Undecided About the Pancakes + Other Musings

     I woke up this morning later than I meant to, which means I still haven't changed into real clothes. When I have nowhere to be and no reason to get up, I kind of just don't. This'll have to change. If I don't get up and get ready in the mornings, I don't feel like I've accomplished anything that day, even if I've cleaned, run errands, and cooked. This day is no different. I've written thank you letters, cleaned the kitchen, tried a new recipe, made the kitchen dirty again, will clean it up again, and will be going out here shortly to get some things done in town. But I'm not going to feel like I've done anything by the end of the day. I'm incredibly bored, for one thing, and I'm ready to get my mind moving again. School is a huge motivation to do that; it makes me get my mind moving.

     What I should probably start doing is take a shower and get dressed as soon as I'm finished with my coffee and breakfast. And then I just need to get out of the house, get moving, and also do some yoga at some point during the day. (I'm pretty sure my profile says I'm "interested in doing yoga," but remember, that just means "interested in." I haven't been doing yoga regularly since over a year ago. And even then it wasn't as regular as it should've been.

     Any who, enough rambling about that. You're probably wondering what "undecided about the pancakes" means. It means I tried to make an eggless pancake recipe I found, except I changed it up a bit in an attempt to make it healthier. Well, actually, I had made it before, and the pancakes were delicious! I added cinnamon to give them more flavor, used almond milk instead of the 1% milk it called for, and didn't use as much sugar. Those were the only things I changed about the recipe that first time around. Today, though, I changed several things around and I made a topping for them.

Here's the recipe: 3/4 cup all purpose flour                          
                             1/2 cup whole wheat flour                    
                             1 tbsp baking powder                          
                             1/2 tbsp brown sugar                            
                             1/4 tsp kosher salt                                
                             1 cup almond milk                                
                             2 tbsp coconut oil
                             4 tbsp water (I actually started out with 2 tbsp, but it was too thick, so add as much as you think necessary to thin it out.)
                             2 tsp cinnamon
                             dash of nutmeg
                             splash of pure vanilla extract                   (makes about 6 medium sized pancakes)

Combine all of the dry ingredients, mix together in a medium sized mixing bowl, then add the almond milk, the coconut oil, and the water. Make sure the coconut oil is melted or it'll chunk up in the batter. I added in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla last. I put a little coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat. Wait until the skillet is hot enough to where a drop of batter will bubble. Then, of course, go to town. Flip when they're bubbly all over. Then put the topping on once they're cooked and serve.

For the topping I cut up two small gala apples into inch pieces and melted a tbsp of butter in a skillet, added the apples, added 2 tbsp of honey, a tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a splash of vanilla extract. I let it simmer until the apples were soft.
                           

... but here's the thing. I had some trouble adjusting to the texture. I'm not really even sure I can describe the texture. They were a little grainy just like most things made with whole wheat flour. They were a little too dense for my liking. Once the topping was added, it really helped with the flavor. I'm so used to buttery pancakes, so using coconut oil to cook them was definitely a change. The cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla helped with the flavor. At first, they're not what you're expecting from a pancake, but after a few more bites, they grow on you. Also, serve the pancakes while they're still pretty warm. After they cool a bit, they're just not as good. I really can't decide if I like them or not, but this recipe definitely needs some improvement. I'll update you when I work on it again.

Happy Wednesday