Powerhouse Pancakes

In my last post I said I would be absent for awhile, because we are having a lot of repeats for dinner this week. Jenny sweetly commented that she'd miss me......so Jenny, this one's for you!!

This morning it was cold and rainy, and it just seemed like a good morning for pancakes. There really isn't anything too special about these pancakes, no fancy fillings or flavors, just your run of the mill pancakes. So, what makes these pancakes powerhouses you ask........the addition of wheat germ. Wheat germ really gives these pancakes a nutritional boost. And, best of all, they've finally broken me from my usual pre-mixed pancake mix that includes milk powder (it was really the last thing holding me back from having a diet completely free of animals and animal by-products). These were so simple to make, I'm not sure what took me so long to break free from that pre mixed stuff. The kids all loved them (I have my extra kid today, so I was feeding 3), and they are the true test of whether a recipe is a success or not!!

Powerhouse Pancakes

1 cup plain rice milk

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 Tbs sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbs canola oil

1 Tbs organic unsweetened applesauce

Combine rice milk and vinegar and set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the milk mixture, vanilla, oil and applesauce and mix until smooth. Spoon or pour batter onto griddle. Cook until edges are cooked and bubbles appear in the center, then flip gently. Cook a few minutes more, then remove gently from griddle. Serve with warm maple syrup, and enjoy.

I was able to get nine pancakes from this recipe, but I make them fairly small for the kids. You may need to double the recipe if you are feeding bigger eaters. Or, make extras and freeze them for quick weekday breakfasts. I freeze extra pancakes between layers of paper towel in a quart sized freezer bag, then just pop them in the toaster on the lightest setting until they have thawed.

Beans and Rice

Last night we had Spanish Beans and Rice. A recipe adapted from Fresh from The Vegetarian Slow cooker, and cooked on the stove top. I just cooked 1 1/2 cups of brown basmati rice in 3 cups of water with 1 vegetable bouillon cube. When the rice is finished, set it aside. For the beans, saute one large diced onion, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, and one large diced red bell pepper until beginning to soften. To the vegetable saute add 1 can of diced tomatoes with their juice, 3 cups of cooked pinto beans, and 1/4 cup tomato paste. Stir to combine, then season with chili powder and cumin until desired taste. Simmer for a few minutes to combine flavors. Add in 3 cups of cooked rice and heat through.

I served the beans and rice with some sauteed baby spinach and vegan cornbread.

I will probably be mostly absent from the blog this week. As much as I love finding new and exciting things to prepare, my family isn't always so keen on it. They've been asking for some old favorites, noodle soup and Thai curry, as well as some new favorites like Snobby Joes and Grain and Veggie burgers. So, our week is filled with a lot of repeats for the family. I'll post a few pics at the end of our repeat-a-thon, but I'll probably have little to say.

Sunday Morning Pancakes

A few weeks ago I blogged that we have pancakes for breakfast every Sunday. Today was no different. Today however we had a change from our usual Old Fashioned Pancakes.

Yesterday when scouring the veggie food blog community I came across Jenny's blog featuring these yummy Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. I had most of the ingredients, so I decided to give them a try. I mostly followed her recipe. However, I didn't have any pastry flour so I subbed 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour. I also subbed rice milk for the soy and added an additional 1/4 cup of rice milk. And finally, I didn't use the "flax eggs", opting to skip any sort of egg replacement.

These pancakes are delicious, and a great change from our regular routine. The girls have never really been fans of any of the variations of pancakes I've made in the past, so I wasn't hopeful that they would accept these. Boy was I wrong....Mairin finished her plate in a flash, and Stella ate 2 pancakes of her own!!

Chickpea Cutlets, finally!!

I finally did it.....I made V-con's Chickpea Cutlets!! For months now I've read rave reviews on nearly every vegetarian and vegan blog I frequent, as well as on Mothering.com. People can't seem to get enough of these cutlets, so I finally decided to find out what all the fuss was about. I still don't own this book, but I found the recipe on Chow.com. The only change I made was to leave out the soy sauce so that Stella could eat them as well.

You'll recall that I made ED&BV's Chickpea Sensation Patties awhile back. And, you'll recall that we all really liked them, even Mairin. Well, I'll have to say, V-con's cutlets may well have been better than ED&BV's (although, Mairin disagrees....she didn't eat any of these). I really like the addition of the vital wheat gluten to these cutlets. They make such a wonderfully textured patty. And, contrary to my previous experience, these patties came together in less time than Dreena's version (I usually find that Dreena's recipes come together very quick and easy, and not so with Isa). We will definitely be putting these into our rotation of frequent repeats.

I decided, at the advice of a fellow mothering.com mom, to bake the patties first and then fry them. When I took them out of the oven they seemed like they were going to be a bit dry, so while they were frying up I made a quick little mustard sauce to go over them. For the sauce I added about 1/4 cup Dijon mustard to 1/4 cup olive oil and whisked it together. To that I added about 1 Tbs of light brown sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper, then gently heated it over low heat. It turns out the cutlets weren't dry at all, but the sauce was still a great addition. With the cutlets I served some yukon gold potatoes mashed with original Rice Dream. I also steamed up the last bit of broccoli and carrots I had in the fridge.

Last night we went to Buca di Beppo for my baby brother's 18th birthday. I am happy to report that they were very nice and accommodating to my requests of no animal products. I was able to eat their bruschetta and the penne campofiore (both of which they were happy to serve without cheese).