Pancakes

 

One week in Paris,
back home in London,
sunshine on winter Sunday.
One month vegan,
the experiment is over,
we are content and smiling.
One Irish fry for Trevor,
pancakes for the rest of us,
Saatchi, her friend Gaby and me.
One flow of words today,
but no rhyme or melody,
the pancakes were simply delish.

Spiced Banana and Coconut Buckwheat Pancakes

 Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cup Buckwheat flour

1/4 cup finely dessicated coconut

1 teaspoon soda bicarbonate

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger powder

a pinch of sea salt

1 egg (you can use 1 tablespoon flax seed powder instead)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ripe mashed bananas

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or any other vegetable oil of choice)

1 cup unsweetened Soya milk (or any other milk of choice)

Coconut oil to grease

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Whisk all the wet ingredients together,

Pour into dry ingredients and whisk

till batter is well combined.

Add more milk if needed.

Heat a non stick pan and lightly grease with oil.

Drop a large dollop of batter to make 4" pancakes.

Flip when the bottom is golden brown,

and cook till the second side is golden brown too.

I served the Pancakes warm with honey,

blackberry/raspberry coulis, fresh goats cheese cream, and chopped pistachios..........

 

Notes:

These are my all time favorite gluten-free pancakes,

and we usually make them for Sunday breakfast.

I don't like them too thick,

so these have a thickness that is somewhere

between crepes and pancakes.

I love the taste of bananas and coconut,

mixed with all the spices, felt like Christmas already!!

I had some frozen blackberries and raspberries,

so I heated them with some honey and strained

to make a very tasty coulis.

There was some fresh soft goats cheese in the fridge,

I whisked it up with a little milk and viola,

it went very well with the honey and coulis.

The chopped pistachios added a great crunch.

There are days when the writing just does not flow as well,

it is better then to not insist, do what one can and let it go......

Hope you enjoy the pancakes though :-)

 

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your Own Way.

Fresh

 

  

Macaroni, fettucine, canneloni,

Tortellini, linguini, ravioli.

Pasta is dear to my heart,

and so hard to refuse.

In chilly London days, it makes

a great alternative to soup.

Sometimes I go hunting for it in health food stores,

but one day, I'll show you how to make your own......

For now, when summer is still around

even if it is almost ready to go,

let's make pasta like you've never seen before? ;-)

Summer Tagliatelli: 
Raw cucumber pasta......


1 cucumber
half a red pepper
3 tablespoons of yogurt
2 teaspoons of olive oil
fresh grated coconut

sea salt, lime, herbs, spices, parsley.

Chop a red pepper into tiny cubes, keep aside.
Take 3 tablespoons of yogurt and whisk it
with a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

Take a cucumber and peel the skin away,
using a flat peeler. Then continue peeling, making strips
and turning the cucumber around,
till you hit the seeds, then stop.
Add sea salt to taste and drain for 2 minutes.
Gently tap the tagliatelli strips with kitchen paper,
to get rid of excess moisture.

Add the red pepper cubes and coconut
to the cucumber, mix gently.
Arrange it on a plate with your hand.
Squeeze some lime juice over it and
scoop the yogurt into the center.
Sprinkle some herbs or spices of choice.
Drizzle some olive oil and add a sprig of fresh parsley.

Viola, its ready to eat.
Fresh and light, what a delight :-)

 

Notes:

No cooking involved, how easy is that?? :-)
I use English cucumbers for longer strips.
The seedy soggy center is sometimes used to make cuke lemonade.
I used goats milk yogurt.
I found a lovely spice blend the other day at Marks and Spencers,
it has paprika, sweet red peppers and thyme.
If you want to make it spicy and different,
use roasted cumin powder, chili flakes and fresh coriander instead.
If you don;t have fresh grated coconut, use some chopped nuts and seeds.
You can use a deep wide ring like I did, to get a round shape to this dish.
Just looks nice this way :-)

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your own Way.

Chocolate

Smooth and silky, dark and glamorous,

passion, depth, intensity.

Melting, teasing, oozing, comforting.

From brownies to bars, fondants to gateaus,

souffles, cupcakes and cookies.......

White Flour, sugar, eggs, butter,

batter and base of almost all chocolate treats.

Then mixing, whipping, pouring, baking.
How about if we do no cooking and

try something different, quick and healthy?

Cream:

1 medium size Avocado
1 medium size Banana
2 tablespoons Agave
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Cacao powder 
a pinch of Sea Salt

Blend it all in a blender, or process in a food processor.
Add more agave, vanilla, cacao to suit your tastes.
Make it real smooth,
call it chocolate cream or mousse.
Chill for best results. Serve :-)

Three small portions for three of us, just enough.....

Not for Trevor, a crazy chocolate lover ;-)

Avocados yes, bananas no, so here we go!!!!

Filling:

2 Avocados
1/4 cup Agave
2 tablespoons Cacao powder
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
a pinch of Sea Salt

Blend or process. Make it sensual and glossy,
taste, adjust, then wait.....

Base:

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup fine dessicated coconut
2 teaspoons Agave
pinch of salt

Mix all till it holds together.

Options:

1) Chocolate Tart - This is what I made.......

Use a ring or cutter. Press the base mixture at the bottom.
Make a thin layer.
Scoop the filling on top and pack it in.
Make the surface even.
Set in the freezer for 3 hours.
Unmold with care. Top with fruit of choice.
Oh well, for us it was banana slice.

2) Soft Crumble - This is what I've made, many times before.

Scoop filling into ramequins or teacups.
Layer nut mixture on top.
Chill for 2 hours.

Even better. Make mini chocolate ice cream pops.
Fill an ice tray with the filling and freeze overnight. 

I used a chocolate mold. and lollipop sticks.

This was fun and really YUMMMMM :-))))))

 

Notes :

I used half and half. Cacao powder and carob.

Cacao - Van Heuten or Green and Black organic.

Use a tablespoon or two of water to blend, if needed.

I used agave, but you can use any other sweetener.

Replace almonds with any other nuts you prefer. 

Do not use peanuts.

I used almond flour and coconut flour.

My Indian grocer at Wembley stocks it all.

Avocados, among other things have great mono-saturated fats,

protein, beta-carotene and Vitamin A.

  

Keep it Simple. Be Creative. 

Taste and Play. Find your own Way.