In my humble, yet naive opinion, fruit leather should contain fruit, not corn syrup, added sugar, cottonseed oil, food dye…who needs all that?  The organic fruit leather is better, but expensive.  Can this be done at home?

Since I have blueberries…a lot of blueberries..I decided to make fruit leather.  

Step 1 – Review recipes for the basics.

Step 2 – Wing it!

I wanted to make enough fruit leather to make it worth the time, but not so much that if it was a disaster we’d be stuck with it.  I settled on 3 cups of blueberries (frozen), 2 cups of applesauce (a 24 oz jar of Trader Joe’s Gravenstein - minus what my son ate before I could grab it - because that’s what I had on hand) and about 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.  Some people use honey, I think it depends on what fruit you’re using, and what you have.  It makes sense instead of sugar, which could crystallize and cause problems.

I cooked the blueberries with the syrup until a lot of the water was gone, about 20 minutes.  The wooden spoon left a visible trail in the pot, but it filled in quickly.  I let it cool for a few hours (ok, I let it sit until bed time).  Many of the recipes puree the hot fruit right away.  I was NOT in the mood to clean blueberry off the ceiling.  Plus, cooling = more evaporation = a better chance that it will actually dehydrate.  So, once the blueberry mixture was cool, I added the applesauce and blended it with my stick blender (go ahead, read about cornflake rain!).  It only took a minute or two before the mixture was smooth.

I sprayed 2 jellyroll pans with vegetable spray, divided the mixture between them, set the oven at its lowest temperature (170), propped open the door with a wooden spoon, and went to bed. 

The next morning (7 hours later), I had fruit leather!  But, it wasn’t perfect, and I know why…

My pans are black and slightly warped through years of use.   The fruit puree was too thick to be self leveling.  I filled the first pan and leveled it using a large offset spatula, but the 2nd pan did not get as much and had thin spots which were not immediately apparent.  When they came out of the oven, the less filled pan had spots that were not leathery.  This is bad for rolling, but an interesting crispy snack.  I set the crispy pieces on the counter and they were enjoyed by many and preferred by some.  Go figure.

I need about 1 more cup of puree, and to line the pans with parchment to get a better view of the uniformity.  As an added bonus when the leather is done it can be cut it right along with the parchment instead of having to cut individual strips for rolling. 

Because this isn’t an “official” recipe yet, you can’t add it to your meal plan.  If you make it I’d love to hear what worked for you and what didn’t.

So…can this be done at home?  Yes.  Is it economical?   When you compare it to an all real ingredient version, yes, even when you factor in the ~$0.77 it costs to run the oven overnight.

It’s also a nice treat to send along when you want to send something tasty, for birthday treats, but have to worry about food allergies.

It took me a long time to find THE pancake recipe that pleases my family.  They are called Sunday Morning Pancakes, because their creation entails 3 separate mixing vessels, and I don’t have the time or inclination to go through that much bother on a weekday morning.  Ok, I don’t have the inclination to go through it at all.  I want pancakes on the table in approximately the same time it would take to do a boxed mix.  They just want good pancakes.

The first thing I eliminate is the fussing around with the wet ingredients.  I melt the butter in a measuring cup, and everything wet just gets mixed in there.  IF I have buttermilk, I use it.  If not, I use powdered buttermilk, which is always in the ‘fridge (and use regular milk for the liquid).   The difference in taste is negligible.  I tried eliminating the buttermilk altogether and using milk thickened with vinegar or lemon juice, but, there were complaints…

The dry ingredients get whisked in the 2 quart plastic measuring cup that has become the symbol of pancakes in this house.  One does not get it out in the morning and not make pancakes if one does not want pissy children.

A quick mix, a lightly greased griddle (don’t use butter, it burns too fast), use the medium sized scoop to portion, and a few minutes on each side.  The recipe makes 18 pancakes, which serves my sons and husband. 

Some days I can put these golden discs of deliciousness on the table with the bottle of maple syrup** and everyone is happy.  Other days somebody wants fruit topping.  What to do?  Melt butter and brown sugar together, toss in whatever fruit is handy, and cook until the fruit is tender.  Resist the urge to glare at the spoiled child, because it’s my own fault.  This is fastest with bananas, and not nice at all with canned peaches.  I can also get away with using home made jam and a dollop of whipped cream.

Oh, and by the way?  They also want bacon.

Real maple syrup, please. Not that chemically concocted pancake syrup.  Your pancakes are worth it and so are you, really…

Is anyone but me NOT ready for school to be out?  My youngest brother texted me last Friday, full of glee, that “school is out for summer!”  Yikes.  I can see my routine crumbling…

Right now, I fill the boys full of breakfast, pack their lunches, send them off to school, and get on with my day.   That’s about to end.  They’re going to stay up late, sleep in, and have their own plans.  If I’m going to get anything done, the menu plan needs to be full of easy choices that the boys can make themselves so I’m not constantly in the kitchen.

Breakfast is easy – pancakes and waffles from the weekend store nicely, and breakfast casserole reheats very well – not much intervention from me at all (I love the leftover feature!), I’ll just make extra of everything over the weekend.

Lunch is more problematic because it tends to be more of a grazing experience.  To avoid queries about what they should eat, I’ll populate (and prominently post) the menu with choices like peanut butter and pretzels, turkey, cheese, and crackers (they don’t really like sandwiches), and fruit and veggies – which are kept in bowls in the fridge.   These things also pack quickly and easily for a day at the pool.

We make it a point to have  dinner together, but I’m already thinking about light and easy things like pasta salads, chicken caesar salad, or even some cheese steak sandwiches that are warmed on the grill instead of in the oven.

Guess I’m more ready than I thought…