Basic Pancakes

Basic pancakes are simple. If you want something a little fancier and more interesting, there are some suggestions below. This recipe makes about eight small-medium sized pancakes.

Ingredients & Mixing

1. In your mixing bowl, mash up one banana (preferably ripe).

2. To this, mix in:

• ½ t salt
• ½ t baking soda & 2 t baking powder
• 2 T melted Earth Balance or canola oil
• (Optional: add ¼ t ground cloves and ½ t cinnamon)

3. Add to the mix:

• 1 cup all purpose flour (you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 cup orange juice*, soy milk, or almond milk
• 1/8 cup water (omit for thicker pancakes)

4. Stir slightly until mixed.

5. Stir in ¼ - ½ cup walnuts, chopped.

* I have made these with water ONLY and they're still good. Fruit juice is best. You can also use other fruit juices. Any orange-ish blend such as peach juice will do. I have not used apple juice, but try it and let me know how it works. If it works well, gimme some of that pancake.

Cooking

1. Preheat a non-stick (I use cast iron) frying pan over medium-low heat and add ~2 T olive oil.
2. Once oil sizzles when you add a drop of batter, the pan is ready.
3. Add about ¼ cup of the batter to make each little medium pancake. My pan fits about four:

4. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, until bubbly, then flip for another 2 minutes or until it is cooked as you like it.

Now you will have very lonely, sad, and naked pancakes.

Meanwhile – Hats for your Pancake

Baseball Cap

Certainly you can go the traditional route and pour some of that real or pretend maple syrup on top of these guys. I prefer to cut up some fresh or frozen strawberries and heat them on low with agave nectar or maple syrup.

Top Hat

Spread them with Earth Balance if you'd like, though they are already oiled up nicely from the frying process.

French Beret

You can also grind up almonds, then lightly cook them with agave and earth balance for a most delicious and healthful calcium-y topping.

If I Were You Pancakes

Which I'm not. But if you want to try some other variations, this is for you. My typical pancake includes chopped apples and blueberries.

Try adding to the batter some of the following:

• chopped apple (with skin is great I think)
• blueberries
• peaches
• mangoes
• orange or lemon zest
• chocolate chips
• cocoa powder
• pecans
• black strap molasses (full of iron, calcium, and potassium!)