sunday agenda

S U N D A Y

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do;

The fun is in having lots to do

And not doing it.

Take it slow;

Give your soul a chance to catch up with your body.

I make my pancakes from scratch.

Tipping flour from the canister into a large bowl.

Adding milk. And egg. More milk.

Some sugar. A bit more...

Whisking.

Mixing.

Tasting.

It's not an exact science.

In fact - it's the only time I work without a recipe.

Everything else I bake is weighed and measured.

I am usually so precise.

But not on a Sunday morning.

Not with pancakes.

There's a special kind of freedom in the guesswork.

And they taste delicious. 

Every. Single. Time.

xx

caramel walnut pancakes

You tell me - Is this picture worth 1,000 words?

caramel walnut pancakes

I'll give you four -  

Butter; Brown Sugar; Cream.

That's all you need to make a basic yet incredibly delicious caramel.

What was that?

"Thanks for interrupting the endless New Years Diet posts with this sugar-laden dessert"

You're welcome!

Serve these caramel walnuts on pancakes as I have done;

Pour over generous scoops of vanilla bean ice-cream;

Or eat by the spoonful from the saucepan.

Whatever makes you happy. The diet can start tomorrow...

xx

A Comforting Tradition

I like traditions.

I am a creature of habit. I've decided that it's in my DNA.

I especially cling to plans and schedules in times of stress. 
(Sometimes I wonder how I would adjust if I met someone new and had to fit them into my life.. but that's another blogpost for another time)

At the moment I am experiencing heightened stress due to changes at work; So I've started a new tradition at home - The Sunday Morning Breakfast.

It started with waffles with my new waffle machine; Then it was almond meal pancakes; and now - 

Blueberry Pancake Bites

Ingredients

4 eggs, room temperature

1 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

coconut oil frying

Directions

1. Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, agave.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
3. Grease pan with coconut oil. Ladle a tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake (larger pancakes were too difficult to flip and created a mess in the pan..) Spread batter out slightly with the back of a spoon. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the bottoms start to brown. 
4. Serve hot with agave and/or fruit.

I ate some of these for breakfast on Sunday morning; but these little pancake bites have been the perfect morning or afternoon tea to take to work.

And my co-workers ?  All jealous!

xx

Pancake Time

Following the success of my grain-free; dairy-free; sugar-free waffles two weeks ago, I thought I would give pancakes a go last weekend.

And...

They were a HUUUGE success!

Almond Meal Pancakes

Since I'm new to the whole 'no-flour, or milk, or sugar' thing, I continually expect to experience an epic baking fail.

So far, so good.

Wanna try for yourself?

You should.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tbsp or coconut oil
1 tbsp agave/maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

In a small bowl combine the blanched almond flour, baking soda and salt.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl; set aside.
Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk in the coconut oil.
Whisk in the milk, agave and vanilla.
Add the dry mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking well to thoroughly combine, making sure there are no lumps in the batter.
Using a clean large wire whisk, whisk the egg whites rapidly until very foamy (about two minutes).
Use the whisk to fold the whipped egg whites into the batter; until well combined.
Cook pancakes over low heat.
Serve hot with agave and assorted of fresh fruit.

xx

Original recipe here

Strawberry Shortcakes

OK - They're not shortcakes, they're pancakes.. But either way, they were de-licious!

And, they were the solution to my 'too much buttermilk leftover' issue after the Chocolate Mud Cake baking.

Pancakes are the one thing I can make in the kitchen without a recipe.

As a teenager they were my easy, afternoon snack solution.

But I've never made them with buttermilk before.

The recipe ?

1/4 cup caster suger

1/4 tsp bicarb soda

1 cup self-raising flour

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

Combine dry ingredients in  bowl.

Whisk buttermilk & egg

Stir into flour mixture until combined

EASY

And sooooo good.

xx