Maple Ginger Pancakes

Inspired by my freakish obsession with ginger

Serves 2 (7 medium pancakes)

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. crystallized ginger slices, minced (plus a little extra for garnish)

In a medium bowl whisk together the first five ingredients.

Produce On Parade - Maple Ginger Pancakes

Make a little hole within the flour mixture and add in the syrup and the water. Stir gently a few times, then add in the chopped ginger and stir until just combined. There might be sprays of flour and that's okay. Do not overmix.

Over low, heat a large frying pan. Coat with a nonstick cooking spray. Once the pan is heated, pour in 1/4 cup of the batter. Allow to cook until it starts to form bubbles, then coat the top of the pancake with the nonstick cooking spray and flip. Allow to cook until browned and cooked through.

Repeat with the remainder of the batter. This will make about seven medium pancakes.

Serve warm and topped with a slathering of vegan butter, a splash of maple syrup and garnished with chopped candied ginger.

And here is bob just taking in the morning...before the bummer-storm.

Let he without sin cast the first stone, or something like that. Britney Spears – Perfume Maybe I'll have a meltdown, too. BRecipe Card

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Walks like these, are good for the heart and soul. Alaska is good for the heart and soul.

We've had a pretty craptastic week. No running water for several days (though now it's fixed) and Todd's car isn't working which means extra long days at home for Bobbledore (Bailey), because I am spending an extra hour or two at work to accommodate the car situation. Todd hasn't been feeling very well so I thought I should make him one of his favorite foods...waffles! Healthy, vegan waffles of course...err...probably not what he is used to.

Let me first say that while I am terrified of creating a new recipe completely lone wolf, I do always have to put my own spin on existing recipes. To make them healthier, tastier, because I ran out of some ingredient, or because it's Alaska and we just don' t have goji berries or maca powder or God knows what else (it's usually the latter). I pretty much have to have everything planned out (when it comes to food) and yes, I do go to the store about three times per week. Is this normal? I am not completely sure, but probably not...

Dairy makes my body very upset and Todd can't have nightshades, dairy or meat. This leaves a very small percent of recipes that are, as I have dubbed, "turnkey". Meaning, I don't have to remove, add or substitute anything by necessity...but I usually do because that's half the fun! Make it your own. You're the boss, not the recipe. Vegans, of course don't eat meat or dairy but we also avoid nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, red peppers and eggplants). So I try not to use them as often as possible.

Okay, without further adieu, life-brightening waffles. We had them for dinner. Have them whenever you want. These didn't hold up too well in my original adaption, so modified the recipe for you. The taste, however was wonderful. I drizzled molasses (the most nutritious natural sweetener) on my waffle, Todd opted for his maple syrup. He's from Ohio, I won't push it.

Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen.

Serves 4

1 flax egg (1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds & 3 Tbsp. water)
1 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp. orange juice (or lemon if you don't have orange)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
1/4 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oat flour (ground oats)
2 Tbsp. erythritol (or sugar)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of cloves
dash of black pepper
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

Make your flax egg first. If you have never made one before, check out The Bonzai Aphrodite. This is a page with great information on how to make a flax egg, it is so super easy too! In a small bowl, add 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed and 3 Tbsp. water. Add the water slowly while whisking. The flax egg should sit for at least 15 minutes in the fridge.

While your egg is gellin', grab your sous chef (such as Chef Bob, above) and get to mixin' those wet ingredients in bowl (I used the same one as I used to melt the oil. Less dishes = Happiness). Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate large bowl.

Add wet mix to dry mix and stir to combine. Let sit for a few minutes to gel. Wash up some dishes or whatev. After the mix has sat, add about 3/4 cup to your heated waffle iron, mine took about 3 minutes to cook.

You could use the mix for pancakes too of course, but we used our waffle maker.

If you want to educate yourself about eggs, flax, spices and molasses please check out these amazingly informative, evidence based videos.