Vegetarian Meal Ideas

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Servings:  2-3. Makes 10, 4" pancakes.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg and oil then add in the buttermilk.
3. Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry and whisk lightly. You can leave some lumps.
4. Let the batter rest for 10 min to let the baking powder create air bubbles and the gluten to relax.
5. Grill should be heated until a splash of water dances on it.
6. Use a ¼ cup ladle to spoon batter onto the grill.
7. Flip when lightly browned.
8. Serve immediately.

Notes:
Bran flakes are available from the bulk bins in Natural Food Stores. If none are unavailable, simply omit and reduce the buttermilk to 1¼ cup.

To make blueberry pancakes, add a handful of fresh berries into the batter. If using frozen berries, thaw first then drop into the pancake as soon as it is poured on the grill. This is better than mixing it in the batter. Otherwise, it will get marbled with blue streaks.

If you are looking for a ready made mix, Arrowhead Mills makes a very good buttermilk whole grain pancake mix.

Baking powder: The get the best rise in pancakes, "double acting" baking powder works best. The first reaction occurs when moisture hits it and the sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, a base) reacts with the monocalcium phosphate (an acid) to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. The second reaction occurs at higher temperatures (around 170 to 180°F), when a second powdered acid (typically sodium aluminum sulfate) reacts with the remaining sodium bicarbonate, producing another round of bubbles. The catch is; it's better to avoid aluminum and so the "Aluminum Free" varieties are generally only single acting. However, there are a couple of companies that make an aluminum free double-acting baking powder using Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate instead. Bob's Red Mill (available at Whole Foods), Hoosier Hill Farm, Argo and MyChoice are a few.