Gluten-free Vegan Buttermilk Pancakes

This morning I woke up with an intense desire to make pancakes.  I usually don’t eat “break” fast until mid to later morning, & it usually looks like this or this, which requires very little time & effort.  Quick & easy, is how I like it.

But this morning I wanted to make something.

It’s hard not living in your own house.  I find a great deal of satisfication in “making” my house a home & I miss my house.  I miss my kitchen.  I miss cooking & being creative  in my kitchen.   So maybe since I’m missing my house, my kitchen, I’m looking for ways to be creative.

And I like a challenge.

I knew I wanted something that tasted *like* buttermilk pancakes.  Without the actual butter or cow’s milk or gluten.  Or eggs.  Wow.  Is that even possible?

I think by looking at this picture, you can figure that one out for yourself:

Here’s how I did it:

1.  Gotta have some big beautiful bowls to get you excited to get creative in the kitchen.

2.  Ditto for measuring spoons & cups, wooden spoons & spatulas.

3.  I used a blend of 3 grains:  oatmeal, brown rice, & quinoa. {Quinoa is actually a seed, not a grain, for the record, but you probably already knew that.  Smartypants.}

4.  I adapted my recipe (let’s say, more like my recipe was inspired by) a 40-year old cookbook called,  The Magic of Wheat Cookery: The beginning of a new adventure in wheat cooking.  The front cover cracks me up:  “A Revolutionary New Cookbook, OVER 300 exciting recipes featuring the New, Fantastic, Time N’ Motion Guide.”

5.  I used Bob’s Red Mill chia seeds & quinoa.  More on this later.

6.  I used Wholesome Sweetner’s organic stevia powder and organic coconut palm sugar to add a hint of sweetness to the batter.

7.  Fresh lemons, instead of bottled lemon juice is always a nice touch.

8.  And a bit of applesauce instead of oil.  Keeps the pancake moist.

Mali was my helper.  I love to have her in the kitchen.  So helpful.  Docile.  And she’s getting good with cutting, pouring, stirring (all with supervision, of course).   She helped with everything, including cutting the lemons & making the “buttermilk.”

Mali, still in her jammies, helped measure, pour, & stir.  She even helped flip the pancakes.

 The boys wanted to help, but I said:  “No, it’s girl time in the kitchen.”

They were sad, but they are going to a drama summer camp all this week, which Mali is not old enough to attend, so Joseph & I are trying to make up for it by doing extra special things with her.

I grilled the pancakes on a cast iron tortilla cooker.  I love this thing!  I don’t have one, but I use it all the time when I’m at my mom’s house.  It’s great for warming up corn tortillas, making grilled sandwiches, cooking pancakes, among many other things.

We’re out of maple syrup, but fortunately I do have a lot of single serve packets of flavored agave from Wholesome Sweeteners that I got at the BlogHer Food conference.  I had strawberry, cinnamon, & maple flavored to choose from.

I was kind of bummed we’re out of fresh strawberries, but turned out to be a good thing, because I used bananas & walnuts instead, a great pairing with the flavor of this pancake.

So in the end:  I drizzled my stack with some maple & cinnamon agave, tossed a few banana slices, & then finished it off by sprinkling it with some chopped walnuts.

This recipe is also posted at Diet, Dessert, & Dogs blog Wellness Weekend.  Check it out for more healthy, feel-good recipes!

♥♥♥

Do you ever have days where you just want to get in the kitchen & be creative?  What do you like to make when your in one of those moods?