THE Best Pancakes. Period.

Don’t they look scrumptious?

In order to understand how wonderful this recipe is, you need to understand something about me: I don’t ever make the same thing the same way twice. It used to frustrate my DH, but now he’s used to it. No, normally, I only make a recipe once, and it has to be really really good in order for me to make it twice. To become part of my “repertoire”? That is saying something.

I only have a few recipes in my repertoire, to be honest. Most of them are on this blog:

Mac n Cheese

Oat Muffins

 

Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1-2-3 Granola!

And now, I have another recipe to add to my handful of trusted favorites: Absolutely the Best Pancakes Ever.

The secret ingredient? Freshly ground whole wheat flour. It makes all the difference in the world. You can use store-bought white whole wheat flour, and it will be great (that’s what I did for a few years), but freshly ground whole wheat results in the most beautiful texture and flavor you can imagine.

What pancakes were meant to be.

Head on over to the Grain Mill Wagon to read all about these magnificent pancakes.

 

Sharing at Simple Lives Thursday, Tastetastic Thursday, Homestead Barn Hop, Women Living Well Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Healthy 2Day Wednesday

This post was made possible by WonderMill and the Grain Mill Challenge.

 

 

 

My Favorite Recipes: Wheat-Free Vegan {Delicious} Oat Muffins

oat muffins

Recently, I was thrilled to find a great new (to me) blog called The Austerity Kitchen. Then I was bummed to find out that it was no longer publishing new material. I hate it when that happens! Thankfully, the authors posted a fabulous vintage oat muffin recipe before they moved on to greener pastures, and that same oat muffin recipe has since become my go-to muffin recipe.

There were two things I loved about The Austerity Kitchen: one, that it had vintage recipes; two, that those recipes came from times and places when certain foods were scarce and home chefs learned how to make do. My kind of recipes! I love that previous generations - who knew little about food sensitivities and allergies - can teach our generation about gluten(or wheat)-free and vegan cooking. Even if they were neither gluten-free nor vegan. Yup. Totally cool.

oat muffins in the tin

I did have to slightly adapt the recipe to make it completely vegan, replacing the egg with flax gel. In fact, this recipe is actually quite sturdy, and I’ve replaced both the egg and the fats with fruit or vegetable purees (banana, pumpkin, sweet potato, etc.) and it still turns out fabulous. Unlike most wheat-free vegan baked goods, they aren’t very crumbly. More crumbly, I suppose, then wheat-based muffins bound with egg, but not as crumbly as your typical wheat-free vegan product. I’ve also used all different kinds of sweeteners (molasses, honey, unrefined sugar) with equal success.

Here’s the basic recipe, with some suggested adaptations that have worked for me.

oat muffins w butter

Don’t you love those super QUICK instructions? They take almost half an hour to bake, but the mixing up time is minimal.

These are some of the EASY-est wheat-free vegan muffins I’ve had the privilege of trying. Hence they have become my favorite!

Oat flour is an excellent and CHEAP replacement for what flour if you have allergies or sensitivities. It can be gluten-free if you have gluten-free oats. But don’t waste money on store-bought oat flour: just grind old-fashioned oats 1/2 cup at a time in your coffee grinder, or dump the whole lot in your food processor.

These are very HEALTHY with lots of good fiber, minimal (and healthy) sweeteners, and extra vitamins from the fruits and vegetables (if you use them).

Do you have a go-to muffin recipe?


SRC Cream of Buckwheat Cereal

I’d never had Cream of Wheat cereal before, let alone Cream of Buckwheat! But when browsing through this month’s Secret Recipe Club assigned blog, Sustainable Cooking for One, I stumbled across Stephanie’s recipe for cream of buckwheat and determined to give it a try.

Why buckwheat? For one thing, it’s not related at all to wheat, so it’s safe for my wheat-allergic little guys. For another, it’s not a grain but it cooks and bakes up just like one, which is a really great quality if you’re trying to reduce your grain consumption. I am also intrigued by the fact that (according to Wikipedia), it was widely cultivated in American during the 18th and 19th centuries but was replaced by wheat, which responded better to chemical fertilizers. I always prefer to eat what previous generations ate because I consider them, in general, to be much healthier than our current generation!

I highly recommend that you check out buckwheat for yourself - it comes in a few different forms: flour, kasha (hot cereal/cream of buckwheat) and groats. The groats are the whole “grain” (fruit seed, actually), and are often available in bulk bins at health food stores. I personally prefer to buy the groats because I can grind them up to make either flour or hot cereal. I use my Vitamix to grind them up; if you don’t have one, you’ll probably want to grind them in small portions in a coffee grinder.

A word of warning, though: buckwheat can have a strong flavor if you’re not used to it, especially the flour. I really despised the flavor when I made buckwheat pancakes for my little guys (although they loved it!) from store-bought buckwheat flour, but when I grind it myself, it tastes SO much better. My suggestion is to mix it first with other flours or grains that you do enjoy before trying it straight.

You can also do the same with this cereal: try mixing it with steel cut oats if you’ve never had buckwheat before.

I modified Stephanie’s original recipe only slightly, using strawberries (what I had) instead of the berries she recommends, and significantly increasing the amounts in the recipe to make one large batch.

This is not as QUICK as instant oatmeal; but about the same time as steel cut oats.

It’s very EASY; you can skip the extra soaking step if you want, but it increases the cooking time.

Buckwheat groats are not as CHEAP as more common grains, but they’re definitely affordable.

And they’re very HEALTHY; buckwheat has great antioxidants and high levels of magnesium. It’s also an excellent source of fiber and protein, making it an excellent candidate for a healthy breakfast!

Be sure to browse around Sustainable Cooking for One for more great healthy recipe ideas, and tell Stephanie I sent you! And check out the Secret Recipe Club website to find out more about this regular monthly event and how to join in on the fun!


Savory Oven Pancake to Keep You Happy

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series - subscribe today! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health. Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

So ladies, I’ve already reminded you of your need to eat your breakfast, and that a healthy, well-balanced diet can help reduce your PMS symptoms. Both things significantly affect your mood, and you know what they say about when Mama ain’t happy. Yeah. Ain’t nobody happy.

So let’s remember to eat breakfast and to eat well. I’ve got a great recipe for you that will help you out with both things. It’s a twist on a traditional breakfast recipe that makes it suitable for any meal, and it’s jam-packed with proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. I will admit it’s low on the greens and veggies side of things, so strongly consider serving it with a leafy green salad or some sauteed greens (if you happen to enjoy eating those disgusting slimy things).

savory oven pancake

I’m sure you’ve heard of “oven pancakes“, also called Dutch pancakes. They’re usually just a little bit sweet, and served with syrup, jam, powdered sugar, or fried apples. There’s nothing wrong with a touch of sweetness on occasion; I just wanted to get creative and see if I could turn this traditional breakfast food into something different that would make it even more appropriate for dinner as well as breakfast.

savory pancake slice

You can do a lot more with this recipe, of course: add some cheese, spinach or other greens, or other herbs and spices.

 

savory pancake bite

It’s a great QUICK dinner (or weekend breakfast or brunch), ready in half an hour or less.

It’s so EASY, too.

It’s a great CHEAP meal, too, cheaper than a meat-based meal at any rate.

As long as it’s accompanied by some fruits and veggies (greens like I recommended, especially), it makes a great HEALTHY meal.

What’s your favorite breakfast-for-dinner?

Sharing at Tastetastic Thursday, Katherine Martinelli, and…

Pancake Apples (No, Not Apple Pancakes)

pancake apples

When browsing through blogs for my menu plan last week, I came across this ingenious idea over at Cooking Traditional Foods: Kerry Ann fried up some sliced apples dipped in pancake batter! Brilliant! I promptly added it to my menu plan and tried it the very next day.

Total success! The kids loved it, and gobbled them down like… well, like hotcakes. Which they kind of were. Except with apples inside.

Kerry Ann used her sourdough pancake batter, but I went with one of my tried and true allergen-free pancake recipes, and it still worked perfectly. This particular recipe can be made with or without the allergenic ingredients - I’ll include both options in the recipe below. However, there is one key ingredient that might be unusual to you, and that is oat flour.

Oat flour is simply ground oats. All you have to do is run regular old-fashioned oats through your coffee grinder or food processor until fine, and you have oat flour. You can purchase already ground oat flour, of course, but it’s kind of expensive. Much cheaper just to grind your own. It gives a nice hearty texture and flavor to the pancakes that goes perfectly with the apples.

pancake apples


Almost as QUICK as regular pancakes, but so fun, definitely worth the extra couple minutes.

So EASY, too, and your kids will love it!

Apples are pretty CHEAP, as are pancakes.

Adding the apples to the pancakes adds a little extra nutrition, making them a delicious and HEALTHY breakfast.

Sharing at Tastetastic Thursday, and…
Hearth & Soul Hop realfoodallergyfree Cast Party Wednesday H2W

Cinnamon Pear Baked Oatmeal

I am honored that Nancy at Real Food Allergy Free (my new guest contributor!) asked me to share my baked oatmeal recipe on her blog. It’s a vegan-ized version of the old breakfast favorite, with a twist of fresh spices and grated pear. Delicious!

You can find the recipe for Cinnamon Pear Baked Oatmeal at Real Food, Allergy Free today.

Cast Party Wednesday

Secret Recipe Club: Sweet Potato Rice Pudding

The Secret Recipe Club took a little break in January - which was kind of nice - but we are back in full swing now! Quick explanation for the uninitiated: we are each secretly assigned a different blog, and we choose a recipe from that blog to make and write about. (Sound like fun? Join the club here.)

This month, I was assigned Tea and Scones, written by Margaret, who loves trying out new recipes and sharing her adventures with the rest of us. She is an incredibly talented baker - look at this amazing Vienna Bread, and this Swedish Rye! Being on a buckwheat flour kick, I strongly considered making her Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes but then I decided I wasn’t feeling up to the challenge of de-allergifying them (why, yes, I do believe I just made up a word!). Instead I went with her Pumpkin Rice Pudding.

I know; kind of a boring choice after all that amazing-ness, but what can I say?! We love us some rice pudding around here - for dessert AND for breakfast! And with pumpkin? Even better!

Only I didn’t have any pumpkin. Why yes, the queen of pumpkin was completely out of that commodity. I did, however, have plenty of sweet potato puree packed in the freezer, and sweet potato is orange, so sweet potato it was. Happy thought indeed! It was delicious. I even made a dairy-free version with rice milk that was just as good.


Since I had cooked rice and sweet potato in the freezer, this came together very QUICKly for me, but if you have to start those both from scratch, it can take a while.

It’s very EASY, though. It’s hard to mess up rice pudding! Well, as long as you can cook rice.

Rice is CHEAP, but rice pudding does take a lot of milk. That doesn’t stop me from making it, though!

It’s a very HEALTHY dessert and a passable breakfast (especially if made with honey rather than sugar). The sweet potato adds extra vitamins and fiber - as well as a lovely color and delicious flavor!

Sharing at Pennywise Platter, Superfood Sunday, and…

realfoodallergyfreeH2W



Hot Chocolate Granola

When the weather gets cold, I like nothing better than to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate. It warms me up, down to my bones, but it isn’t very filling. So I turned my morning granola into the same heart-warming flavor, except that in granola form, it actually fills me up.

The great thing about granola is that it is such a super-duper flexible recipe. Most of these ingredients are easily switched out for something else, if you don’t happen to have that specific item on hand. I’d keep the 2 cups of oats for the basic structure, but the other grains are all interchangeable. Any kind of puffed or flaked cereal will work, or better yet, nuts and seeds! (We avoid all nuts and some seeds around here because of allergies and whatnot.) Wheat germ or oat bran can replace the flax seed, and I imagine chia seeds would work as well (although I’ve never actually worked with chia seeds, so could be wrong on that!). Any kind of oil will work, but I particularly recommend olive or coconut oil. Maple syrup or some other sweetener can replace the honey; just keep the volume the same.


Granola is QUICK enough that I make a batch every other week (or every week if we go through it very quickly). It’s certainly a QUICK breakfast once you’ve got a batch made: just as quick as cold cereal.

Stir and bake: it’s that EASY.

Making it yourself is so much CHEAPer than buying storebought granola. In my experience, store-bought granola costs at least several dollars a pound for the cheapest varieties and rarely goes on sale. Plus, who knows how long the box has been sitting on the shelf; it’s doubtful that it’s fresh!

Granola makes a pretty HEALTHY breakfast if you augment it with some protein and a serving or two of fresh fruit. It’s got complex carbs that give you energy to face your day!

Sharing at Tastetastic Thursday, Katherine Martinelli’s, and…
It's a KeeperMiz Helen’s Country Cottage

Sticky Buns, a Family Christmas Tradition

sticky buns

My family is huge and crazy. Well, the people aren’t huge. The amount of people is huge. But the people in my family are definitely crazy. As Mark Twain once said, “In one way or another, all men are mad.” I think he was on to something there.

Here’s a little taste of Christmas in my family (both sides): (oh, and the box of Cocoa Puffs you see is totally a Christmas thing! I do not buy those normally! And my Certain Little Someone eats them as a special snack, and not for breakfast.)

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And in my huge family - as in any family - it’s a matter of course that we each differ from each other in many ways, and occasionally (of course, only very occasionally) disagree on matters of minor importance. But one thing we all agree on: we love Christmas! My parents did a great job of creating very special Christmas memories that we all treasure to this day, even as we get deeper into our thirties and um, forties (hoping my oldest sister doesn’t read this. Ahem.).

Our traditions are too numerous to count, but one of our favorites is having sticky buns for breakfast Christmas morning. My mom started making these when I was a little girl, and she taught each of us to make them. They’ve been a part of our holiday season for as long as I can remember, and this time of year doesn’t seem complete without them.

This year, we didn’t have time for such a breakfast on Christmas morning, because it happened to be Sunday, and Sunday means church. Especially Christmas Sunday! Can’t skip church on Christmas Sunday, that just doesn’t seem right. Anyway, we (or I, rather) decided that Christmas Eve morning would be the perfect day to have our traditional Christmas breakfast. And the fact that everyone in the family agreed with and listened to the middle child should be a sign to you of the importance of this tradition.

I convinced my littlest sister (already an amazing little baker at the age of 19) to make a couple batches of sticky buns for us all to eat on Christmas Eve morning, and she did a phenomenal job! Fluffy and sweet and soooo delicious!

I am going to give you my mom’s recipe in all its unaltered glory, as we ate it on Christmas Eve. (When I make them, I usually adapt the ingredients to be healthier, and I cut down on the caramel glaze to be cheaper (and healthier). Also, I leave out the nuts for my DH’s sake. ) In my normal day-to-day life I don’t eat this much sugar or refined flour, but for Christmas? Bring it on!


I also shared our own little family’s new tradition of a Sausage Ring for Christmas Eve morning, and it was well received! Can’t go wrong with sausage!

This recipe is neither QUICK, nor EASY, nor CHEAP, nor HEALTHY. Just so you know.

Sharing at Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods, and

Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays

Christmas Breakfast: Cranberry-Orange Oatmeal

Cranberries and oranges are my go-to flavor combo this Christmas. What it is about those two ingredients together, I don’t know, but they taste like Christmas to me; there’s something almost magical about it. I’ve been combining them in all sorts of things, but the easiest for sure is this delicious oatmeal.

It’s easy to get in a bland old boring oatmeal rut. Well, it’s easy if you’re not me. I personally never make oatmeal the same way twice because I’m weird like that. But I have heard that it can be easy to get into the afore-mentioned oatmeal rut.

All you have to do, my friend, is add a few fun things to your oatmeal. In this particular case, very magical, very Christmas-y cranberries and oranges. From boring to exciting in one easy step.




There’s no wonder that oatmeal is one of the most popular breakfasts: it’s QUICK! If you choose to use them, steel oats can take longer, but soaking them overnight in the liquid will help them cook up pretty quickly the next morning.

Oatmeal is also EASY. Anybody can make oatmeal. And anybody can make cranberry orange oatmeal.

This is the time of year to make CHEAP cranberry orange oatmeal! Both cranberries and oranges are in season right now, so snap them up at the cheapest prices they’ll be all year round.

Cranberries are some of the HEALTHY-est berries you can eat (and one of very few actual berries), especially because of its high levels of antioxidants. So eat ’em up!

Shared at Let’s Do Brunch!, Tastetastic Thursday, and…

Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays