Vegan Pancakes

I woke up this a.m. craving french toast with Kings Hawaiian bread. However I am out of eggs and bread, so pancakes it was!

I originally got this recipe from a vegan cookbook and love it! It's super quick to make and has a mild sweet taste without added sugar.

1/2 cup rice flour $0.25

1/2 cup buckwheat flour $0.18

2 Tbsp coconut oil. $0.10

2tsp arrowroot. $0.12

Dash cinnamon

1/2 can peaches. $0.50

3 Tbsp Maple syrup. $0.49

1 1/2 cup almond milk. $0.56

Cook peaches in a pot until soft.

As peaches cook, Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add more or less depending how thick you like your pancakes.

Add some coconut oil to the skillet and drop about 1/4 of the batter onto the skillet. Cook til done.

I topped off my pancakes with walnuts adding about $0.50 to the cost. Any other type of nut would be just as yummy!

Noms noms!

Total cost $2.20

I get about 8 pancakes out of the batter making my cost per pancake $0.27!

Hearty breakfast

Weather men are calling for some crazy snow storm today - i heard 7 inches.  As a result schools are closed so no student teaching for me today. 

I decided to start my day with a yummy bowl of hot cereal.  I love Hodgson Mill Oat Bran hot cereal (you can find it in the cereal aisle near the oatmeal).  I prefer to oatmeal, something about the texture of hot oatmeal just doesn't do it for me.

The flavor combos with this oat bran cereal are endless, really almost any fruit/nut combo tastes delish.  Today I added apples & walnuts -noms noms!

Hot oat bran cereal
2/3 cup oat bran cereal -  $0.22
1 1/4 cup almond milk - $0.52
1/2 apple $0.37
1 Tbsp butter - $0.10
2 Tbsp brown sugar. $0.10
Cinnamon
2 Tbsp maple syrup. $0.25
Handful walnuts. $0.56
2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds. $0.25
Dash of salt

Total cost: $2.37

Saute the apples, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a saucepan until apples are soft.  Add oat bran cereal and milk. 

Cook for about 2 minutes.  Be careful the milk does not scald!  Add male syrup, walnuts, salt, and hemp seeds.   Eat up!

Butternut squash bread

I don't remember where I found this recipe, but since I have it has replaced zucchini bread in my kitchen.

I have to make sure I make some sort of bread or muffins each week or I spend a ridiculous amount of money buying muffins.  Since my 2nd seasonal job is finished today I have to eliminate the extra money I allocated for eating out.

To say that this bread is delish is an understatement, moist, sweet, and fluffy all make this a excellent choice for a breakfast bread or an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

The original recipe calls for 1cup sugar and 1/4 cup water.  Today I substituted honey for the white sugar and omitted the 1/4 cup of water.  The original recipe also calls for white flour and I used some white/wheat combo bag I accidently picked up. 

Every time I make this bread it only lasts about two days before I eat it all.

Total costs for the loaf $4.33.  Much cheaper than buying $2 muffins every day.  I included .25 for the spices.  They have been in my cabinet and I don't remember how much I paid and calculating cost from a bottle of salt gives me too much of a headache now.  I buy my spices from an Indian grocery and get huge bags of cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, etc for about $2. 

Recipe

1 c. Butternut squash puree (see recipe below)
2 eggs - .66
1/2 c. Oil (I used olive) - .44
1/2 c. Honey - .68
1/2 c brown sugar - .38
1 3/4 c. Flour - . 34
1 tsp baking soda - .04
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamon

Butternut squash puree
1/2 cooked butternut squash $1
6 Tbsp butter - .56
2 Tbsp brown sugar -  .05
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Head oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly oil a loaf pan (or muffin tin).
Combine ingredients for puree in food processor and combine until smooth.  You might have to add a bit of water. 

In mixing bowl, mix eggs, puree, oil, honey, and brown sugar until smooth.  Add flour and spices and mix until just combined.

Pour mixture into an oiled loaf pan, bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until done.

My passionate love affair with Farro

Several months ago I bought a bag of Farro, curious as to what it was, but it looked delicious.  The bag actually sat unopened in my kitchen for a month or two, then one day when I had nothing else to eat, I remembered Farro.  Had I known how delicous Farro  was, I would have opened it the day I bought it.  If you don't know what Farro, also called Emmr Wheat, has a very close reltionship to Spelt.  It is thought to have been first domesticated in Turkey, but is now widely grown in Europe especially in Italy.  Farro is low in  calories and fat, but high in fiber.

Farro has a slightly nutty, chewy texture and can be used in sweet or savory dishes.  My new favorite breakfast food is Farro and blueberries.  

In it's uncooked form, it almost looks like large pieces of brown rice.  Wash the Farro off, and add 1 Cup Farro to 2 cups water in a saucepan. 

Bring to a  boil, then let lower the heat and let it cook for about 15 - 20 minutes, careful not to let the water evoporate and burn the Farro (not that I've ever done that).

Add a couple of tablespoons maple syrup and some walnuts (hazelnuts, almonds will also work).

Scoop into your favorite bowl, top with some blueberries and enjoy! Fresh blueberries are best, but hard to come by in Kentucky in December so I used frozen. 

This would also be delish with strawberries, peaches or pears.  Let me know which of your favorite fruits you add to this.  What's your favorite Farro recipe?