Homemade Berry Pancakes

Ahh... Sunday morning. The only day of the week I actually have some time to put some effort into breakfast.  But alas, an empty fridge leaves little to be desired. So what to do? What to make? Well I will be the very first to admit, I love pre-made pancake batter. You know, the ones you just add water to. Seriously they are easy and delish!

But today, I decide to take it one step further and try my hand at homemade pancakes. I have flour, I have eggs... so why not? The better question is, why not do this before? Super easy and super tasty, I topped them with a fruit mixture (a.k.a. whatever fruit I had) to add an extra zing!

Trust me, after you get a taste of these bad boys, you will never go back to the box stuff again!

Homemade Berry Pancakes

1-1 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp of salt
1 egg
2-3 tsp of oil

Mix dry ingredients together (begin with 1 cup of flour). Add wet ingredients and mix until most of lumps are out. Here you may need to add more flour. Batter should be thick but not chunky.

Heat a skillet (or frying pan) to medium heat. Add oil to pan if it is not a non-stick pan. Pour batter into pan. When little bubbles begin to form on the pancake, and the out rim looks like they are beginning to turn golden, then you know it is time to flip!

Top with mixed berries and real maple syrup and you are ready to eat!!

Hummus - Just as Universal as Mayo

Hummus. Love it. Absolutely love it. I dip things in it, spread it on things, mix different ingredients into it. You can use it for just about anything! Now most pre-made hummus you find in stores contain A LOT of oil and sometimes other ingredients that I can't pronounce. So once I discovered how incredibly easy it is to make my own, I never looked back to the shelves in the grocery store again.

You can mix a million different flavors into hummus twisting and turning it into different recipes, but today I will present you with the basic hummus recipe. Simple but never boring.

An important key to a good hummus is Tahini or Tahina. Tahini is basically a sesame seed paste. You can actually make it yourself, but I opt for the easy option of buying a huge tub. Why? Well its relatively cheap and it lasts forever. Nowadays you can find it at most grocery stores. Tahini reacts with the chickpeas to make a smoother texture and richer flavor (if you have ever tried to make hummus without tahini, you know what I am talkin about!

Ok... on to the recipe!

Basic Hummus 

1 can of chickpeas
2 tbsp of Tahini
1 tbsp of water or oil
1 tbsp of lemon juice (optional)
1 garlic clove
Salt to taste

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water or oil and blend. Blender is easiest option, but of course I do not have one so I use an emersion blender. Heck I have even used a potato mashed.

I choose water over oil for a healthier option. But once everything is blended, you may need to add more liquid to reach your desired consistency (depends on how thick or thin you like yours).

Also, I love garlic, so I often put in more.. but there is such a thing as too much. I think 1-2 cloves is just fine raw, but I have made it with roasted garlic and I use a lot more.

Drizzle olive oil on top and serve with chips, pita, veggies... literally whatever!