowers and baked goods. I have discovered some great local farms that are totally worth the drive.

Oakview Farms is our favorite. The kids love the chickens, goats, and a certain cat named Lily. I love the stone ground grits (ground right there on the farm) and the hydroponic lettuces. These lettuces, Bibb, Romaine and others,  have spoiled me completely. I cannot stand bag lettuce anymore. At all. The owners, the Lambrechts, also grow peppers and tomatoes. Their store, right there on the property, is such a treat. All sorts of flours and meals, seeds and granola, cheeses, eggs, and the best honey. For berries, we like Barber Berry Farm. A U-Pick berry farm near the Alabama river that specializes in blueberries and blackberries. 

Don't think I have gone all "Earth Mama", 'cause I haven't. I still love a taco-kit dinner just as much as the next girl. But, cooking is so much more than opening a box. It starts when you pick up that red tomato and can still smell the dirt - best smell in the world. So when you make your grocery list, check out what's in season and leave the box in aisle 7.

Not-out-of-the-box Pancake Mix

This is a great pancake mix to have on-hand, instead of a box mix. You know what is in it because you put it there. It travels well too!

For the mix:
4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda (can be omitted for fluffier pancakes)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons sugar

Mix all the ingredients together and store in an air-tight container.

To make a batch:
1 cup mix
1 egg
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup buttermilk (or milk, or 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup milk)

Blend with a whisk until just blended together. Cook pancakes on hot griddle or pan.


**When ripe fruit like strawberries, blueberries or peaches are in season, heat your favorite fruit with enough maple syrup (the real stuff) to cover (about 1/2 cup), slowly on the stove. When the syrup begins to bubble, let it go for a few minutes then pour over the pancakes. Yummy