Pancakes and Waffles

Do you prefer pancakes, or are you a waffle fanatic? Did you think that going gluten-free marked the end of these delicious breakfasts? Even if you don't want to fiddle with all of the gluten-free flours and xanthan gum in the morning you can still have a hot breakfast topped with fruit and maple syrup.


I've been making my pancakes and waffles using mixes from Bob's Red Mill. For the pancakes, I use the Gluten Free Pancake Mix (are you surprised?). The waffle batter is less obvious -- I get excellent results with the Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix.

For the pancakes you need:

• 1/2 Tbsp egg replacer whisked together with 2 Tbsp water
• 3/4 cup rice milk
• 1 Tbsp safflower oil
• 1 1/2 cups pancake mix

1. Whisk all the ingredients together and drop in various sized puddles onto a medium-hot nonstick griddle (I use a bit of oil in the pan).
2. The batter may not bubble when it is time to flip. Keep an eye on how brown the first side is getting and flip when it is a medium golden colour.
   

For the waffles I use:

• 1/2 Tbsp egg replacer whisked together with 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
  
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups biscuit mix

1. Whisk everything together and make according to your waffle-maker's instructions. (I use 1/2 cup batter per waffle and cook for 4 minutes.)
2. You can triple the recipe and make a large amount of waffles at a time (20 waffles in my waffle maker). Use 5 3/4 cups water (instead of 6) and use the whole biscuit mix package (no need to measure).
   

I let the leftovers cool completely and then freeze them in Ziploc bags. Whenever I need a quick breakfast or snack I pop them in the toaster oven to heat. I also use the pancakes as hamburger buns, so it is very convenient to have them on hand.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

A couple of months ago I decided I needed an ice cream maker. Not "wanted"... neeeeded. After perusing the different options, I decided to purchase the ice cream maker attachment kit for my Kitchenaid stand mixer. Being summer, one would think this would be easy to find. But no! In our town there was not a single place that stocked this item. Thus began an ice cream maker journey that involved online shopping, shipping to friends-of-friends in another country, my parents meeting up with those friends while both parties were on vacation, and their efforts to cram it in the car to drive it home.

This story is told to highlight just how special this ice cream is. Aside from the fact that I didn't think I could eat ice cream again. After all, I can't eat cream... not even soy cream. And now I don't need to, because this ice cream is spectacular without it!

This recipe is inspired by one in the new cookbook Lick It!: Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. It is the first ice cream I've made that doesn't taste like the coconut milk that it contains. I am excited to try many more of the recipes from this book.

• 1 14oz can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)
• 1/2 cup agave or granulated sugar (I used 1/4 cup of each)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cherries
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1. Put first 4 ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. Freeze in ice cream maker following the directions for your machine (I processed mine for 25 minutes).
4. Add cherries and chocolate chips and process a further 5 minutes.
5. Transfer ice cream to freezer-proof container and freeze 4 hours or more to obtain a hard ice cream consistency.
   

Morning Glory Muffins

These yummy breakfast muffins were inspired by a recipe for Carrot Cupcakes at Speedbump Kitchen. I adjusted the recipe to make them gluten-free (they were already dairy/egg free).

I made them in my new silicone tall muffin pan, so they are shaped like mini-cakes! This recipe makes about 16 muffins.

Wet ingredients:

• 2 cups carrots, grated
• 1 apple, cored and grated
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup safflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 1 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 4 Tbsp water

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk egg replacers and water together in medium bowl. Add all other wet ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in large bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just blended.
5. Fill silicone or paper-lined muffin pans almost to the top.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes, until set on top.
   

Thai Chicken Curry

This colourful dish is full of rich Thai flavours: coconut, lemongrass, lime leaves. If you are unfamiliar with Thai cooking, this may appear daunting at first. It took me awhile the first time, but it is now easy since I am more familiar with the ingredients. I adapted the recipe from one in The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook.

• 2 14oz cans coconut milk (be careful not to shake)
  
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
  
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 2-3 red, orange or yellow sweet bell peppers, sliced
• 1 Tbsp safflower oil
  
• 1 inch ginger root, diced
• 1 stalk lemongrass, outer leaves discarded and remainder cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  
• 2 Tbsp Thai green curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
• 3 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 2 tsp natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
• 3/4 cup snowpeas (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or Thai basil

1. Separate the thick coconut cream from the thin coconut milk by spooning the cream off of the top of each can of coconut milk. Put the cream into a medium saucepan and reserve the milk for later in the recipe.
2. Cook the chicken over medium-high heat in the coconut cream along with 2 of the whole kaffir lime leaves. After 10 minutes, remove chicken to a medium bowl and keep warm by covering with foil.
3. Boil the coconut cream until it thickens and starts to look curdled. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, fry the peppers in the vegetable oil in a wok for 3 minutes. Remove peppers, adding to bowl with chicken.
5. Combine curry paste with 1 Tbsp of the reserved coconut milk and fry in the wok for 1-2 minutes. Add fish sauce and sugar and stir together.
6. Stir in remaining coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and snowpeas. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
7. Add peppers, chicken, and curdled coconut cream and cook another 5 minutes until chicken is heated through. Remove lemongrass pieces.
   
8. Sliver the remaining 2 kaffir lime leaves very thinly and stir into the wok along with the cilantro/basil immediately before serving.
9. Serve over Thai jasmine rice.