Oats and wheat pancakes

Miss E, our two-year old granddaughter, arrived Sunday afternoon for a sleepover. It's always fun to have the charming Miss E running around the house (she never walks), sharing meals and snacks with us. She loves to eat and is willing to try just about anything before passing judgement. She's just started using the word love to describe how she feels about things, and it's hilarious to hear her tiny self say things like, "I love tempeh!," or "I love pink!" or "I love quinoa!" For dinner she had some unusual-looking seitan which she tentatively picked up and nibbled before exclaiming, I LIKE it!"

Miss E likes to have pancakes for breakfast when she stays with us but I was debating between pancakes and oatmeal, and ended up making pancakes with half wheat and half oats. I even measured the ingredients so I could post a recipe. Then I searched this blog to make sure I hadn't posted the exact recipe before and nope, not the exact one. So here it is.

Oats and wheat pancakes

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup regular rolled oats, ground to flour in blender or food processor
• 1 tablespoon evaporated cane juice (natural sugar)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
• 1-3/4 cups soy or other non-dairy milk
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar or rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, if using.
2. Add the vinegar to the milk and stir to curdle. Stir the oil into the milk.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together. The batter will be fairly thick, but if it seems too thick, add a small amount of additional milk.
4. Heat a cast iron griddle over medium heat until hot, then lightly oil it by spreading the oil with a spatula. Throw a few drops of water onto the pan and if it hisses and jumps, it's ready.
5. Drop batter onto the pan to make approximately 2" pancakes. When bubbles form on top and the edges look dry, turn the pancakes over and cook about 15-30 seconds or until browned.
6. Serve with pure maple syrup, applesauce, or the topping of your choice.

Makes 4 — 6 servings.

Update: I had batter left over so I stored it in a glass container in the refrigerator. On Wednesday morning I made pancakes again, and they were just as yummy (maybe even better) than they were on Monday. Of course I had to add a little more soymilk to the batter because it had thickened, but having the batter in the fridge made pancakes seem as easy as cold cereal. Well, almost! Had them with date syrup.

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Food odds and ends

When my husband is out of town I tend to make myself simple suppers that usually end up being stir fries cooked in my wok. I love cooking in my wok. It's the perfect place to make a one-dish meal. Here's a little back story about our wok. We bought our favorite, flat-bottomed wok when we were living in Australia. We were visiting a living museum — a reconstructed mining town focused on the 19th century Australian gold rush era. All the businesses of the town were functioning as they would have been back in 1861; the bakery sold bread, the foundry produced metal objects, etc. Since many Chinese people had been brought to the area to work on the railroads, Chinese culture influenced the products available in the town. The foundry of the mining town made woks, and, missing my wok from home while living in Geelong, I bought one! We still have it and use it often.

Here's a dinner made from leftovers brought home from Bamboo Garden, a vegan Chinese restaurant. (Everything served at the restaurant is vegan except the fortune cookies.) The crunchy-looking tidbit on the right is fried yuba. After reheating, it had lost its crunchy texture, if not its crunchy appearance. Still tasted great, though.

This is what I currently see when I look out my kitchen door. It seems to be a rhododendron tree. Seattle is loaded with rhododendrons. They're not only abundant, they're enormous. Everywhere I go they are in bloom. I'm familiar with the shrub variety but until I came to Seattle, I'd never seen them grown as trees. The tree is beautiful but piles of the sticky blooms litter the back patio and constantly get tracked into the house. I no sooner sweep them up than they are all back again. It's hard to believe that the tree hasn't run out of blossoms yet.

Date syrup

Colleen from Organics are for Everyone sent me a sample of date syrup. Date syrup is a staple in the Middle East but is relatively unknown here in the U.S. At least, I'd never heard of it. I love dates and eat them regularly because they're delicious and healthful, but I'd never had date syrup before. When the thick, rich syrup first hit my tongue I was reminded of molasses, but then the taste mellowed and became sweeter. I'd have to say the syrup possesses its own unique and wonderful flavor, and is hard to compare to anything else.

The literature that accompanied the syrup suggested using it as a sugar substitute in baked goods or anywhere you might use a sweetener like maple syrup or honey. (There are recipe suggestions on the Organics are for Everyone Web site.) I haven't tried this but I imagine the taste would be wonderful. The only problem I can see would be the relatively high cost of this product. That's why I'm saving mine to use sparingly as a topping for pancakes and such, or as an addition to sauces and glazes. The date syrup is:

• Organic
• Kosher
• Vegan
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free

It's imported from Israel and contains only dates.

I can personally tell you it's delicious on pancakes, oatmeal, or from a spoon! Have you tasted it?

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me as a free sample with no requirement that I blog about it or make positive statements about it. All statements in this post are my honest opinion.

Pancakes with blueberry topping

Every once in a while I need pancakes. But does anyone really need another pancake recipe? No, I don't think so, but here's one anyway. I made these without looking at a recipe - no following directions to tax my bleary morning mind - and they are pretty basic. My husband and I both enjoyed the results. You could use maple syrup on your pancakes but I prefer blueberries.

First make the topping. It's basically the same as for the french toast post except this time I measured. Makes about two cups of not-very-sweet topping. (Pour the cold leftovers over your morning oatmeal tomorrow.)

Blueberry topping
1 cup organic apple juice
2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
2 teaspoons arrowroot plus 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Heat juice and blueberries to boiling. Add arrowroot to water and stir to dissolve. Add to blueberries and bubble gently, briefly, until thickened. Turn off heat and add vanilla. I like this on the tart side but adding a tablespoon or two of maple syrup, agave nectar, or rice syrup will punch up the sweetness and enhance the flavor. If you like your topping thicker, use only 3/4 cup juice.

Pancakes - makes about 16 medium

• 1-1/2 cups soy milk
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon sucanot
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Put the soymilk and vinegar into the blender to sit for a minute and curdle. Add the rest and buzz a few times. Scrape down the sides. Don't over-blend or the pancakes could be tough. We don't want that. 
2. Heat a non-stick griddle until drops of water hiss. 
3. Pour the batter into 3 or 4 inch pancakes. When the edges begin to look dry and bubbles form on the surface, flip the pancakes and cook briefly until the bottom is golden. (Flours differ in moisture content so you may need to add a bit more liquid to get the right consistency.)