7/22/11

Get your sunscreen out and get your pancakes on.

I think we can all agree that this New York weather is getting ridiculous. You know it's hot when:

1.) You're talking on your cell and your elbow crease starts to drip.

2.) The idea of carrying your laundry to the laundromat is so daunting you'd rather find creative ways to wear whatever sad collection of clothes you have left in your closet. Even if they don't match. Channel Punky Brewster and own it.

3.) You're considering taking advantage of the heat by cooking eggs on your fire escape. Which I will do later this morning and report back to you. I'm strangely excited about it.

That said, even in this heat wave, I'm getting a little tired of fresh fruit and juices for breakfast. Why is comfort food relegated to the colder, winter months? A 100+ degree day calls for a little comfort food along with healthy doses of blissful air conditioning. (Let's take a moment today and thank God for this man.)

This morning we celebrated summer with a pancake breakfast in our chilled apartment. Not just any pancakes though. Banana Ginger Pancakes. That are gluten-free. The flavors of the banana and ginger really transport you to someplace tropical. In retrospect I could should have thrown in shredded coconut, played some Marley and pretended I was in Barbados. But alas, ideas like "Vacation Reggae Pancakes" don't occur to me before 10AM.

It's now up to you to make that happen.



Banana-Ginger Pancakes
Makes 4 medium-sized pancakes/ Serves 2

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup almond milk
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup hot water


1. Combine the first six ingredients and stir until evenly combined.
2. Make a small well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the milk, ginger, agave and banana at once. Stir gently until the wet mixture is incorporated and the batter is smooth.
3. Add the hot water slowly and fold into the batter until it takes on a smoother, thinner consistency (If you prefer thin, less cake-y pancakes, you can add more hot water until the desired consistency is reached.).
4. Over medium heat, lightly coat a nonstick pan or griddle with oil and pour a 1/2 cup of the batter into the skillet. Cook about 2 minutes on each side.

Wilma, my loyal and curious kitten, likes to sit at the table with me when Brian isn't around. Publicly I discourage her, but secretly I love it.

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