A couple of months back we marked a delicious anniversary. We’ve been part of the Eatwell Farms CSA for over a year now, and I still open each produce box with the anticipation of a six-year-old on her birthday, feasting my eyes on each item before tossing it to one side in pursuit of the next. There are strawberries to taste, carrots to trim, tomatoes to smell, garlic bulbs to hang, and fresh, pasture grazed eggs to examine.

Our Eatwell box is part of the reason we don’t go to the Ferry Building on Saturday mornings as frequently as I would like–we usually have plenty of produce at home. But another reason is that, well, it’s easy to go a little wild. I’ll often come home with unlikely and unnecessary things like cape gooseberries (just to taste), pounds of cucumbers (for when the current pickles run out), and bags of mixed hot peppers (only $3!). One Saturday recently, I came home with a pound of wheatberries. No, we didn’t really need them, but I’d been reading about them in our Eatwell newsletter for months.

Our farmer, Nigel, started growing wheat a few seasons back when it became difficult to find organic feed for the chickens, and he has recently been offering a limited amount at the market.  On this particular Saturday, back when it was still summer, one of Nigel’s sons sat atop the bags of red grain, pouring berries from the scoop enticingly. However, when I asked about the small grinder on display, I learned that a pound of grain might take ten or fifteen minutes to grind. “Or you can soak the wheat in milk overnight and make it into pancakes in the morning.” Really? I forked over my one dollar and tucked my pound of wheat into one of our overflowing canvas bags.

According to Nigel, the pancakes are as easy as switching out the flour in your favorite pancake recipe with wheatberries.  At home that evening, I poured one and one half cups wheatberries into the blender, covered them with an equal amount of buttermilk, added the sugar, oil, and vanilla, and left them to soak overnight.  In the morning I switched the blender on and briefly puzzled over the damp paste that was developing.  Of course, I should have exchanged the flour for wheatberries by weight; unfortunately my aha moment came about 12 hours too late. Here was a blender full of half ground grain in a soupy thick mess of flour, and not enough wheatberries left to start over another day.

Luckily, pancake mix is forgiving.  Going by look and feel, I added more liquid, doubled the levening, folded in an extra egg.  And, just as Nigel promised, the pancakes turned out beautifully.  Several batches later, here, in honor of Eatwell Farm, is my favorite new pancake recipe.  The pancakes turn out a wonderful golden brown, and they are surprisingly light.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups hard red wheat berries
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup low fat milk
4 tbs olive oil
2 tbs brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt

Method

The night before you make the pancakes, place the wheat, buttermilk, milk, olive oil, sugar, and vanilla in a blender, cover, and allow to soak overnight. In the morning, blend the mixture until mostly smooth. This part may take a little while. I gave my blender a couple of breaks so as not to burn out its motor. The mixture need not be completely smooth. A few small chunks of wheatberry give the pancakes a nice texture. Pour the batter into a mixing bowl and add the eggs, whisking to combine. Sprinkle the salt, baking soda, and baking powder over the batter and stir to combine well. Cook the pancakes immediately and serve hot!

Makes about twelve 8-inch pancakes

Yes, indeed. In Bavaria soft pretzels are often eaten for breakfast – with sausage, beer and, of course, mustard. Here, we’ve been eating them as a midnight snack (mostly because they’re irresistible right out of the oven, and I’ve been starting them way too late in the day); then eating them again for breakfast, minus the beer and sausage. If you roll them shorter and thicker, they’ll rise in the oven until most of the holes have been filled in. Then they can then be sliced in two horizontally and used as the bread for a not-too-sloppy sandwich.

The recipe comes from Local Breads, an amazing book that has been batting its eyelashes at me from the shelf for nearly a year. Sure, I’ve opened it; drooled over the recipes, learned the photographs by heart. But I never found the time to bake from it until a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve made the pretzels three times, and I now double the recipe. (You should too – eight soft pretzels is just not enough unless you’re baking for one and don’t intend to share!)

It’s been lovely, really – Andy and I, plus an assortment of friends and house guests, all chatting about life, love, and literature around the stock pot, watching the pretzels boil, sinking into a tired and contented silence as they bake, then reviving for more on love and philosophy as we tear into the soft warmth of their flesh, our talk shepherding the night toward morning. It’s romantic, I know, but it really does happen, and it could happen to you if you bake these. No promises, but I tell you, late nights and soft pretzels create a kind of unanticipated alchemy (aside from the anticipated but still magical alchemy of baking.)

Bavarian Soft Pretzels

Yields 8 pretzels. Recipe can be doubled.

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups tepid water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup baking soda for boiling (note: you needn’t double this amount for a double recipe)
Kosher salt and/or sesame seeds for topping

Method

In a large bowl, mix flour and butter and work butter into the dough with your fingers until evenly distributed. Add water and mix until absorbed, then add the salt to one side of the dough and yeast to the other side and work in both. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter top and kneed for 10 to 12 minutes until firm and smooth. Round dough into a ball and allow to rise, covered, in a oiled bowl at room temperature until light and springy, about 1 hour (it won’t double in size.)

If you are doubling the recipe, divide the dough and cover one half. Proceed as for one batch, then repeat. Place the dough on a lightly floured counter top and from into a rectangle. Use a chef’s knife to cut into 8 equal pieces, form each piece into a ball, and allow to rest covered for about 5 minutes. Roll out each piece with your hands until it is about 18 inches long, tapering the ends slightly. To form the pretzels, grab hold of each end and cross the left end over the right with the looped portion nearest you. Now create a twist by crossing top piece under. Finally, lift the twisted ends and flip them over onto the loop. Press the ends down to seal.

Place the pretzels on a oiled baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.

When you are ready to make the pretzels, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the baking soda slowly and turn the heat down to a simmer. Place the pretzels into the boiling water one at a time, simmering on each side for 15 to 20 seconds. Remove from the water, draining well and return to the oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled.

Sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt and/or sesame seeds and bake until they are a rich brown, about 35 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature with a good mustard. They are best fresh, but can be stored, well sealed for a couple of days.

I can’t tell you much about the Kona Inn, but if you’re craving some delicious banana bread I promise this recipe will bring you satisfaction.

When Stepmother left me and my sister as young adults she knew we would be left craving some of the fine baked goodies we were brought up on so she was kind enough to leave us each with a thoughtfully prepared binder of her favorite recipes. I’ve held on to my binder all of these years since then, and this banana bread recipe is one of my all time favorites. It turns out so moist and flavorful you will be tempted to eat it all before it has a chance to cool.

Kona Inn Banana Bread

Yields: Two Loaves, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Baking Time: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup softened un-salted butter
• 6 ripe bananas, mashed (approximately 3 cups)
• 4 eggs, well-beaten
• 2 1/2 cups cake flower
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. With an electric beater, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add bananas and eggs, beating until well mixed.
3. Sift together dry ingredients three times. Blend with banana mixture, but do not over mix.
4. Pour into (2) lightly greased loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, until firm in the centers and the edges begin to separate from pans.
5. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
6. These freeze beautifully.

I love elaborate breakfasts, but a couple of simple poached or soft boiled eggs, a slice or two of buttered toast, and a cup of good coffee is the most satisfying breakfast of all. When it comes to eggs, do as Julia does – bring water to a boil and gently slide in your eggs, cooking uncovered for 6 minutes. Then drain, cover with cold water and let sit for 1 minute before serving in an egg cup with ample salt and pepper.

The coffee is equally simple: individual drip cups, fresh Blue Bottle beans, and a long dash of cream.