Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Toaster Pancakes

I always make too much food. Always. It's not like I'm trying to cook ahead and stock up for the week. I just can't scale back my old habit of cooking for five or more people, learned first from my mom, and carried over to my own family later. Now it's just Rick and me most of the time, but I still make enough for house full of kids.


It's OK. It would be even more OK if we had something bigger than a "Barbie Refrigerator" to store leftovers in. If you've ever spent time in an RV of any kind, you know the fridge. Little. I suppose it's nice that it forces us to shop more often, so our veggies are always fresh. It just doesn't lend itself well to stocking up, storing anything extra, or freezing much more than a few ice cubes, a pint of ice cream, and a few bags of whatever else goes in a freezer. There isn't even room for vodka.

When I make pancakes, I overdo it same as I do with a pot of soup. But because I make sturdy, real food pancakes, they hold up well in a zip-bag in the fridge, which doesn't take up much more room than a bag of tortillas does. We like flat food! And we've discovered that they're great the next day, heated up in the toaster.


If you're comfortable with basic pancake construction, just throw the basics in a bowl, like I did this morning. For vegan pancakes, I use whatever flour I have around, sometimes gluten free, sometimes not, usually a blend of several different flours. I add a tablespoon or so of ground flax seed per cup of flour, about a tablespoon of baking powder, a little salt, and water. Sometimes I stir in rolled oats, chopped nuts, raisins, fruit, spices... you get it. Pancakes aren't as scientific as cupcakes. But if you want a recipe, I have some good ones for you in past posts: Peachy Pancakes, Apple Pie Pancakes, Carrot Pancakes.

Another topping option, which you see here, is an easy pear compote. Cut up two ripe pears (or more, because more is good), put them in a small saucepan with a little water. Bring it to a boil, and cook until the pears are soft. Along the way, add raisins, spices (I used pumpkin pie spice), and maple syrup or a little sugar. After it's cooked down a bit, add arrowroot to thicken.

On Pancake Day, make a big batch of batter, cook it all up, eat what you want, and then let the leftovers cool completely before putting them away in the fridge. Next day, give them a quick trip through the toaster, and you have Pancake Day II, with a lot less mess than the day before!


More food, less mess. Always good!