Ben's Friday Pancakes

Hi Mamas.

These soaked grain pancakes have been a real hit around here lately. I find them divine with a thin spread of hazelnut butter, S prefers his plain, and R has gone the maple syrup route. We also like them with some whole yogurt sweetened with homemade jam or maple.

I'll link to the recipe below. There is an option of soaking in either milk or a yogurt/ water combo. I haven't tried the yogurt. We preferred them when I soaked in almond milk over cow milk.

Also the recipe says to blend until smooth-- don't overdo it. When it pours a bit thick it cooks up into nicely formed cakes and has a slightly chewy texture that hits the spot.

Oh, as for the sugar I used coconut sugar crystals I happened to have picked up. I couldn't promise this is what made them so divine but I couldn't say otherwise...

http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/index.php?video_id=103

Blueberry Muffins (w/ wheat and dairy-free options)

"These sweet, buttery muffins are delicately spiced, with a cakelike texture. Fresh blueberries are best, but if you have only frozen berries, stir them into the batter without thawing, or their dark juice will turn the muffins purple." (Is this a bad thing?!)

2 C all-purpose flour (for wheat free, use 1 C buckwheat + 1 C oat or rice flour)
2/3 C sugar (I use Sucanat)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 C milk (I use hazelnut or almond milk, coconut would probably work well, too)
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (I use coconut or sunflower oil)
2 eggs
1 cup blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter (oil) standard muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, butter and eggs until smooth. Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Add the blueberries and stir just until evenly incorporated.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 - 20 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove. Makes about 16 standard muffins.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series, "Muffins & Quick Breads", by John Phillip Carroll.