Vegan Banana Pancakes

Haven't been on here since October. Sort of hit a blog wall. Thinking about climbing over it. Maybe putting this up will help.

Last night I made up a new recipe for pancakes. I love good pancakes, but my best, favorite recipe has the dry ingredients swimming in butter and I don't do butter anymore.

This is what I came up with and my husband ate them and liked them. That's huge.

Vegan Banana Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 to 4 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 Tablespoon organic brown sugar (fair trade, of course)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 small banana, mashed
4 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce

In your best pancake batter bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients, stirring only enough to mix. Allow batter to rest 20 to 30 minutes. Cook on your favorite griddle or skillet.  Makes 6 to 8 pancakes, depending on the size you choose.

For the syrup, I blended blueberries, put a dab on each pancake and ate them like tacos.

Yum!

6 Can Soup with a sweet potato thrown in

Man, it's been a long time since I've been here. Hope I can remember how to do this.

The following recipe was inspired by my cousin, Beverly. Or, at least I think the 7 Can Soup recipe got passed into my family by Beverly. Anyway, I'm giving Beverly the credit. I'm sure cousins will be more than happy to it out if I am wrong.

This is what I did:

1 medium sweet potato, chopped into bite size pieces
1 can pinto beans
1 can white kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeno peppers
1 can diced fire roasted salsa style tomatoes
1 can white hominy
1 can yellow hominy

I threw it all in my crockpot and cooked it on high for about 5 hours or so.

I also made brown rice with a healthy dose of fresh cilantro, garlic powder, black pepper, and about a teaspoon of salt.

Not being a fan of sweet potatoes, I was unsure if I would really like it, but I did.

Quinoa Loaf with Tomatillos

I made the following last night. It is based on a recipe from the March/April 2010 issue of The Whole Deal. I don't like mushrooms, so I changed it a bit.

1 T olive oil
4 small tomatillos, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 15 oz (or so) can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 c rolled oats
2 cups cooked Quinoa
1 cup frozen Green Peas or 1 can Green Peas, drained
1 t crushed Rosemary
1 can diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan or casserole dish. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatillos, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown around the edges. Put beans, oats, tomatillos, and 1/2 cup water in blender or food processor and blend until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine bean mixture, quinoa, peas, rosemary, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper to taste. Put in loaf pan/casserole dish. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Slice and serve.

Four out of five people at my house gave it thumbs up. Clay said he wanted to spit it back onto his plate.

Delish Soup with Eggplant, Chickpeas, & Fire Roasted Tomatoes

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 eggplant, chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced or 2 t garlic powder
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 t dried rosemary
3/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes

Heat olive oil in heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, eggplant, and garlic. Cook 10 minutes, stir often. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Top with your choice of cheese. I like Pepper Jack.

Banana Kick

My youngest son asked me tonight why I've been on "this banana kick".

I don't know. I guess it's because they seem to always be around. And I guess I have been making a lot of banana stuff lately.

Last week was Whole Wheat Graham Cracker Banana Brown Sugar Brownies.

The week before was Whole Wheat Soy Flour Banana Blueberry Pancakes.

Tonight it was Banana Pudding Ice Cream.

Wonder what it will be next week.

Bastille Day - Texas Style

We have French Chicks from France staying with us. So, today, in honor of Bastille Day, I made Tomato Zucchini Basil Soup and Goat Cheese Pesto Chicken. I know, I know...pesto is Italian, but I also served Jalapeno Cheese Bread along with a Whole Wheat French Loaf.

Then to really celebrate the whole Bastille thing, we went to downtown Plano and watched the Plano Community Band play selections from American musicals and the American National March: Stars and Stripes Forever.

To put a truly Purdy Texas twist on the evening we wrapped up with homemade brownies and a movie from Blockbuster.

Viva La France!