Sour cherry pancakes (Cherry blintz style)

We are in the time of sour cherries! I think I have harvested about 8 gallons worth, and I might have hit my max. Cherries are soaking in various vinegar/honey oxymel ratios on the counter, they are fermenting for wine, and are in bowls waiting to be pitted, with more pits strewn on the floor, and my compost bucket heaped with more (thank you cherry pitter - what an amazing tool). My prime experimentation right now (besides the wine) is to dehydrate the cherries and make a version of craisins, hence the variety of ratios of honey/apple cider vinegar jars on the counter. I will post my favorite results, but it will be a couple of weeks yet.

My current favorite way to eat the cherries is to mash them up with some heavy cream, shredded coconut, and a splash of maple syrup. It's like ice cream that isn't frozen. And because I had an open package of bacon, I thought I might try that topping on pancakes, except I wanted something a little less rich. So I used yogurt and tahini instead of cream, which was stellar. It made me think of cherry blintzes, though I think those usually mean a more crepe-like pancake. Somehow the tahini-yogurt combo creates that cheese-like quality, and flavor-wise, this hits the blintz mark (at least as I seem to have it in my memory!). 

I had lots of whey from my raw milk yogurt exploits, so I tried an oat soaked pancake recipe that I found very tasty. To be fair, all of this extra sweet in the form of maple syrup or honey is not standard operating procedure for me, so it's like party time over here. I mean, OF COURSE stuff with a little maple syrup or honey is delicious. This is why the sugar industry is big business! Still, it's moderate enough for me, and feels like a seasonal treat that I am willing to indulge.

The pancake recipe is courtesy of Nourishing Days, which is a blog by a couple who lives off grid and favor traditional, fermented foods. It's super simple, and hearty. I followed it closely, except I made only 1/3 of it (I did not add any honey). I did use a little extra whey and water, just to make sure the oats were thoroughly covered. Basically, the soaking is just enough liquid to fill the oats up. The version below serves 3.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup whey, yogurt, buttermilk, or water with a splash of vinegar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• coconut oil or butter for cooking

Directions

1. The day before you wish to serve the pancakes for breakfast combine the oats, warm water, and whey in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well, mashing the oats down into the liquid as much as possible. Leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours. (I used a little extra whey and water here.)
   
2. In the morning preheat your skillet over a medium-low heat.
3. Combine the eggs, baking powder, salt, and other flavorings in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the oat mixture and stir to combine. It will be thick, unlike regular pancake batter.
4. Allow your coconut oil or butter to melt in your warm skillet. For each pancake scoop a heaping tablespoon or two of batter into your skillet. Gently spread the batter until 1/16-1/8 inch thick. (It really is quite spreadable, so even though it looks like a small amount, it stretches.)
   
5. Allow to cook until the bottom has set and the edges and top begin to dry out, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and allow to cook another 3 minutes or so.
6. Serve warm with butter, nut butter, jam, honey, or real maple syrup. *For Cherry Blintz version, see below!
   

Cherry Blintz topping (approximate measurements, this is highly dependent on the thickness of your tahini and yogurt):

• 1/2 c cherries
• 1/2 c thin yogurt  (if thick, use half water half yogurt)
  
• 2-3 T tahini 
• 1-2 T maple syrup

Mix the yogurt and tahini first to get a smoother consistency. My yogurt is quite liquid-y (think thin kefir), so it worked to thin out the tahini, and with the cherries and their juice, hit the perfect consistency. You would need to add water if your yogurt is thick. Add the cherries and use a spoon to press/mash them against the side of the bowl to release more liquid. Add maple syrup to taste.

*I also added some black raspberries and a few milkweed flowers just because I'd picked them this morning and they seemed in the right color pallet!

Daikon Radish Pancakes (MuJeon)

I am loving Asian-inspired breakfasts this winter. I make egg fried "rice" almost every week (will be posting an updated recipe because my new version is better), and I also regularly have some variety of a vegetable-egg pancake. Because fried things are so very good! This morning I tried something new, korean style daikon radish pancakes (Mu Jeon). I modeled them after Mina Park's recipe (which is a video that is quick and useful if you are a visual learner). She says you can substitute lots of things in for/with the daikon, including sweet potato, carrots, or any root veggie. I took that liberally and included some nettles in with my daikon. So far I think I have included nettles in all of my Asian style vegetable pancakes (see Okonomiyaki and Egg Foo Young recipes), except the Korean inspired potato pancakes, which have less egg and flour (Gamjajean). Because, well, I like greens. And because I stored some abundance of nettles in the freezer! All of the recipes above are similar (esp b/c of my greenery in them), but different sauces and slightly different textures.

*I am listing Mina Park's recipe below - she says to use buckwheat flour to be GF, though she used regular flour in hers. When I made them, I reduced things a little, and substituted in the nettles for some of the daikon; I also used tapioca starch instead of potato starch. I made my first pancake too thick - the batter itself is fairly thick - my 2nd one was better. Be sure to press it out (1/2" thick at most, thinner if you can). I don't have a good grater, which I think is less ideal - my julienner means less liquid (see photo below). My daikon was also rather aged, and less watery, so I had to add some (maybe also b/c of the nettles, so I had a few sub-optimal moments. You want a consistency of thick cake batter. You can see in the video that hers is pretty thin, and she slices it up into wedges to eat it. These brown up really nicely, and were so good with the dipping sauce and some kimchi!! yum. I want to make this again, sans nettles.

Batter: too thick here!

Ingredients:

• Daikon radish, shredded (500 g)
• 4-6 green onions
• 1 clove garlic
  
• 1/2 c buckwheat flour
  
• 2 T potato starch
• 1 T toasted sesame oil
• 1 T toasted sesame seeds
• salt/pepper
• 2 eggs 
• oil for frying 

Dipping sauce:

• 1 T tamari
• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 T water
  

1. Grate the radish into a mixing bowl and combine with the remaining ingredients. Adjust the consistency with additional flour or water as necessary. It should be a thick pancake batter. 

2. Test the batter by making one small pancake. Season to taste. 

3. Heat a generous amount of oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and spoon batter into rounds or make one big pancake. When the underside is golden brown, flip and cook the other side for a few minutes. Cook on both sides one more time to crisp the pancake. 

4. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Banana Oat & Buckwheat GF Pancakes

Eid Mubarak! A day late. I had much feasting the past two days, and one particular delight were these morning pancakes with turkey bacon. I made them on my lefse griddle - why don't I use that griddle every time I make pancakes?! I don't know. From now on, at least when making pancakes to serve two, I will. The even heat and larger surface is far superior to using multiple cast iron pans and making one pancake each in the center.

I modified a bon appetit recipe for this particular pancake edition - I think there might be as many GF pancake recipes out there in the world as...well, I don't know what. Bunny rabbits in the spring? (I saw 3 around a neighbor's raised bed on my walk this afternoon, and a 4th emerged out of the bed itself. I also saw a very cute little baby bunny near my own garden beds, which are largely fenced in this time due to said baby bunnies.)

My pandemic-pod-mate, who is also my Ramadan-fasting companion, inspired the turkey bacon selection. I have never had it, and it turns out it is smoked turkey leg formed into bacon-like slices. It is tasty! There was no fat, so you are effectively just heating your slices in a pan. We made double use of the bacon for Eid dinner, which featured kimchi-bacon-cheeseburgers with spicy mayo. (Our back-up to cooking goat leg, which was postponed due to Holy Land being absolutely packed, as in shoulder to shoulder, for Eid shopping.) I also made a rhubarb-raspberry tart, post forthcoming, for dessert.

Banana Oat & Buckwheat pancakes

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan

1+ cup coconut milk

1 banana

1 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick-cooking)

2 large eggs

½ cup buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

splash of water

1. Melt ¼ cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns (do not burn), 4–5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, purée buttermilk and oats in a blender until smooth. Add eggs, buckwheat flour, flaxseeds, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend on high 30 seconds. Add butter and blend just to combine.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet (or griddle!) over medium. Coat very lightly with butter. Working in batches, scoop about 3 tablespoonfuls of batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bottoms are golden brown and tops are evenly covered with bubbles, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until cooked through and undersides are golden, about 2 minutes. Keep warm in oven and serve with maple syrup & berries (and tahini sauce, if you are like me). 

GF blueberry corn pancakes

The inspiration for pancakes this morning was two aging bananas that I wanted to use up. I was going to use all almond flour, but then decided to swap in corn flour for half of it. They turned out well, especially fluffy and thick from whipping up the egg whites. (I think they would also be fine to skip the whipping of the egg whites.) They were delicious with butter, maple syrup, and some tahini on top. (I mean, what isn't really?) And with bacon. Yum. I made a full batch and froze half for them for another day.

Today, in honor of Minnesota's shelter in place mandate:

Blueberry Corn Pancakes (serves 2)
4 large Eggs (separated)
2 medium ripe Bananas
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
3/4 cup corn/masa flour
1 tsp baking powder
(opt) blueberries

1. Whisk egg yolks, bananas, almond and corn flour, and baking powder together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl using a hand or standing mixer, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, 2-4 minutes.

2. Gently fold whipped egg whites into batter until evenly combined.

3. Melt coconut oil or butter in a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat. Pour about 1/4-cup pancake batter onto the pan, spreading it out evenly. Add your blueberries; cook until both sides are lightly golden.

Update: I made a blend of tahini, coconut milk, and a bit of maple syrup to make a pancake topping, which I combined with some shredded apples for my (leftover) pancakes. It was like a less-sweet halva, with fresh, tart apple bits in there. Yum!

 

Blueberry Keto/Paleo Pancakes (best ones!)

This recipe is better than the last one, and is now my favorite paleo pancake recipe. Why do so many recipes include coconut flour? You don't need it, and it tastes and cooks strangely. This recipe is totally just a fluffy, good pancake recipe. Yum. Diner breakfast at it's finest! (With grass fed butter, pastured bacon, eggs, and a little maple syrup.)

Paleo blueberry pancakes (makes 6)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup blueberries

1) Whisk all ingredients except blueberries; let sit 5 minutes to thicken.
2) Preheat a skillet and add fat of choice. (For really perfect pancakes, heat a couple of skillets and cook the pancake only on the centered part!) Pour 1/4c batter for each pancake and cook 2-3 minutes/side. Add blueberries before you flip!
3) Serve with toppings of choice.

Keto/Paleo pumpkin pancakes

I was having early fireside musings with my friend this morning, and we started dreaming up ideas of blueberry pancakes, fried eggs and bacon. Realizing I had bacon in the freezer and some maple syrup in the fridge, and that she had blueberries and a little left over whipped cream, this breakfast idea seemed like a good start to the solstice. I went to the interwebs to seek out a recipe. Because there was some leftover pumpkin puree needing to be used up, pumpkin pancakes seemed the way to go.

A bite of this modified pumpkin pancake with bacon, syrup, a blueberry, butter and whipped cream was decadent. Totally decadent. I changed the recipe some, eliminating the nut butter, reducing the coconut flour (next time I will try it with no coconut flour at all, which I suspect would be just fine), using coconut milk, and eliminating the sweetener. The trick to these is cooking them on even heat quite slowly. Like, just hunker down to do some slow pancake cooking. I found it was better to center pancakes on 2 skillets than to cook 4 in a larger cast iron one. *I did try some with blueberries inside the pancake and it worked!

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes (makes 10-12 pancakes)
3 large eggs 
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup super fine almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(coconut oil/bacon fat/ghee for griddle)
*opt: blueberries 

1) In a large bowl, beat the eggs then whisk in the pumpkin. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix. Batter will be quite thick. 
2) Heat a skillet or two to medium-low heat and melt cooking fat of choice. Spoon scant 1/4 cup batter to center of skillet/s and cook slowly: 3-5 minutes for each side. *If adding blueberries, add just before you flip. Be gentle with the flipping, and wait a little longer than you think. 
3) Keep warm in the oven, and serve with whatever toppings you like.  
*These apparently also freeze well. I'll try that with the leftovers to toast another morning.

Pumpkin pancakes (paleo)

My friend Mary started a small farm venture last summer, including lots of amazing squash. She gave me a huge one - i don't even know the name of it - and I finally cooked it up in preparation for my future pumpkin dessert making plans. I had plenty of puree, so I've been seeking out a couple of recipes to use it in. This morning I made pumpkin pancakes and they turned out delicious!  They are basically just pumpkin puree, eggs, a little coconut flour, and butter/coconut oil. The texture was really nice, a little more thin than fluffy, with a hint of pumpkin taste.

Here is my slightly modified version that made 6-8 pancakes:
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1-2 Tbsp coconut flour (not necessary if using canned pumpkin, which is thicker)
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp honey (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt

1. Whisk the eggs, canned pumpkin, pure vanilla extract, and honey together. Mix the coconut flour, spices, and baking soda in a small bowl, and then whisk into the wet ingredients.
2. Mix the melted butter into the batter.
3. Grease a skillet and spoon the batter into the skillet to make pancakes of your desired size. When a few bubbles appear, flip the pancakes once to finish cooking.
4. Serve! I had mine with some blueberries heated up with a little coconut cream. Sauteed apples would also be good, or just butter and cinnamon.

Crispy Paleo Pancakes

Crispy Cakes

I've been looking for some ways to spice up my diet, since I tend to eat the same things day after day.  I have been experimenting with different pancake recipes, and this one is very simple and can be customized in all kinds of ways to suit your preferences.

For those of you who are avoiding wheat and other flours, nut butter is a great alternative.  It can be used in place of flour to make pancakes, cakes, brownies, and a host of other baked goods.  Nut flour is also a good option.  In a few weeks when I can start eating nut flour I will try out some recipes.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp nut butter- cashew or almond both work well
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp butter, ghee, or coconut oil
dash of sea salt
1 Tbsp honey (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl- a fork works well for breaking up the nut butter, which can be sticky.  Heat butter, ghee, or coconut oil in a pan and cook away.  Be careful not to burn the cakes, they don't bubble up like regular pancakes, so keep an eye on them.  To make the pancakes crispy put them in the oven or toaster oven on 350 for a few minutes.

Now comes the fun part- figuring out what delightful things to put on top of these crispy cakes.  I top mine with some rhubarb compote I whipped up, which is just rhubarb cooked down with a little water, lemon juice, and a few drops of stevia for sweetness.  You could also top them with maple syrup, honey, fruit, yogurt or something savory such as cheese, meat, roasted veggies, or anything you would put on a cracker.

Jane

And...more pancakes

You would think I was a super pancake freak or something...what with the pancake posts of late. But really, there are just so many pancake recipes. And I have tons of coconut flour that I got on sale sometime ago, and I wanted to find stuff to make with it.

So. Coconut flour = ground up coconut meat. I have not personally made my own - it seems risky - but one theoretically could. It adds a subtle coconut flavor, is less heartier than almond four, and also finer. It browns quickly too, so you have to watch the heat/oven time.

So, in what seems to be my search for pancake perfection, I discovered this recipe. It is fluffy, almost buckwheat-y tasting because of the coconut flour grain. They turned out delicious!

I changed it a little, mostly by using more coconut milk. The liquidity seems to vary A LOT depending on the brand of coconut and almond flour and the size of your eggs. I did half the recipe very easily in case you are cooking for one. But then I could only eat 3 pancakes because they are so filling. (The fourth I ate as a snack later...still great.) *I made these a second time, and this time it was 7 thinner pancakes?!

Blend in a food processor until frothy:
4 eggs

Add remaining wet ingredients and blend until combined, 30 seconds:

1 1/2 c. coconut milk
2 t. vanilla extract
1 T. honey

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients:
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/4 c. almond flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg

Add dry ingredients to food processor/wet ingredients and buzz for 15-20 seconds. (The consistency here should be pourable - if it isn't, add a little more coconut milk.)

Fry on a hot griddle (on medium heat), greased with butter or coconut oil. Cook a few minutes on each side. Serve!

Blueberry pancakes (gf)

Okay, I know I posted a pancake recipe already this month, but this one is better. I really think any gluten eaters would not even know that it was gluten free, and instead would wonder if it was whole wheat flour or some other really nice grain something. These are delicious!

And, they use some more of that dry curd cheese that I posted about last time, so this is another way to make use of that tasty substance (I have also been eating mine with some applesauce - yum).

This recipe is from Breaking the Vicious Cycle (that I referenced a couple of weeks ago). I have made it four times in the past few weeks because I thought I would never again have pancakes so amazing.

Makes 8 pancakes:
1/2 c. dry curd farmer cheese
4 eggs
1 banana
1 c. almond flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 T. honey
3/4 c. frozen blueberries (optional)

Mix all ingredients up in a food processor. Stir in blueberries if using. Pour on a griddle or frying pan and cook on medium heat until edges are looking done and bubbles are popping in the middle. Flip. Serve! These are great with walnuts and apple sauce on top.

Banana Pancakes (GF)

Okay, this recipe is so totally easy, AND it is gluten and dairy free, and it is a tasty item when you don't have a lot of time but maybe still want a pancake like breakfast-y something. And there are only two ingredients!

one egg + one banana + blending up in a food processor = one delicious large pancake

It was fluffy and light, and I just needed to be patient while it cooked on low heat...

Sweet Corn Pancakes

Last weekend I was feeling a tad daunted by the prospect of spending 6 hours at a TYSN retreat, so decided to have a leisurely morning of food and coffee to feel a bit more balanced and inspired. I made corn pancakes from a Smitten Kitchen recipe (that blog is getting some good play here lately!), buttery cooked apples (sliced apples cooked slowly with a bit of brown sugar in the cast iron skillet so they carmelized), and coffee. Yum. I tried these with a combo of corn flour and rice flour to make them wheat free - thumbs up!