Pancakes!

With the semester coming to a close, I have had very little time to cook. Over the last two weeks, I have been surviving mostly on peanut butter toast, cereal, corn, rice, apples, and spinich and kale salads. Fortunately, this is a relatively healthy diet, but this morning I work up with no bread, no cereal, and the desire for a treat. 

As you might already know, cooking for me produces not only yummy food, but also fun and entertainment; a way to de-stress. Therefore, taking a break from my work to make a nice breakfast was exactly what I needed.

So, this morning, I decided to make pancakes. I have always struggled with making vegan pancakes. Over the years, I feel like I have tried a million recipes, but they always either stick to the pan or crumble. 

This morning, however, I tried something a little different, something I should have tried before. And I realized that my flaw was simply over-thinking the fact that I must use a vegan recipe. This time, I instead used a classic, non-vegan, pancake recipe and simply substituted the eggs and dairy for vegan options (and no, i did not use store bought egg replacers; they're expensive, processed, and unnecessary). The cow milk and butter I replaced with soy milk and earth balance (a non dairy margarine commonly used by vegans), and the eggs I replaced with a mixture of water and ground flax seed.

When left to sit for a minute or two, the flax seed and water combo thickens; in baking this actually acts to hold everything together, like an egg does. Flax is also an incredibly nutritious seed, so using it has added health benefits (I also throw flax in my oatmeal). One important thing about flax seed though: in order to get its nutrients, you must grid it a little, otherwise it just passes through your system unscathed.

Now, as for syrup, I am a college student so I have none. So, I topped my pancakes with something a little different. I just sprinkled on some sugar and then drizzled on some agave nectar. But there are a million different toppings you could put on your pancakes, like powdered sugar, or fruit, so be creative, and enjoy!

Pancakes

1-1/2 Cup flour
1 tsp Salt
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbl water + 2 Tbl ground flax (replaces 2 eggs)
2 Tbl melted vegan butter
1 to 1-1/4 Cup soy milk.
2 Tbl sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove

mix all the ingredients together. heat pan and melt more butter in pan (earth balance is a margarine, because of this it burns at a lower temperature than butter from a cow, so keep the temp a little lower than you usually would, but still on medium heat). pour batter in pan. cook until there are some little popped bubbles on the top and the bottom looks good, then flip and cook the second side until that looks done. put on plate and top with your topping of choice