Banana Pancakes And Blini.

I think breakfast may be my favourite meal. At the moment, I am being extra good and having a green juice each morning (recipe coming up soon), and feeling amazing for it.
However, I miss having a good breakfast to get me going in the morning. I'm not sure I could stick to juicing during the colder months, but given the good weather we've been having all summer, it's been far easier than I could have imagined.
However, green juice is not something any of the children want first thing in the morning, so the other morning, minutes after I had been eyeing a bunch of overripe bananas, I got a request for pancakes. Perfect! So banana pancakes it was.
By the way, do yours do that? Go through a phase of eating bananas until they come out their ears, and then, just as soon as you stock up again they lose all interest? *sigh
Anyway, I took this as an opportunity to actually make vegan pancakes, which I had not done before. Usually I'd just make them for the children and skip them myself. But I love banana pancakes, so I reckoned a little treat for myself would also be a chance to try it out.
I don't know what I expected, but I was surprised at how easy it was. I didn't miss the eggs at all, but I suspect this was because of the mashed banana, which added the right amount of body to it.
These are smaller, more like drop scones, as opposed to crepe style pancakes.

Recipe:

175g flour, I used Dove's Farm gluten and wheat free brown bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2tsp cream of tartar (this is optional. In a normal drop scone recipe, it makes them lighter, although I'm not sure it made any difference in this recipe)
1 tsp baking soda
2 small bananas, mashed
300ml milk, I used coconut
A couple of tbsp of oil for cooking, I find coconut oil is delicious

Method:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mash your bananas in a separate bowl.
3. Gradually add your milk to the dry mix, beating it with a wooden spoon, until all of it is incorporated, and it is a good thick batter.
4. Gently stir in the mashed banana, until well mixed in.
5. Heat a small amount of oil on your skillet, and add a ladle full of batter to the hot pan. You should fit two or three on the pan at a time.
6. When they start to bubble evenly on top, flip them over and cook the other side.
7. Serve with a topping of your choice. We love maple syrup and fresh fruit, or peanut butter, yum!

While I am on the subject of pancakes, I'd like to share with your an firm favourite here, and one I discovered when I gave up gluten. Blini. Pancakes made with buckwheat flour. Buckwheat, also known as sarrasin, is not actually wheat at all, but a member of the rhubarb family. It's a staple in places like Russia, and Northern China, and has a distinctive, slightly sweet, nutty taste. They are usually served with sour cream and salmon, or caviar, but not in this house! A lot of recipes you find will use half buckwheat, half plain flour, and yeast too, but we go for the pure stuff here, and we love them that way.
The recipe I use does use eggs, and next time I think I'll try it without.

Recipe:

2 eggs
175g buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder, or, for a fluffier version, 2 tsp cream of tartar plus 1 tsp baking soda
300ml milk, I use coconut
2 tbs oil for cooking, coconut is delicious

Method:

1. Whisk eggs until frothy
2.Mix in flour, baking powder (of cream of tartar and baking soda)
3.Beat well to make a smooth batter
4. Heat a little oil in a heavy pan and drop in tablespoons of the batter
5. Cook until golden and bubbly, then turn over and cook the other side

Some people like them sweet, I prefer them savoury. They really are filling, and make a great open sandwich style lunch plate, or a delicious breakfast.