Here are a few recipes that I make using Buttermilk. As mentioned above, if you don't have buttermilk just add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice to your milk. Let it sit for a minute or two to thicken. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Almond Cake From Albufeira, Portugal ==================================== Bon Appetit, November 1977 1 cup all purpose flour 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup melted butter cooled to room Temperature 2/3 cup sliced almonds Hot Almond Syrup (recipe follows) Hot Almond Syrup 3/4 cup granulated sugar 6 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon almond extract . Preheat oven to 350* F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Beat egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract together until smooth. Stir in melted butter. Add flour mixture and mix with spoon until nearly smooth. Turn into a buttered 9" springform pan. Bake until center of cake springs back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven. While is hot, cover top with sliced almonds. Slowly pour Hot Almond Syrup even over, letting syrup soak into cake. Broil about 6" from heat until almonds are lightly toasted. Cool on rack 15 minutes. Using knife or spatula, loosen sides between pan and cake, then cool completely before releasing springform pan. Almond Syrup In 1-qt saucepan combine sugar and water. Boil until mixture reaches 220* F on candy thermometer*. Remove from heat and stir I almond extract. Edited: January 22nd, 2006 Be careful not to over cook the syrup or it will harden on top of the almonds rather than get absorbed into the cake. I don't use the thermometer. I just bring the syrup to a boil and cook for about one minute. There is so little syrup that it doesn't take long. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Oatmeal Pancakes ================ Http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001893dees_oat meal_pancakes.php Do you love oatmeal? Do you love pancakes? You should try them when they are one and the same. Seriously. Dee Johnston whipped up her favorite family recipe for a recent gathering of friends and this is now my new favorite pancake. Great smothered with butter and maple syrup (of course) and also leftover strawberries from strawberry shortcake. A little advanced planning is necessary as the oats must soak in buttermilk overnight. Yummmmm.... 2 cups oats (the regular kind - Old Fashioned or Quick, not steel-cut and not instant) 3 cups buttermilk 3 eggs, well beaten 1/2 cup flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder Dash salt 1 tablespoon peanut oil Butter or extra vegetable oil for the griddle Optional A basket of strawberries - stems removed, sliced, and macerated with 2 Tbsp of sugar for an hour, then slightly mashed Maple syrup Butter 1 Put oats into a large bowl, add the buttermilk. Let the oats soak in the buttermilk overnight. 2 Mix in the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and peanut oil. Oatmeal-pancakes-1.jpg oatmeal-pancakes-2.jpg Oatmeal-pancakes-3.jpg 3 Then proceed as with any pancake recipe. Heat a flat iron surface - griddle or large pan - to medium high heat. Oil the pan with either a Tbsp of butter or vegetable oil. Ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle to the desired size, usually about 5 or 6 inches wide. When air bubbles start to bubble up to the surface at the center of the pancakes (about 2-3 minutes), use a flat spatula to flip them over. After a minute, peak under one for doneness. When golden or darker golden brown, they are done. Note that cooking the second side takes only about half as long as the first side. And the second side doesn't brown as evenly as the first side. Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Serves 4-6. Serve with butter, maple syrup, and macerated strawberries. Country Biscuits ================ 2 cups of flour 1 Tablespoon of baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup shortening, lard, Crisco or butter (I use butter) 1 cup of milk (cream) or buttermilk if using buttermilk add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda) Optional. Add a little sugar if you prefer sweet rather than savory. Mix the flour with the baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter/shortening until it resembles coarse meal. Stir milk or cream in to flour mixture. Mix quickly with fork until dough comes together. Using hands gently pat the ingredients together. Fold over once or twice or even three times if necessary. Do not over-handle. Pat out to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut with biscuit cutters and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes at 450°F. TIP: Using your finger push a little dent into the middle of the biscuit. This helps the biscuit rise straight and prevents it from tipping over as it rises. If making cheese biscuits add the mustard and cayenne to the dry ingredients and add the cheese after the shortening has been cut into the flour. Tip: An easy way to cut the butter into the flour is to use a box grater. The large side of the grater makes the perfect size pieces of butter. Options: You can use any favourite cheese. Gorgonzola and other blue cheeses are wonderful with the addition of black pepper. Cheddar cheese is good with chives or green onions. Sometimes I add dry mustard and cayenne pepper. Or bacon or ham.

Yum, Ann t, it looks delicious, and I love your maple walnut fudge. I don't dare make it, Elery doesn't eat sweets and I'd end up eating it all. Yeah, I know, a person who doesn't eat sweets. It's just wrong. Actually, he's hypoglycemic and sweets give him a headache, so that just leaves more for me which ends up being a good thing. I think.... Annie

In my last kitchen I had Caesarstone champagne limestone countertops - we had espresso colored cabinets. The countertop color gave a warm feeling and was a good combination with the cabinets. This time around we are going for a more modern/contemporary look and are doing slab front walnut base cabinets with clear gloss and opted for Caesarstone organic white countertops. I love light countertops - find them easier to keep clean - streaking is less noticable - and they brighten up the space. Here's a picture of our kitchen in progress with the light countertops

This recipe from the Atlanta Journal/Constitution calls for two cups of buttermilk. The only change I would make is that the gelatin in two tablespoons water sets up really fast, so wait until you are ready to add it to the cream mixture. Virginia Willis' Buttermilk Panna Cotta With Blackberry Coulis 6 servings Hands on: 20 minutes Total time: 6 hours, 20 minutes Although the Italian dessert panna cotta translates as "cooked cream," in fact, you heat the heavy cream only long enough to dissolve the sugar and the gelatin. When testing the Rock Cream, it occurred to chef Virginia Willis that the dessert seemed very much like a panna cotta in taste and consistency and inspired her chef's version using buttermilk for a Southern flair and a garnish of blackberry coulis. 2 tablespoons water 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin 1 cup heavy cream 8 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided 2 cups whole-fat buttermilk 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 1 pint blackberries, divided 1 tablespoon Chambord, optional (or water) Pinch of salt Put 2 tablespoons water into small bowl; sprinkle in unflavored gelatin. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Combine heavy cream and 7 tablespoons of the sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and place over a bowl of ice water. Stir constantly to cool, 5 to 7 minutes. (Do not allow the gelatin to congeal.) Stir the buttermik and vanilla extract into the cooled cream mixture. Pour mixture into 4-cup measuring cup. Divide mixture among six 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins. Refrigerate until panna cotta is set, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, puree half the blackberries, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and Chambord (or water) with a pinch of salt until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds; set aside until ready to serve. Run thin sharp knife around sides of each panna cotta to loosen. One at a time, place bottom of each custard cup in 1 inch of hot water 30 to 45 seconds; immediately invert custard cup onto plate. Using both hands, firmly grasp custard cup and plate together, shaking gently and allowing panna cotta to settle onto plate. Spoon reserved coulis around the panna cotta; garnish with remaining blackberries and mint. Serve immediately. Per serving: 288 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 4 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 16 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 57 milligrams cholesterol, 138 milligrams sodium.