Oatmeal Apricot Pancakes

Before I started this Earthfood Experiment, pancakes were a lovely treat that I made for Miss M and Sweets on the weekend, in which I never partook. These cakes o'the pan were just never my favorite made the traditional way with white flour and eggs and all reminiscent of fluffy white bread. 


Call me a weirdo, but I prefer my breads to be of the whole grain persuasion. I've been a loyal fan for years now. To me, they have so much more flavor than the white stuff... all nutty and chewy and delicious. Yum.


So, for the last couple months I've been experimenting with making pancakes from whole grains and fruits on the weekends... which I actually eat! 


These Oatmeal Apricot Pancakes are, hands down, my favorite so far.

 I bought a new cookbook last week called Vegan Planet, in which found a recipe for flax-berry pancakes. I switched out the white flour for whole wheat and oats, reduced the milk, switched the berries to dried apricots, and added in some ginger and a little maple syrup to sweeten.


 Beware, you may possibly become addicted to these. But it's okay... they're good for you!!

INGREDIENTS: 

10 dried apricots 

2 T ground flax seed 

3/4 C. whole wheat flour 

3/4 C coarsely ground oats 

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 tsp. ginger 

2 T. maple syrup 

1 1/4 C soy milk 

~ Chop dried apricots and put into microwavable bowl with 1/2 Cup water. Microwave for 3 minutes. 


~ Drain off apricot water into a small bowl (should be about 1/4 C) and stir flax. Set aside. 


~ In medium bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients. 


~ Mix into the dry ingredients the soy milk, maple, & gelled flax mixture. 


~ Stir in chopped apricots. 


~ ladle 1/4 C portions onto a hot buttered skillet and cook on both sides until browned. 


~ serve with Earth Balance Coconut Spread and a splash of maple syrup. 

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Dust and Wanderlust & a Recipe for Johnny Cakes

The month of love continues with one of my very favorite things to talk about.... what lights people up and gets them excited. I also refer to this as your bliss. Or, loving what you love. 

Bliss:

Perfect happiness. Great joy. 

Synonyms: pleasure, delight, ecstasy, elation, rapture, euphoria.

I truly, truly, TRULY believe that this is what life's all about. We were given these loves for a reason. There is no one else on the face of the planet that has the exact same combination of skills, talents, and interests as you do. 


What this means, is that when we take the time to recognize and find space for our bliss, several things happen: 


#1 We become insanely happy. What makes you happier than doing the things you love to do? 
#2 We become peace... even if only for that moment. Peace is addictive, and contagious... and intriguing. 
#3 We inspire others to do what they love to do. (See #1) 


So, get to it. Dig up and uncover your bliss, then submerge yourself in it fully. It's one of the most loving and healing things you could possibly do for the world.

And here's a little secret... by doing this, you fill a void on this planet that only you (with your unique skill set) have the capabilities of filling. Now you're helping the world doubly.  Holla! 


Coming up in the near future, I will be sharing with you some people who are fully submersed into loving what they love. 


Starting today with my girlfriend Michelle and her great love of travel.... a passion that we both share. I could listen to her tell stories of her travels and life experiences all day long. (Did I mention she's an incredible story teller as well?) 



Get ready to be inspired, and get out your shovel. You've got some digging to do. 

The Lovely Michelle

As kids, my family drove all over exploring and learning. When I think about how I grew up, it’s no wonder now that my greatest joy in life revolves around travelling. We’ve shared a ton of memories and laughs that nothing could replace or compare to. And now I love taking my kids to see new places and uncover the secrets and unique traits that those destinations hold.  Together, the kids and I have seen 21 states and I’ve been to 33. And we will eventually see them all and experience all of the one of a kind moments they have to show us.

I have a deep love for my Country and all of the magical places that it is home to. I’ve been brought to tears by snow capped mountains, especially the first time I saw them in Washington. And since then, I’ve visited the Tetons and camped in the Rockies. My stomach flips each time I cross over the Mississippi heading West.

Michelle with her kiddos at The Rockies

 I have stopped the car hundreds of times to capture a stunning sunset or a vast, wide open space.  It never quite captures the beauty, but it serves as a bookmark in my memory of stunning moments in my life.  These pictures serve as ongoing reminders of how blessed I am, and reminders that I’ve made the right choice by following my bliss. 

Nebraska Sunset 

I like to think that the greatest form of love that I can show to my children is to pass along traits that have served me well in my life. I show them unconditional love and support, of course. All of the typical parental “duties”. But I have also given them two gifts, two traits of mine that have gotten me through highs and lows, thick and thin: My wonderment and my wanderlust. 

Wonderment is defined as “to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel”.   Wanderlust means “a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.”  Both words are woven into the fabric that makes me who I am and they are parts that I could never function without. They feed my soul every day.  

My travels have reinvented me, redirected me when I needed it most, and reminded me time and time again to come back to what is simple and true.  I came across the quote by Tolkien that said “Not all who wander are lost”. I don’t know if I’ve heard truer words.  In fact, those who travel have been found. Our passion for life has directed us to where we need to be, on the dusty back roads and Americas highways. Through mountain ranges and along ocean drives. We have road dust in our blood, after all.

Be sure to stop by Dust & Wanderlust... Michelle's little corner of cyber-land.

Because I spend weeks of my year in a travel trailer, Im constantly looking for simple yet diverse recipes that are easy to make in a skillet over a fire or on the camper stove (or home for that matter). Johnny cakes go way back. There was a rumor that they started in Rhode Island, but it’s also a very old Native American recipe. They’re simple, easy to prepare and can be topped with anything from butter to syrup to fruit preserves. Not matter where they originated they’ve been part of American home food for a long time. Hopefully, you’ll make them a part of yours.  

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

• 1 cup stone ground cornmeal (white or yellow)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• milk
• butter (or bacon drippings or oil or fat)

Directions:

~ Whisk together cornmeal, salt and sugar (if used).  

~ Bring water to a boil and pour over the meal mixture, whisking to prevent lumps. 

~ Let the batter rest 10 minutes.

~ Butter a large skillet or griddle and bring it to about 375 degrees, just to a sizzle (don’t burn the butter). ~ Add enough milk (1/2 to a cup) to the batter to make it the consistency of mashed potatoes, and drop by spoonfuls to make cakes about 2 or 3 inches wide and several inches apart (they will spread).  Let the cakes gently sizzle on the grill for about 6 minutes or as long as 11 minutes until you bring them to a deep golden brown on the bottom and slightly firm on the top, before turning them over.
~ Add some more butter to the griddle, and/or place a thin pat of butter on each cake, before turning them over and cooking for another 6 minutes (or longer) until they are a deep golden brown color.  

~Serve with butter and honey, or maple syrup.

Oh My Word! I need these in my belly... and I can totally veganize them! ;).... Thanks Michelle!

Besides her blog, Dust & Wanderlust, you can also find Michelle on:

Pinterest (I want to live in her pin boards... she has incredible pictures)

Facebook & Twitter 

PS Michelle has a really cool perspective and a unique legacy. To read more about her take on life and learn how her great grandmom had a movie made about her, go here. 

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Mango Sticky Rice. Our Newest Love.

Sticky, coconuty, warm and melt in your mouthy, mildly sweet, a little sour...

Mango Sticky Rice.

This is quickly becoming an obsession in my home. 

I'm not eating leftovers right this very moment for breakfast. I swear.

We made this last night to go with our Valentine's Day Veggie Sushi. 

I realize Sushi is Japanese and Mango Sticky Rice is largely a traditional Thai dessert, but there are no rules in my house. 

Look at that big beautiful platter of sushi.  We ate every last bite... if you were wondering.

This was our first ever attempt at making sushi ourselves. Cucumber, avocado, and pickled radish. Topped with thinly sliced jalapenos and a hoisin & tamari sauce (not pictured. obviously.)  I'm in love.

Turns out Sweets is a master sushi roller. Who knew?!

I have a feeling there will be much sushi crafting occurring in my house from now on. Even Miss M loved it, and worked her chopsticks like a champ.

Okay, why was I writing this post again? Oh yeah, Sticky rice... 

Sweets and I discovered the joy of Mango Sticky Rice one night, several months ago, at our favorite Thai food place. We had eaten there a gajillion times, always always getting dessert. Because we love it. 

For some reason the sticky rice had never jumped out from the dessert tray to say, "Eat Me! Eat Me!" before that night. Maybe it was because of it's simplicity. The poor thing didn't really stand much of a chance up against chocolate lava cake with cappuccino ice cream, white chocolate strawberry shortcake, or green tea infused cheesecake. I'm pretty sure I could hear the other desserts chanting "we're better than you are, we're better than you are, people want to eat us, too bad for you-ou"

This one evening though, we must have felt bad for the amount of ridicule and mockery the poor little innocent Mango was being subjected to, because we ordered it. Although not without a back-up dessert... just in case it sucked. We've pretty much been madly in love with it ever since. 

Even more so since we've taken on this season of vegan thing. Eggless, dairyless restaurant desserts are pretty hard to come by, so this has definitely become a go-to for us. 

Anyhow, to make a short story long, which I've sufficiently done here, I boycotted my kitchen this last weekend (or maybe it boycotted me...) so we were out for dinner once again at our fave Thai place. Through the entire meal we harbored eager anticipation for our mango sticky rice. I even boxed up half of my entree to save room, just to find out the little pile of sticky goodness was not on the dessert tray that evening. *Gasp* It was a horrific tragedy. (We're very serious about dessert) 

It was at this moment in time, it occurred to us that the delicacy we were longing for was quite simply rice and fruit. How hard could that be to make? So, after a trip to the ghetto Oriental Market (which is now one of newest favorite places), and a small amount of kitchen time, I can confidently answer, "Not very."

Here's what you'll need: 

SWEET RICE. COCONUT MILK. BROWN SUGAR. MANGO. SALT.

This makes quite a bit. We like left overs. You know, for breakfast and stuff. 

You could cut this in half if you're not into sticky rice for breakfast you crazy person. 

~ In a large stock pot measure 2 Cups of rice and 2 Cups of water. Let sit for 30 minutes. 

~ Do not drain. Add to the pot, 1/2 Cup coconut milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 T. brown sugar, and another 1 1/2 Cups of water. 

~ Bring to boil, reduce heat covering partially. Simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stirring occasionally. This mixture will get VERY sticky. That's okay. You will want this to be custard like in the end. 

~ Turn off heat and cover securely. Let sit 5 - 10 minutes. 

~ Pour remainder of the can of coconut milk into a small sauce pan.  Sweeten with 3-5 T of brown sugar, depending on how sweet you like things. Remember this will taste less sweet once it's on the rice, since the rice is not very sweet at all. Warm through. Serve with a scoop of rice and sliced mango.

Be sure to let me know how you like it!

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Creamy Coconut Quinoa with Berry Compote

There seems to be a commonly held misconception that an Earthfood heavy or completely Earthfood based diet can't be satisfying and/or comforting. I'm here this winter and, more specifically, this week to prove any naysayers wrong. Bouyah!!

It's almost February which happens to be the month of love, so I'm going to be spending the entirety of it discussing all things having to do with Looooove. I'm not talkin' mushy romantic love here, although I can't guarantee there will be none of that.

The love I'm referring to is the love of food and other worldly pleasures, the love of all that is around us, and the love of ourselves. I have decided to kick off the month with a love of Miss M's (and I'm sure many of yours as well) ...

All things creamy.

(Think Mac & Cheese, Fettuccine Alfredo, Ice cream, Cream of 'Whatever' Soup... you get the jist)

This is the Earthfood Experiment however, so these creamy things will be minus the cream and cheese. This is certain to be a challenging experiment, but I'm DETERMINED to arrive at weeks end with a beginner's collection of delicious, healthy, and indulgent tasting creamy recipes.

Since February is a short month, I figured I'd just go ahead and start a few days early.... because there's no such thing as too much love.

To Kick off our week.... 

Creamy Coconut Quinoa with Berry Compote

(that's a lotta Kuhhhhs)

I actually threw this together for breakfast because I was:
a) trying to use up some crap I had leftover from last week
2) inspired by this sticky rice with coconut cream and Mango that I had at a Thai food place this weekend.
It's Sweet's and I's new favorite Vegan dessert, and I was thinking it might just be fabulous for breakfast if it wasn't made with white rice and what HAS to be a considerable amount of sugar. So this is what I came up with:

I used some left over grains that I'd made earlier in the week. I always make extras since they take a good 15-20 minutes to cook and who wants to do that at 6 in the morning?

So the picture above is 1 Cup cooked quinoa & 1/2 Cup cooked Stoats!
For those of you that might be new here... Stoats! are steel cut oats. Really you could use any type of grain for this recipe. All Stoats! or all quinoa.... or it would be fantastic with some left over brown rice from the night before.

 I combined my grains in a saucepan with 1 tsp. real maple syrup, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil, and 1/2 Cup Lite coconut milk (from the can). I brought that to a simmer over low heat and let it thicken up.

Meanwhile, I gathered some berries from the freezer.
 These particular berries were ones that I threw in the freezer last week when I realized they were on their last leg and wouldn't survive much longer in the fridge. I do this ALL the time in my effort to waste less food. 

Anyhoo....
While the the grains were thickening, in another sauce pan I combined 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1 Cup blueberries, 2 Tablespoons all natural mixed fruit preserves, and a cinnamon stick.
My favorite is St. Dalfour's Four Fruits. It has nothing in it but fruit, fruit juice, fruit pectin, and lemon juice. Can I get a shout out for no high fructose corn syrup! Hell yeah. 

I let simmer until the blueberries were all are bursty, then served over my coconut quinoa.

Simple, nutritious, creamy, comforting, delicious.

See you tomorrow with more creaminess... 

What's your favorite creamy comfort food?

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The Crunchy Elvis... A breakfast Quinoa

Legend has it that Elvis's fave sandwich was white bread with bananas, honey, butter, and bacon....

However, I'm convinced that the funkier, modern day, health conscious, more environmentally aware Elvis would be eating this instead...

THE CRUNCHY ELVIS

I created this recipe after Miss M's love of quinoa was born... which I'm ultra stoked about, since it's a super grain with LOADS of nutrition.  Seeing as how she has a sweet tooth, I figured this would be the perfect way to inject more of it into her diet. Sweets and I think it's pretty spectacular too.

Here's what you'll need:

QUINOA. COCONUT MILK. ALMOND BUTTER. FLAX SEED. EARTH BALANCE BUTTER. RAW HONEY. BANANA. 

~ In a saucepan, combine 1 Cup each of quinoa, water, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. I'm not gonna lie, this stuff smells kinda funny, but I assure you it will taste amazing. 

~ Scoop out 3/4 Cup quinoa and put in a bowl. Add 1 T almond butter, 1 T raw honey, a dab of butter, a sprinkle of flax seed, 1/2 of a banana sliced, and ya might as well drizzle a little more coconut milk in. Top with a sprinkle of slivered almonds if you like.

That's it! Put your leftover quinoa in a covered container and store in the fridge. Then for the remainder of the week you'll have quick and easy breakfasts or lovely & nutritious sweet snacks or heck, even desserts.
I almost always make extras when I'm cooking whole grains since they take a while to cook. Then, when I'm in a hurry I always have a healthy option waiting for me which makes my life much easier.

It's kind of crazy how little things like that add up to equal a much more calm and peaceful day, giving us more time and positive focus for things that really matter.

Do you have any tips that you implement to help your day run smoother?

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Chocolate Pancakes with Maple-Coconut Cream

Is this dessert or breakfast? I can't tell.

All I know is that they were stupid good... even cold.

I adapted this from a red velvet pancake recipe that I found here (my new fave dessert blog). And then was struck with the idea for Maple-Coconut Cream to slather over the top!! Genius? I know, thank you. 

Were you aware the only thing that makes red velvet red, is food coloring? Otherwise, it's pretty much just chocolate cake? I did not know this. I'm not much of a baker though. You're probably saying to your computer, duh, Chandra. Everyone knows that.

When Miss M and I were making these pancakes we added said food coloring which we SWORE you couldn't even see... however, now that I'm looking at the picture they definitely appear to have a red-ish tint. I will probably just leave it out next time. 

Here's what you will need for this chocolatey coconuty breakfast (or dessert):

LITE COCONUT MILK. SHREDDED COCONUT. MAPLE SYRUP. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR. OAT BRAN. BAKING POWDER. COCOA POWDER. VANILLA. ALMOND MILK. BROWN SUGAR.

In small saucepan stir together 1/2 C lite coconut milk, 2 T shredded coconut, and 1 T real maple syrup. Simmer over medium heat while making pancakes, or until thickened. 

In small bowl, mix together 1/4 C flour, 2 T oat bran, 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp salt, 2 T cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/3 C almond milk, 2 T brown sugar. 

Cook on skillet over med-low heat in typical pancake cookin' style.

Slather with Maple Coconut cream. Put 2 in face immediately. Leave last 2 on the counter while you shower and get ready for the day. Eat remaining cold cakes before leaving the house.

Be sure to try Maple Applesauce Pancakes as well. We made these the same morning as the Chocolate pancakes! Hey, you can do that when each recipe only makes 4 pancakes. I love it. 

Peace & Love, 

Chandra Nicole

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Maple Applesauce Pancakes

Happy Saturday Morning!

Hopefully your weekend is off to a fan-freakin-tastic start.... Here's a little stack of deliciousness it make it even better. 

Miss M and I are having a girl's weekend while Sweet's is off exploring the Rockies. No fair. 

We thought this chilly morning was begging for something warm and sweet. So we made these pancakes. Which are so yummy!!  Not to mention ridiculously good for you. 

I made some homemade applesauce earlier this week (see below)  because I had a bunch of apples with smooshy spots and I hated to see them go to waste. I'm attempting to be a more responsible earth dweller, and waste less.... 

So I found and adapted a pancake recipe from a new blog I've recently found and fallen madly in love with. It's called Chocolate Covered Katie . Katie makes healthy vegan desserts. You must pay her a visit. What I love most about her recipes is that they all make small amounts. 

I greatly appreciate this since one of the things that deters me from baking on most occasions is the just plain stupid quantities they make.  I mean, who needs 32 cupcakes for cripes sake. Seeing as how the art moderation is not a skill I ever acquired, I then of course, am forced to put all these sugary treats  in my face. ugh.

Here's what you'll need:

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR. ROLLED OATS. HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE. CINNAMON. BAKING POWDER. SALT. VANILLA. REAL MAPLE SYRUP. ALMOND MILK.

Heat a cast iron skillet over med-low heat. 

Mix together 1/3 C. flour, 2 T oats, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 chunky maple cinnamon applesauce, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. salt,  1 tsp. vanilla, 1 T real maple syrup, 2/3 C. almond milk. 

This mixture should be very thick. It will be much different in texture than your typical pancake mixture. Place heaping scoops of batter on your skillet and smoosh them out into a nice thick circle shape (it will make 4 pancakes). 

Since these little cakes are so dense you will want to cook them over really low heat so that they won't burn on the outside before they're done cooking through the middle. Our pancakes were still pretty moist on the inside, but we like them that way.

For the topping, mix a big scoop of your applesauce with some warm maple syrup. Yum! 

We also made Chocolate Pancakes with a maple coconut-cream sauce which I will share later.  You're drooling. I can tell.

 Making homemade applesauce couldn't be simpler. Peel and cut up some apples. Whatever you have is fine. I used some sort of red variety. I seriously have no idea what they were. This picture is about 5 apples (smooshy spots removed, of course). 

Cover bottom of a sauce pan with about an inch of water. Toss in your apples a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. 

Cover and cook on medium heat until soft. Then smash with a fork, or spoon, or potato masher, or hammer... whatever ya got.

I like mine to have a some texture and chunkiness, but you could cook yours softer and even give'em a whirl in the food processor for a truer 'applesauce' texture.

This is so good straight up on it's own. Miss M ate a big bowl right after I made it. 

Or it's great in pancakes. Obviously. 

Personally, I love to add it to my oatmeal in the morning. 

Have a beautiful day. 

Peace & Love, 

Chandra Nicole

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