You might think there isn’t much to do on a farm in the winter. Well, you’d be thinking wrong! Its bitterly cold today in Missouri, but there are some garden plants that don’t really care. Spinach is one of my favorite veggies to grow year round. All you need is a tray of dirt, your favorite spinach seeds, water and sunlight. Oh! And a spot indoors!
And then you need a recipe!
But let me say that just because my farm kids help grow the veggies doesn’t mean they’ll eat them! So I created these green Christmas pancakes to entice my little ones to consume a bit more of those leafy greens. It was an instant success! So here’s to healthy holiday recipes!
Healthy Holiday Pancakes
Handful spinach leaves
3/4 cup buttermilk*
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon agave nectar or honey
1 egg
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup flour (I use 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
*If you don’t have buttermilk you can make your own by adding a teaspoon or so of lemon juice to plain milk and letting it set for about 5 minute.
Put spinach leaves in a blender, cover with buttermilk, applesauce, agave, egg and oil. Blend until smooth. In a mixing bowl combine remaining ingredients. Add wet mixture to flour, stirring just until moist. Add more flour if the mixture is too runny. This will vary, based on how much spinach you use and how juicy the spinach is. I also add about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to mine at this point to distract my kiddos. Then pour onto a griddle and cook as usual. Enjoy some holiday baking without the gilt!
Daddy's Tractor 