Heart Healthy Wake-Up Call: Kim Boyce's Oatmeal Pancakes (and a picnic treat)

Kim Boyce: pastry maker, amazing baker and James Beard Award winner. She has a huge following and I'm about one click away from ordering her book Good to the Grain. (Or I might just place an order at my local bookshop instead of ordering online.) Kim's bakeshop is supposed to be fantastic and it will be high on my list of places to eat when I go back to Portland.
Anyway, I've been meaning to make these Oatmeal Pancakes ever since I saw them on The Wednesday Chef blog. I finally got it done. 
For some reason I thought they would take a long time to prepare, which is not the case at all. This recipe uses rolled oats-- as a porridge (oats boiled in water for 5 minutes) and as a flour (oats pulsed for about 1/2 minute in the food processor). A quick and easy way to convert oatmeal into a pancake and get some soluble fiber into your diet!
I had a few cups of rolled oats left over from some Swedish Chokladbollars I made during a play date a few weeks ago, so it was time to make these pancakes.
As you can see, they were a total hit with Otis. He ate 5. That's him in the picture below showing you how many he ate. So between the Quinoa Patties and these Oatmeal Pancakes, I'm batting over 300. That's pretty good. And speaking of batting, baseball season is just around the corner! Yippee. Andy Pettitie is back in pinstripes after coming out of retirement. And even though I'm living in Denver, I am still a 5th generation New Yorker, so I'll still be rooting for the Bronx Bombers...well, at least for this year. 

Oatmeal Pancakes (Courtesy of Kim Boyce via The Wednesday Chef)
Makes about 18 pancakes
3/4 cup oat flour (pulse 3/4 cup rolled oats into a food processor or spice grinder until finely ground)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (plus extra for the pan)
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup cooked oatmeal*
1 tablespoon unsulphured (not blackstrap) molasses or 1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs

1. Whisk the oat flour, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the butter, milk, cooked oatmeal, honey and eggs together until thoroughly combined. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a light hand is important for tender pancakes; the batter should be slightly thick with a holey surface. Although the batter is best if using immediately, it can sit for up to 1 hour on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator. When you return to the batter, it will be very thick and should be thinned, one tablespoon at a time, with milk. Take care not to overmix.

2. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron pan or griddle over medium heat until water sizzles when splashed onto the pan. Rub the pan generously with butter. Working quickly, dollop 1/4-cup mounds of batter onto the pan, 2 or 3 at a time. Once bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancake, flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is dark golden-brown, about 5 minutes total. Wipe the pan with a cloth before griddling the next pancake. Continue with the rest of the batter.

3. Serve the pancakes hot, straight from the skillet or keep them warm in a low oven.

* To make oatmeal, if you don’t have any leftover: Bring 2 cups of water, 1 cup of rolled oats and a pinch of salt to a boil and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Let cool. You’ll have some extra oatmeal, which you can eat while you’re cooking.

* * *

After breakfast we had to do a quick wardrobe change (Otis, who was my sous chef, was covered in batter), and then we were off to spend a wonderful afternoon in Washington Park. I picked up a sandwich from Vert--the Tortilla Espanola and a side of spicy peanut slaw. It was scrumptious. I really love that place. 

            
I also made some Beet Tahini the night before. I brought that along on the picnic too and served it with some crudités. The picture is not great, but the recipe is FANTASTIC. It's the perfect summer dip, one that I'm going to have on hand at all times. Yes, I liked it that much. And I knew I would since it's an adaptation of a Moro East recipe.

Beet Dip with Tahini (Adapted slightly from A Lovely Morning, Adapted from Moro East)

3 large beets
1/2 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (though I left it out one time I made this dip and it was still delicious)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
sea salt and pepper
Preparation
Preheat over to 400 degrees. The actual recipe calls for boiled beets. I decided to roast them (as suggested by A Lovely Morning) since don't usually boil beets. I drizzled them with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkled them with some salt and black pepper, wrapped them in tin foil and baked for about 1 1/2 hours-- or until tender. Let them cool and then peel the skin off. Coarsely chop them and transfer them to the food processor. Add garlic, olive oil, and tahini and pulse in the processor until you have a nice semi-smooth puree. Then add the mint, vinegar, salt and pepper and pulse for a minute more.
Taste. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice if you like. 

When we got home, Otis went to sleep. This time it was Theo who needed a wardrobe change. Then we played ball with Omar in the yard. It was another great day in Denver. Well, minus the 'lake incident' when Otis decided to chase the geese right into the lake, fully clothed and with his shoes on. He came out soaking wet, partially-covered in mud, but he laughed all the way to the car. 

I was not laughing quite as much...