Eat Well: Gluten Free Pancakes (& Post Holiday Update)

The following post was written by my mom, WWW. Thanks mom!

Having everyone home for ten days was like eating a fabulous meal where every course was better than the next. Tomorrow morning Rachel will board a plane back to Ohio and I know it will take me a few days to adjust to the quiet—it always does—but it also will feel good to roll up my sleeves and begin the New Year. I have lots of wonderful memories from the holidays, many centered around food. We had our first gluten free Chanukah and Christmas and it was a huge success. Larry’s mom made her scrumptious potato latkes with gluten free flour and David’s gluten free gingerbread turned out to be the perfect (and delicious) building material for our Dubai gingerbread city.

(recipe found here)

Christmas eve, David whipped up some gluten free biscotti so we could have a snack with our coffee as we opened presents on Christmas morning and later made us the most delicious pancakes I have ever eaten…both recipes from his favorite cookbook, Blackbird Bakery Gluten Free Irresistible Desserts. Normally I can’t eat pancakes, they make me feel bloated and kind of sick, but I had four of these babies and never felt better. We ate them with Vermont maple syrup, yogurt and David’s homemade apple butter:

Blackbird Bakery's Gluten Free Pancakes:

Ingredients

1/4 cup + 2tbsp almond flour

1/2 cup millet flour

2 tbs glutinous/sweet rice flour

2 tbs sugar

1 tbs guar gum

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

cooking spray

Directions:

1. Heat a griddle pan to medium heat.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
3. Melt the 2 T of butter in a microwave or warm oven. Beat eggs and mix in buttermilk and butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix together.
4. Butter pan. Measure out 1/4 cup of batter and pour onto the griddle. When bubbles form on the top flip the pancake over until both sides are golden brown.

(Batter should make 8 pancakes.)

***

Several times over the holidays I made Trader Joe’s Chocolate Mousse Pie and substituted gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies for the crust. This recipe has become one of my favorite desserts and is easy as, well, pie. It tastes rich but really is quite light. (It’s vegan, too, if you use a butter substitute in the crust since the filling is made from only coconut milk and chocolate).

I got some wonderful foody presents, too. Rebecca and family gave me a Vitamix (!!!!!!!!!) Many of you mentioned that you couldn’t believe I didn’t have one when I posted about my favorite kitchen tools a few weeks back and after making a green smoothie this afternoon and a vegetarian tortilla soup last night, I am completely hooked. Also, I had no idea how easy it is to clean. Just fill half way with water, add a couple drops of soap, and whirl away. No fuss, no muss. So much easier than a blender. I can’t wait to make hummus tomorrow with sesame seeds instead of tahini. How cool is that? I will keep you posted as I learn more about my new favorite kitchen gadget!!

And David gave me a wonderful book about olive oil which is not only fascinating but sheds light on the corruption surrounding the olive oil industry. (I will tell you more about it in a future post when I am done with the book).

Happy New Year to all of you!

Love,

WWW