Split Pea and Ham Soup

A bit ago my husband and I received Pea Soup Andersen’s dried split peas from the Saslows; the peas were packaged in a cute little cotton drawstring bag with the soup recipe printed on the back. What a wonderful winter gift! If you have not visited one of Pea Soup Andersen’s locations before, I highly recommend that you go. They have all sorts of tasty, tasty dishes beyond pea soup, ranging from sandwiches and salads to steak and chicken. I have visited both of the California restaurants, one in Santa Nella and the other in Buellton, while on roadtrips with family and friends. Each time I found it difficult to decide what I wanted to order (other than the famous soup, of course), since their menus are so big!

The split pea and ham soup provided several great satisfying meals; sometimes I even had a few small bowls as snacks on they days that the weather was particularly chilly. Making this soup also allowed the perfect opportunity to incorporate some of the leftover ham from my earlier post into yet another delicious dish. The meat and spices really added to the soup’s over all flavor, making it even more hearty.

Andersen’s premium selected split peas

Split Pea and Ham Soup
Adapted from the Pea Soup Andersen’s “Soup-in-a-Bag” instructions.

Yields 12 Servings

Ingredients
3 C Dried Split Green Peas*
4 qt Filtered Water, divided
1 Large Stalk Celery, trimmed, coarsely chopped
1 Large Carrot, trimmed, Chopped
1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, skinned, trimmed, chopped
2 – 3 T Minced Garlic Cloves
1 lb Ham, cubed
1 tsp Dried Thyme Leaves
2 Pinches Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 Large Bay Leaf
Sea Salt, to taste
Ground Mixed Peppercorns, to taste

Directions
Thoroughly rinse the peas under cool water in a fine mesh strainer. Pour into large stock pot. Cook at a rolling boil with two quarts water for 20 minutes or until peas are tender. Strain through fine mesh strainer.

Return peas to stock pot with two more quarts water. Add vegetables, herbs, ham. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 10 minutes or until ham is heated through and flavors are blended. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

*For a more colorful soup, you can use a mixture of split peas with half green and half yellow.

Glazed Clove-Studded Ham

The other day at work, someone brought home-baked ham from lunch, which of course only made me crave it, so as soon as I clocked out for the day, I went to the store on a quest. A quest for ham! Well, the first store did not have what I wanted, and the second store did not either. As it was getting later though, I settled on a mostly unflavored precooked spiral-sliced hunk of ham, since that’s all the store carried. Honestly, I was too hungry to make dinner from scratch and bake the ham for several hours. I made sure to check the ingredients on the ham label first to make sure the meat did not contain any allergens or gross chemicals.

Once it was out of the packaging, I studded it with all of my whole cloves at about one-inch intervals. As per the directions, I placed the ham on a foil-lined baking sheet and then covered the ham tightly with more foil. I baked the ham at 350 degrees F for about an hour, which was about 8 minutes per pound.

During the last few minutes of the baking time, I prepared the glaze. To reduce the sugar, I opted to only use half of the sugary spiced glaze mixture, stirring it into 3 tablespoons of water in a sauce pan on low heat until the sugar crystals fully dissolved. I simmered the glaze on low for about two minutes and then brought the glaze up to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.

While the glaze was still hot, I removed the ham from the oven and increased the temperature to 400 degrees F. I carefully spooned the glaze onto the ham, making sure to glaze all whole cut of meat. I set the foil covering aside for post-dinner ham storage, as it was no longer needed for roasting. Once the oven reached the desired temperature, I popped the meat back in the oven to roast for another hour, when the center of the roast reached 120 degrees F. (Remember the ham was precooked, so I was just reheating it and allowing the flavors to meld.) It was nice that the ham was spiral-sliced, so all I had to do was cut the meat in sections from around the bone.

I was so relieved that preparing the ham was so easy. Although I wish I cooked the ham and made the glaze from scratch, this was a nice alternative. I am very glad that there was plenty of leftovers for my husband and I to incorporate into later dishes, such as soup, salad and sandwiches. Most importantly, it was rather healthy and delicious.

Red Velvet Beet Cake

This is attempt number two in efforts to create a more cake-like red velvet made with beets. The first attempt of making this cake was a failure that actually turned into tasty dark chocolate brownies. My adaption was a big success! The confection had a nice cake consistency and sweet flavor. The folks at my work greatly enjoyed it (despite that most of them are not accustomed to gluten-free or vegan specialty foods; some even asked for my recipe). Unlike the brownies, the cake batter has more fruit puree, no chocolate chunks, and less cacao powder and beet puree, so it is not as dense. I used the same frosting recipe as with the brownies.

Red Velvet Beet Cake
Adapted recipe from Jen Cafferty’s recipe on the Gluten-Free Food Examiner.

Yields 15 to 20 Servings

Ingredients
2 T Chia or Flax Seeds, course ground
6 T Warm Filtered Water
1 C Cacao Powder
1/2 C Unsweetened Apple Sauce
1 1/2 C Unsweetened Pureed Pears
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 – 1 1/2 C Evaporated Cane Juice or Turbinado Sugar
1 3/4 C Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 Medium Beets, scrubbed, trimmed
1 T Fresh Lemon Juice
2 oz Gel or Liquid Red Food Coloring
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Red Sanding Sugar, optional*

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub the beets clean with a vegetable cleaning brush under cool water. Trim off the end of the tail and the top. Foil-wrap beets and place on foil-lined baking sheet. Roast 45 minutes. Cool slightly on wire racks away from heat. Unwrap and quarter. Puree in food processor with lemon juice. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat chia or flax seeds and water with a fork until smooth to create “egg” substitute. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent clumping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour-dust a glass 9″ x 13″** baking dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix cacao, apple and pear sauces and vanilla. Set aside.

Into a medium bowl, sift flour, xanthan gum, 1 cup sugar, soda and salt. With an electric mixer, gradually add in cacao-apple mixture. Blend in “eggs,” beets, and food coloring. Beat until fully incorporated. Adjust batter to desired level of sweetness with remaining sugar, mixing in a quarter cup at a time.

Bake for at least 30 minutes (mine took 70) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly on wire rack.

 

Frost and decorate as desired. If you are using frosting that was prepared ahead of time and chilled, let it soften at room temperature to prevent separation. Make sure to stir it well before applying it to the cake. Serve and enjoy!

*To include a colorful decoration without adding extra sugar, even out the cake with a long serrated knife, carefully slicing off the top and trimming the sides to make them flat and level. Crumb the cut-off potion in a food processor. Use the crumbs in lieu of sanding sugar to decorate the cake after frosting.

**If desired, bake the cake in two round cake pans. Use the frosting as the cake topping and filling.

Heavenly Ham Sandwiches

I just made awesomely amazing ham sandwiches for my husband and myself. I was raving about it so much, I had to share it with you, too. It was simply that good! It satisfied many of my cravings at once, sweet, savory, salty, fatty, crispy and gooey. Sorry I did not include any pictures below. They did not last long enough to photograph, but I’m sure you can use your imagination.

Despite the bright sunshine of happiness lifting many people’s moods in the North Bay and that many people had today off due to Presidents’s Day, I was feeling tired and a bit run down, so I felt like making myself some comfort food for lunch. I did have half of the day off after all, so I had some time to make a hot lunch at home.

Grilled Ham Sandwiches
I made two versions of the sandwich one for my husband and one for me. For a more balanced lunch, I accompanied them with big green side salads dressed with vinaigrette.

Version 1
1/4 C Fatty Ham Trimmings
OR 1 tsp Bacon Grease
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, as needed
2 Slices Soft Gluten-Free Bread of Your Choice
1 1/4″ Slice of Glazed Ham, enough to cover bread
2 T Shredded Daiya or Dairy Cheese
1 – 3 T Honey or Dijon Mustard

Version 2
1/4 C Fatty Ham Trimmings
OR 1 tsp Bacon Grease
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, as needed
2 Slices Soft Gluten-Free Bread of Your Choice
1 1/4″ Slice of Glazed Ham, enough to cover bread
2 T Shredded Daiya Mozzarella-Style Cheese
1 – 3 Cranberry Mustard

Directions
Melt the Ham fat out of the trimmings for flavor on low heat, stirring occasionally. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Stir again to redistribute the flavors. Add two slices of bread and the ham to the pan. Make sure they absorb some of the oil to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Once the bottoms are a bit browned, flip the bread and ham. Add and distribute more oil as necessary. Sprinkle some cheese onto each slice of bread. Place ham on top. Cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove the lid. Add the mustard. Put the slices together to make a sandwich. Carefully flip the sandwich a few times, waiting about 1 minute in between each flip. Grill until toasted to your liking. Serve. Cool a bit to prevent burning hungry mouths.

Chocolate Chip Beet Brownies and Cream Cheese Frosting

I really enjoy red velvet cake and buy a gluten-free vegan piece whenever I find it at a store, bakery or restaurant, so I decided to treat myself for my birthday when my folks came to celebrate with me. I made my adaption from a recipe I found at the Gluten-Free Food Examiner, which looked really intriguing, but I wanted to make a healthier version. I was a bit leery of the recipe’s large amount of beets and was unsure how potent the the red color or earthy root flavor would work in this cake compared to the small amount of chocolate. The cake batter of this first attempt ended up tasting too much like beets but had a great raspberry shade. The chocolate lacked flavor intensity, but the batter was at least sweet. It needed more chocolate, so I quadrupled the amount of cacao when doubling was not enough. Unfortunately, adding this much chocolate made the batter much thicker and a very dark shade of brown. As bright red coloring faded a significant amount as while baking, it came out not looking red at all, so left out the red dye in the recipe listed below. Although the the concoction was tasty to me, they were not to everyone’s liking, as some changes to the recipe resulted in rather an intense dark chocolate flavor. (I prefer my chocolate very dark and bitter, sometimes eating dried cacao beans or 89 percent to 100 percent dark chocolate bars.)

The vegan cream cheese frosting that I made is AMAZING! It tastes and feels like REAL cream cheese frosting! It is sweet, tart, light and fluffy. It’s not healthy enough to eat by the spoonful but provides a perfect accompaniment to red velvet, various spice cakes or really in any other recipe that calls for cream cheese frosting. The original recipe called for too much sugar, and the frosting made from it appeared too sweet for my brownies. I listed the reduced powdered sugar measurement (see the recipe below), which prevented the frosting from overpowering the brownies. Feel free to experiment with other dry sweeteners, but I’m not sure how the recipe will turn our if you do. I do not recommend using liquid sweeteners, as the powdered sugar seemed to absorb some of the oils in the cream cheese and prevented the frosting from becoming too greasy.

I used Daiya’s new non-dairy plain cream cheese, which already has an incredible taste and texture by itself; it even has that classic cheesy tartness that is usually so difficult to simulate without fermentation. I first stumbled upon their cream cheese when I was perusing their non-dairy cheese selection on the Daiya website. I thought to myself, “With all of the recent progress in the foodie world with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan foods, someone has to have a created a not only decent but good dairy-free cream cheese by now. I wonder if Daiya has one yet….” Lo’ and behold (and luckily for me), they do! I really like their other non-dairy cheeses, so I thought I might as well try it. Why not?

Roast Beet Purée
Adapted from the roasting instructions for Jessica’s red velvet cake at Desserts with Benefits.

Ingredients
2 Large Beets, scrubbed, trimmed
1 1/2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap the beats in aluminum foil. Place on a foil-lined lipped baking sheet due to a tendency for the beet juice to bubble over through the wrapping. Roast for an hour or until a fork easily pierces through the flesh. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Unwrap the beets. Be careful not to burn your hands. Quarter them before pureeing in a food processor or high-speed blender with the lemon juice.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Beet Brownies
Adapted recipe from Jen Cafferty’s recipe on the Gluten-Free Food Examiner.

Yields 15 to 20 Servings

Ingredients
3 T Chia or Flax Seeds, course ground
8 T Warm Filtered Water
2 C Cacao Powder
1 1/2 C Unsweetened Apple Sauce
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 – 2 C Evaporated Cane Juice or Turbinado Sugar
1 3/4 C Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 C Roast Beet Puree (see above)
20 oz Vegan Chocolate Chunks or Chips
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)
Red Sanding Sugar, optional

Directions
In a small bowl, beat chia or flax seeds and water with a fork until smooth to create “egg” substitute. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent clumping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour-dust a glass 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix cacao, apple sauce and vanilla. Set aside.

Into a medium bowl, sift flour, xanthan gum, 1 cup sugar, soda and salt. With an electric mixer, gradually add in cacao-apple mixture. Blend in “eggs” and beets. Stir until fully incorporated. Adjust batter to desired level of sweetness with remaining sugar, mixing in a quarter cup at a time. Fold in chocolate pieces.

Bake for at least 30 minutes (mine took 70) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly on wire rack. Frost and decorate as desired.* Serve and enjoy!

*If you do not want to frost the brownies, they would also taste great accompanied by vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
I adapted this cream cheese frosting made by Rachel Young of Gladly Gluten Free.
I doubled this recipe from the original, since I planned to make cakes for two different occasions.

Yields 40 to 48 Servings.

Ingredients
16 oz Daiya Plain Cream Cheese, softened
2 C Earth Balance Spread, softened
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 C Powdered Sugar, to taste

Directions
Combine the cream cheese and spread in a large bowl until fluffy.Thoroughly incorporate the vanilla. Sift the sugar to get rid of lumps, gradually adding four cups of sugar to the cream, using an electric mixer. Adjust the frosting to your level of desired sweetness by slowly adding up to another cup of sugar. Store leftover frosting in a large airtight container, like a glass canning jar, for up to a week; just make sure you let it soften it a bit before attempting to spread it on a cake.

Garlic Pepper Pork Nabe

I have intended to make another hot pot style soup for a long while now and actually have not made any since the time I cooked the shrimp & vegetable nabe for my folks during the summer of 2012. Recently, the pork tenderloins were on sale at our local grocery store, and I was trying to think of another way to cook the meat beyond sauteing, grilling or roasting. Why not cook it in a nabe dish? Though I love my cute donabe, which I was luckily able to buy at Shiki, Inc., an amazing pottery shop in San Francisco Japantown’s West Mall (I absolutely love that store) where I bought my mom’s. I actually had not used my hot pot in who-knows-how-long and was feeling quite guilty for letting it just collect dust. I was got the idea of cooking the pork in my glazed clay donabe at when my husband and I decided to have dinner at Honey BBQ in Rohnert Park (check out my review from last week). The pork bibimbop was very inspirational; I will have to try my hand at making it in my pot later.

Whole Grain Red and Black Rice

Adapted from “Japanese Rice for Shime” from Japanese Hot Pots by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat.

Yields 2 cups of rice

Ingredients
2 C Filtered Water
1 tsp Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce
OR 1 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1/2 C Himalayan or Bhutanese Red Rice, uncooked
1/2 C Wild or Chinese Black Rice, uncooked
1 C Hot Filtered Water

Directions
Rinse the rice in cool water. Strain the rice through a fine mesh and set it aside. Bring two cups of water to boil with the tamari in the donabe. Stir in the rice and cover. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes. Add a cup of hot water to prevent the rice from burning to the bottom of the pot. Cook another 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat. Drain off the excess liquid, reserving it for later. Set the rice aside in a covered dish.

Garlic Pepper Pork Nabe
Adapted from my Shrimp & Vegetable Nabe recipe. This recipe makes a lot of soup, so you may want to use a larger pot. Keep in mind that not everything may fit in the pot; add the vegetables, broth and rice in batches. Include more meat if desired; my husband wished there was a greater amount in the meat to vegetable ratio.

Yields About 25 Servings

Broth Ingredients
5 C Filtered Water
2 T Minced Garlic
1 tsp Black Peppercorns
1 – 2 tsp Grains of Paradise
1 T Dried White or Yellow Chopped Onion
Remaining Rice Water
Meat and Vegetable Ingredients
Marinated Garlic and Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin
2 C Coarsely Chopped Collard Greens
2 C Coarsely Chopped Mustard Greens
3 Scallions, trimmed, cut into 4″ lengths
6 Inner Leafy Celery Stalks, cut into 1/2″ thick 3″ lengths
2 Large Carrots, cut into 1/2″ thick 3″ lengths
2 Medium or 1 Large Head(s) Broccoli, cut into bite sizes
1 – 2 Broccoli Stalk(s), cut into 1/2″ thick 3″ lengths
1 Small Head Cauliflower, trimmed, cut into bite sizes
Cauliflower Leaves, stems cut into 1/2″ thick 3″ lengths
1 C String or Green Beans, trimmed, cut into 3″ lengths
Cooked Whole Grain Rice (See Above)
1 C Enoki Mushrooms, separated from roots, cut into 3″ lengths, optional
1 C Bean Sprouts, cut into 3″ lengths, optional

Directions
Bring the broth ingredients to a boil in the donabe for 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Meanwhile, drain the marinade from the pork, reserving up to half a cup, and set aside. Thinly slice the pork about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick rounds with a very sharp knife. Be careful not to cut yourself. Add the marinade and pork to the broth. Cook covered for about 5 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. Transfer the broth and meat to another covered dish.

Arrange the cut vegetables on a large platter in groups in order to add them to the soup easily.

Inside the donabe, cover the bottom with the dark greens. On top of the greens, arrange about 1/3 of the vegetables in clustered groups around in a circle, leaving the middle open. Spoon about half of the rice into the center, piling the meat on top. Make sure not to stack it above the lower lip of the pot. Pour in the broth up to the lower lip of the donabe. Cover and cook the soup for 5 minutes on medium heat. The greens should wilt a bit, providing more room. Add more vegetables and meat into their designated sections, pushing them under the broth with a large wooden spoon. Cook another 5 minutes and repeat. When adding the last of the broth, I made sure to pour the grains of paradise and peppercorns onto the center on top of the meat instead of garnishing the each bowl of soup as I would with a shichimi togarashi or furikake. Do not over fill the pot; you do not want it to over flow during cooking.

Carefully bring the pot to the table with hot pan holders or oven mitts to rest it on a trivet set on top of a thick towel if you are serving the soup tableside. Serve the soup in bowls, making sure to get a bit of everything. Garnish if desired.

There is now more room in the donabe. Add leftover vegetables, meat, rice and or hot broth to the soup. Recover the pot to preserve the heat and allow the fresh ingredients to cook.

Paleo Carrot Coconut Muffins

The other day while browsing Facebook, I ran across Lauren’s paleo cornbread muffins. The muffins looked really good from their description, and the title seamed rather interesting. I mean, what are cornless cornbread muffins anyway? Well, these tasty treats are actually cornbread-style coconut muffins. I know that may sound strange, but the muffins are very tasty. The flavors blended nicely, covering up any potential coconut flavor almost entirely (if you want a more pronounced coconut taste, I’m sure it’s not too hard to adjust the flavors).

These muffins looked like they would go perfectly with the chili from the recipe I recently posted, but they also taste great on their own. The muffins contain honey without being overly sweet, especially since I swapped the originally listed apple sauce with carrot puree. I was bothered by the amount of oil that the recipe called for, which was equal to the flour measurement. My stomach doesn’t usually handle oily foods very well (it just sinks to the bottom of my stomach and lingers). I halved the oil, substituting it with more carrots. If you want, you can lower the fat even more by completely substituting the oil with puree; I plan to do this next time as an experiment.

To increase savoriness, I added Daiya pepperjack cheese to half of the muffins by sprinkling it on top, but later realized that I should have put the cheese in the middle (I did include instructions for that below) to prevent it from so firmly sticking to the liners.

What do you put in your cornbread muffins? What do you eat them with?

Carrot Coconut Muffins
Adapted from Lauren’s Paleo Cornbread Muffins at Empowered Sustenance
The recipe below is a doubled adaptation of the original version. I have also included vegan options.

Yields 1 Dozen Muffins

Ingredients
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1/4 C Coconut Oil, melted
1/4 C + 2 T Raw Pureed Carrot, room temperature
4 Eggs, room temperature
OR 4 Chia Eggs (1/4 C Chia Seeds + 3/4 C Filtered Water)*
2 T Creamed Cinnamon Honey or Wildflower Honey**
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
Filtered Water, as needed, room temperature
Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds, optional

Directions
For vegan muffins, finely grind the seeds in a spice grinder. Mix the chia egg ingredients together with a fork in a medium bowl, adding up to 4 more tablespoons of filtered water if necessary to create an even egg-like consistency. Set aside for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line the muffin tin with muffin papers. Set aside.

In a large food processor, combine the flour, oil and 1/4 cup puree until well combined. Incorporate the eggs fully until the batter no longer has any lumps. Mix in the remaining puree, sweetener, baking soda and vinegar. Add more water as needed to achieve proper muffin batter thickness.

Pour about 1 tablespoon of batter into the muffin cups. Sprinkle about 1 to 2 teaspoons of cheese on top if desired. Pour another spoonful of batter over the cheese.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out the tin onto a rack or plate. Cool until they are warm to touch and ready to eat.

Store in an airtight container. They will last longer if chilled.

*You can make flax “eggs” instead of chia ones with the same seed to water ratio and instructions.

**For lower sugar content, use 1 tablespoon blue agave nectar or about 6 to 9 drops of liquid stevia in lieu of honey.

Note: If you want to leave out the sweetener entirely, just add more carrots. You can also add minced bacon, red bell pepper, chiles or scallions.

Almond Flour Pancakes

My husband and I love almond pancakes, especially since they are tasty, versatile and gluten-free. The original recipe was not vegan, but I included egg-less options in the recipe below to make some pancakes with either “chia eggs” or “flax eggs.” We have tried out a few different versions of gluten-free pancakes, including the buckwheat pancakes from Kelly E. Keough’s Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Baking and Desserts and the mixed gluten-free flour pancakes in Kelli and Peter Bronski’s Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking.We like this one best, so much so that I’m sharing it with you!

A while ago, we completely ran out of almond meal, which meant no more pancakes or almond flour-based foods. When I bought almonds, I kept forgetting to set aside some for making flour and we just kept snacking on them instead. Oops. This meant no almond milk either. Our focus had changed I suppose; we were eating and drinking other things instead. I really missed making my almond pie crusts and almond pancakes though. Thankfully, a friend’s family has a bakery-cafe that is only about a 15 to 20 minute drive away. We hadn’t been down to visit in a while, but was on the way to another friend in a series of theatrical performances, which provided a great excuse to go. We had a nice lunch, good catch-up chat, delicious gluten-free cookies and bought a few pounds of almond flour, too. The performances were pretty good and the plots rather moving. All in all it was a great day!

I insisted that we make pancakes the following day. I could wait no longer. Since we hadn’t made them in a while, we had to make quite a few adjustments as we were going along, tweaking the batter consistency, pan temperature and cook times. It was quite a challenge between the two of us, but we figured it out with only a few getting burned. I had forgotten to write down my recipe alterations from the last time we cooked them. Oh well, so now I am writing them down here for you and for my own reference later. For curiosity’s sake, if you have your own food blog, how often do you go back and remake the food from your recipe entries? What have you remade?

My hubby likes his pancakes rather plain with blue agave and Earth Balance spread, but I top mine with coconut oil (which provides a satisfying crunch once it cools), fresh or frozen berries, warm compote (like apples, pears or quince), pie spices, bee pollen, and blueberry or raspberry blue agave or dark amber grade A or B maple syrup, depending on my mood. Vegan homemade chocolate and nut butter chips would be tasty on top, too. I am curious to find out what eating the pancakes with a bit of molasses, ginger and apples would taste like, since molasses contains a boat load of vitamins and minerals. Has anyone tried this?

How do you make your pancakes? What do you top them with? Do you like to make special shapes? Do you try to sneak in extra vitamins? If so, how?

Almond Pancakes
Adapted from Elana Amsterdam’s The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. The batter from the original recipe was too thick, like cake batter, so I thinned it out to prevent burning.

Yields 15 Pancakes

Ingredients
2 Eggs
Or 2 Chia or Flax Seed Eggs (2 T Ground Seeds + 6 – 10 T Filtered Water)
1/4 C Blue Agave Nectar
1 T Vanilla Extract*
1/2 C Filtered Water or as needed
1 1/2 C Almond Flour
1/2 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 T Arrowroot Powder
Grape Seed Oil

Optional Toppings
Coconut Oil or Earth Balance Spread
Agave Nectar, Maple Syrup, Honey or Fruit preserves
Fresh or Frozen Fruit
Hemp, Flax Seeds, Sunflower or Other Seeds
Crushed Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds, etc.
Ground Cinnamon, Carob, Cacao, Pie Spices
Bee Pollen
Gluten-Free Granola

Directions
In a food processor, beat the eggs. If you are making vegan pancakes with the ground chia or flax seed eggs, mix the seed meal with water in a small bowl and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary to obtain an egg-like consistency.

In the processor, mix together the eggs, agave, extract and water on high for 1 minute. Mix in the flour, salt, baking soda and arrowroot until thoroughly combined.

In a large oiled pan over low or a little above low heat, spoon one tablespoon full of batter. Quickly spread out the batter with the edge or backside of the spoon to speed up the cooking time and ensure even cooking. Once bubbles form on the top of the batter through the bottom of the pancake, lift the edges off the pan with a spatula before flipping it over. If you just try to flip the cake over, it can squish together into a heap, depending on the thickness of pancake. Cook the other side thoroughly. Transfer the pancake to a plate and place in the oven (or microwave) to keep warm. Continue to cook the remaining batter into pancakes. Serve with desired toppings.

*You can substitute the extract with the scraped out seeds of 1 – 2 vanilla beans.

Note: If you like, you can add the nuts, seeds, fruit or spices to the batter rather than put them on top.

Autumn Buckwheat Pancakes

I had wanted to make buckwheat pancakes for a while now, since I had never eaten them before.  I usually eat buckwheat as cereal and have only otherwise eaten buckwheat in noodle form. I have heard that buckwheat pancakes are generally akin to rather dense, dry and heavy sponges-like griddlecakes, soaking up all traces of butter and syrup slathered onto them. Either you like them or you do not. Well, challenge accepted! I thought, “Why not give them a try? I bet I can make them taste great.” I was rather impressed with my little pancakes, as they came out thin, light and delicious.

The original recipe called for banana, which I would normally replace with apple sauce, but as I did not have either of these ingredients when I made the pancakes, I used pumpkin puree instead. Thankfully autumn is pumpkin season, so I can buy them at the farmers market. Although bananas are available all year long in grocery stores, they are not even remotely local and have more carbohydrates than I want, especially sugar. It really does not matter what kind of puree you use. If you want to make savory pancakes instead, you can add any myriad of vegetable purees.

Image Source: Chris and Jenni on Flickr

Sprouting Buckwheat
Surprisingly, buckwheat is not actually part of the wheat family, but is still considered a grain by some people due to its use as fine flour in making many baked goods. Soak the seeds (as in my previous nut preparation entry); the process is the same as with other seeds. I generally use Ani Phyo’s suggestion of soaking the seeds for about 6 hours from her book, but it is perfectly fine to soak them overnight. Rinse in a large fine mesh non-reactive (stainless steel, fabric or plastic) strainer. Rest the strainer over a bowl or container that is deep enough for the bottom of the strainer does not touch the container. Daily rinse the buckwheat groats. Mix them from the bottom to the top with a large spoon or clean hands in the strainer to provide even light and air distribution and prevent molding. Reset the strainer over the container. Repeat this process over the next two to three days or until the seeds sprout, and the “tails” grow between a 1/4 and an 1/2 inch in length. Dehydrate the seeds at 105 degrees Fahrenheit until they are crunchy. Store them in an airtight glass container, like a canning jar.

Pumpkin Buckwheat Pancakes
Adapted from Kelly E. Keough’s gluten-free baking cookbook.
This makes lots of pancakes, so cook them in a larger pan to speed up the over-all cooking time.

Yields 20 to 24 pancakes

Ingredients
3/4 C Rooibos Chai Tea, cooled*
1 T Flax Meal
1 C Sprouted Buckwheat Groats (see above)
1 C Egg Whites (from about 8 large eggs)
1/2 C Pumpkin Puree
1 T Blue Agave Nectar
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Ginger
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Optional Toppings
Grade B Maple Syrup
Flavored Blue Agave Nectar
Spiced Creamed Honey
Coconut Oil
Cranberries
Apple Compote
Bee Pollen
Peanut Butter Chips
Chocolate Chips
Carob Chips

Directions
For better consistency, pre-soak the flax meal in the tea for about 15 minutes, occasionally stirring.

In a food processor or high speed blender, like my Vitamix dry grain mill, grind the buckwheat into a fine meal. Add in the tea-flax mixture, egg, pumpkin, agave and spices. Blend until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

In an oiled pan over low heat, pour in about 2 to 3 tsp (1 tablespoon) of batter for each pancake. Spread out the batter into thin round pools of about four to six inches in diameter. Cook for several minutes on the first side. Carefully flip the pancakes over with a spatula when you can easily loosen all of the edges from the pan without scrunching the cakes into heaped messes. Cook on the second side until the edges are golden brown. Adjust the stove temperature accordingly to avoid burning your cakes during cooking. Serve warm. Decorate with your desired toppings. Enjoy!

Note: I included rooibos chai to aid my digestion, but you can use black or green tea versions or any spiced teas, like Good Earth’s herbal tea.
When eating leftovers during breakfast the following day, I realized these would also taste rather scrumptious with chopped pecans or walnuts added to the batter or scattered on top.

Spiced Apple Compote

Photo credit: kthread on Flicker

Earlier this autumn, I visited the organic sustainable golden delicious apple orchard at my university alma mater with some friends. We went home with several pounds of golden beauties. Three large cloth shopping bags worth! As no one tends the trees, not even to trim them, many of the apples were already spotted, buggy or on the ground. We picked the best ones that we could find. I spent absolutely hours picking over and chopping the apples once I got them home.

Stir the spices into the apples.

I pretty much knew from the start how I wanted to prepare them, either in a pie or as spiced compote. Since my stomach is so fussy, I cannot eat raw apples anymore, only cooked ones. When the time came to cook the apples, I decided that I did not want to bother making a gluten-free pie crust, so I just made compote instead. I had so many apples that I had to dived them into four batches, altering the recipe as I went along. I have included my favorite version below.

After 4 hours on low heat, add in the vanilla extract.

Spiced Apple Compote
Adapted from Alyssa Brantley’s Crockpot Apple Pear Sauce.
This compote goes very well with hot cereal, in a pie or on top of ice cream, pancakes or waffles.

Yields 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients
4 – 6 lbs Apples, cored
1 tsp Citric Acid or Sour Salt
1 T Orange Juice
Filtered Water
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
2 T Blue Agave Nectar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions
As you chop the apples to roughly bite size, put them into a non-reactive (glass or plastic) container filled about half way up with water and the citric acid. Make sure the apples are mostly submerged, occasionally mixing and pushing the apples down into the water. Add more water as necessary.

Place the apples, spices, agave, and 1 cup of the apple soaking liquid into a slow cooker. Cover and cook for four hours on low. When the apples are tender and reduced, turn off the heat. Stir in the vanilla before serving. Serve hot or cold. Store in clean canning jars.

Note:
You can save the remaining apple infused water for making smoothies and other sweet recipes in place of filtered water.
In lieu of measuring all of the spices listed above, you can use an equivalent amount of apple or pumpkin pie spice mix, adjusting the flavor to your liking.