See, I’ve been battling some allergy-related issues for a while now, and have been put on a special diet. What kind of special diet, you ask? Oh, just a gluten-free-vegan-except-for-non-cows-milk diet! So that means no eggs, no cow’s milk dairy, and absolutely no gluten. Vegan I can do pretty easily, but the gluten-free part has been challenging. And I have a minimum of two months left eating like this.

So I’ve spent the last month re-learning where I can safely eat in Toronto and what kind of things I can bake. Even the simple task of grocery shopping has been a challenge. You have no idea how much hidden gluten is in things until you’re not allowed to eat it anymore.

On the first day I had to go gluten-free, I tried making buckwheat pancakes, figuring that if I could at least get a decent breakfast into me, the rest of the day wouldn’t be so bad. Poking around with google produced a recipe by one of the authors of Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, two of my favourite cookbooks. So I figured it would be delicious. And, well, judge for yourself:

Don’t those look yummy? The ‘butter’ is actually Earth Balance, and of course that’s a ton of good old Canadian maple syrup slathered on there. I modified the recipe slightly based on what ingredients I had in the house, and was really pleased with the results. I’ve since made them three times, and have added blueberries to the batter as well as making them plain. They’re good either way.

Gluten Free Buckwheat Pancakes
Makes 8 five inch pancakes, so you might want to double the recipe
Recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, slightly modified by me

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour (NOT cornmeal, corn flour is lighter)
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla or plain soymilk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre, then add in the wet ingredients. Use a fork to combine all the ingredients well. Preheat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, and let the batter rest for a few minutes.

When the pan is hot, oil it (or use cooking spray) and scoop your batter with a ladle or ice cream scoop to form pancakes. Do as many as you can fit into the pan comfortably – my pan fits three at a time. Cook about 2 1/2 or 3 minutes, or until a few air bubbles have formed on the surface of  the pancakes; don’t worry if it’s not as many bubbles as you’re used to with ‘regular’ pancakes.  Flip pancakes and cook for another 2 minutes or so, until golden brown. Keep warm on a covered plate (or in your oven, like I do) until ready to serve.

Serve with Earth Balance and lots of maple syrup.

I actually have a ton more posts planned, some gluten-free, some not (stuff I’d planned to post about before this new diet took over my kitchen!). Stay tuned!

Batter Be Good To Me

Originally uploaded by nyxie.

So as you may recall, last month I made a grilled salmon and strawberry dish for the foodtv.ca cooking club. This month’s recipe is a bit less adventurous: pancakes. We already have a good pancake recipe in our household, but I decided to give these a try anyway. Besides, they’re from the book Eat, Shrink and Be Merry, which I’d heard about for ages as a good resource for delicious, healthy recipes.

The recipe had two components: the pancakes themselves, which contained fresh blueberries, and a strawberry-orange sauce. We picked up local blueberries and strawberries from a vendor in the Byward Market on Saturday, just so we could make these pancakes.

The verdict? The pancakes were very good. They took almost no time to make and had a fluffy texture with just the right amount of blueberries. They were also good and ‘hearty’ so you aren’t left feeling hungry after eating a few of them. The strawberry sauce, however, wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. I found it had too much orange flavour, which overpowered the light and sweet strawberries.

I’d probably make these again, but only if I’m craving blueberry pancakes. Otherwise I’ll stick to our tried and true standard recipe.

Recipe from foodtv.ca

oatmeal pancakes

Originally uploaded by nyxie.

This blog has recently turned into a bit of a recipe journal rather than a restaurant comment and review site. We will get back to the reviews; I have one for Domus coming soon, and some comments to make about Juniper’s new location, which we’ve walked by a good number of times now.

But for now, here is the recipe for our breakfast this morning, a hearty oatmeal pancake served with maple syrup. They would also be delicious with any sort of jam, preserve, or poached fruit.

1 1/4 cups milk, soy milk, or rice milk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour or unbleached white flour
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, or unsweetened applesauce (if you want to reduce the fat content)
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring 1 cup milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the oats, turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and uncover, stirring a few times, until milk is mostly absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, remaining 1/4 cup milk, butter (or applesauce), honey and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients along with the oat mixture and stir until moistened.

Lightly coat a skillet with oil or butter and preheat to medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan, spread a bit with the side of the spatula or measuring cup, and cook until bubbles form on the top and underside of the pancake is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Gently flip and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Continue until all batter is used.

Makes approx. 10 pancakes.

From 3 Bowls Vegetarian Recipes from an Americal Zen Buddhist Monastery: Seppo Ed Farrey with Myochi Nancy O’Hara.