Pancake Mix, Avocado Toasts, Bean

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Yesterday was a busy one — lots of recipe testing including a zucchini pizza I’m working on for the book. The one you are looking at here was solid, but not book-worthy, so no recipe just yet. (Leftovers will, however, be a most excellent lunch.) I also went for a run and listened to the fifth episode of Rabbit Hole, which has served to a) explain the phenomenon of Trump completely and b) convince me that I really have no idea what’s going on in the minds of a sizable population of this world. I guess that’s what good journalism does? Anyway, here are today’s kitchen notes…

Project: A Pancake Mix Road Test

Forget the overnight yeasted waffles and the sourdough pancakes using your grandmother’s 50-year-old starter — what about those mornings you just want to pour some water into a box mix and call it breakfast? I road-tested five of the top store brands for my Cup of Jo Wednesday food column. The winner completely surprised me!

Pantry: Avocado Toast

We are way into avocado toasts again for lunch. Part of this is because we’ve been on a long hiatus from them (after completely overdoing it from 2016-2019) and part of this is because our home delivery service, Baldor, seems to give us perfect avocados every single time, which is hard to do. We could debate all day on the best way to eat one, but my favorite remains the simplest with a twist: Instead of buttering my toast, I use coconut oil. Then I lightly fork-smash the slices and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt. That’s it. So good. Abby’s preferred version includes cream cheese underneath the avo, and sprinkled with Everything Bagel seasoning.

No real “Purpose” entry today — just wanted to tell you that my sweet little Bean had to get a growth surgically removed from her leg on Monday, and is recovering nicely. We aren’t sure what it means yet, but I would appreciate any positive energy you can send her way. xoxoxox

Stay safe.

The goal of the Project, Pantry, Purpose series to keep us sane, distracted, and connected. Please continue to comment below with suggestions for recipes, projects (for kids and adults), good deeds, donation ideas, stories, movies, games, puzzles. Or just tell me how you’re doing, what your daily routine is, and especially how DALS can help you or people in your community. You can also email me directly at [email protected].