Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes

Last week my daughter suddenly had the urge to eat pancakes. She wanted to run to the store to buy a bag of chocolate chips so she could add it to the pancakes. She looked to me for help to make the batter. I asked her to try it herself. She used this recipe for guidance and made the most flavorful pancakes I had ever eaten.

When she was in Kindergarten PowerPuff Girls was a very popular cartoon on TV. The three girls saving their town in every episode were her favorites. Our cats are named after them. These pancakes reminded us of one of the episodes. We googled it and found it was the 2nd episode of season 2. It is available on You tube. The episode starts with a regular family where the Mom cooks pancakes everyday. Everyday she asks her family to guess what they are having for breakfast and everyday she serves pancakes.

The original recipe called for 1 3/4 cup milk so my daughter added a cup of milk. She then realized the pancakes would taste better with buttermilk so she add 3/4 cup buttermilk. She meant to add 2 drops of vanilla but the bottle tilted too much and a whole tablespoon fell in. She is my daughter after all, cannot follow a recipe. :) But the pancakes came out fluffy and flavorful. And we enjoyed them.

You will need
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. butter or oil
2 drops vanilla extract

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Milk all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk the egg and mix in the other wet ingredients. Combine the dry and wet ingredients.

Heat a pan and drop a 1/4 of a cup of batter on it. Sprinkle some chocolate chips. When done flip it over and cook the other side. Remove from heat. Repeat for the remaining pancakes.

Serve hot with pure maple syrup. Enjoy!

Black Bean Cucumber and Avocado Salad

Salads make a great meal and so easy to make. I am adding this to my new section of dorm room recipes. The dressing on this salad consists of black pepper, salt, lime juice and cayenne pepper powder. Do not skip the cayenne, it enhances the flavor of the salad. The salad calls for cucumber and spinach or any green of your choice. It would be something you would whip up after a trip to the grocery store. Or if you have access to fresh vegetables in your cafeteria salad bar.

Some schools allow unlimited access to the cafeteria. They also allow you to carry your meals out of the cafeteria. If you are at one of those schools this salad is for you.  Grab a bunch of spinach and cucumber and head to your room. If you have avocado the salad will taste even better, if you don't skip it. Unfortunately, you cannot stock up on avocado but you can stock up on limes and black beans.

This salad is perfect for days you want something fresh but filling. This quantity serves two people. You could either have it as dinner with your roommate or make it for lunch and dinner on a busy day.

You will need
1 can black beans
a bunch spinach leaves, chopped
1 cucumber, diced
1 avocado, seed removed and diced (optional)

For the dressing
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp. cayenne pepper powder
salt and pepper to taste

Open the can of beans, rinse and drain the liquid. Keep aside. In a bowl add all the ingredients including those for the dressing. Toss to mix it up. Leave aside for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!