Trying Almond Flour Pancakes

By Elizabeth Prata

I can't tolerate gluten, and that is a shame. But it's OK, nowadays there are plenty of substitutes. A dear friend gave me her almond flour and coconut flour. I thought, hm, I'll try my Sunday pancakes with almond flour, and found a recipe. Here is the process. BTW the egg is blue on top because of the leftover blueberry juice from the pancake that I'd cooked before I cracked the egg onto the griddle. :)

Recipe here: 5-Ingredient Almond Flour Pancakes

Nutrition info: Nutrition
Servings: 3 servings (2 pancakes each)
Serving size: 2 pancakes
Calories: 334kcal
Fat: 27.9g
Saturated fat: 3.9g
Carbohydrates: 11.2g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 14.4g

By Elizabeth Prata

This morning is the true first morning of Spring Break. I am at home, not at school. I am not hurrying to the copy room to copy the day's papers. I am not on the walkie calling for cleanup of the puke in the hall. I am not on duty in the loud lunchroom. I am not at my desk quickly reading the day's Memo of events. I am at home, even this hour at 10:30 am, in my pj's. I drank lovely coffee slowly, not gulped. I wrote a blog on The End Time about music. I have been listening to the Gaither channel on Pandora. I am content.

This is the scene:

Start the day off right, not just with coffee, but make it 'weekend special' by adding whipped cream.

My table/desk. Coffee, laptop, book in progress, and notes for next blog:

My constant companion while I write (only in the morning, in the afternoon he goes and climbs under the covers and stays in bed the rest of the day) Murray-

My afternoon plans. I'll get dressed and put away the laundry, also make the bed (hard to do with Murray in it) and then spend the afternoon reading. I have a lot of books on deck.

In case you can't see the titles on a small phone screen, they are:

• Lit! Tony Reinke
• Visual Guide to the Bible, Challies & Byers
• In a Different Key: The Story of Autism, Donvan & Zucker
• The Believer's Joy, M'Cheyne
• It Can't Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis
• Valley of Vision, Abbott, editor
• Work & our Labor in the Lord, Hamilton
• Idols of a Mother's Heart, Fox
• Internet Inferno, Beasley
• Banner of Truth Magazine
• Southern Living

My food prep this week will still continue. I need to eat stuff and since I am the only one here, I have to cook it. I am working very hard not to have any processed food or any junk food etc. Meals to come:

Dinners:
Rice noodles with tofu and green beans
Baked spaghetti with spinach and mushrooms
Enchiladas with fresh cheese and avocado on top

Lunches:
Crabcake sandwich
Turkey sandwich
Green salads

Sides:
Fruit (bananas, grapes, peaches, ugli fruit, plums)
Nuts

I bought several gluten-free items Friday, which KILLED my budget, but I figured I'd try a few items and then frugally seed them into the occasional weekly menu. I got:

Freschetta pizza
Ezekiel sprouted grain bread
Bagels
Waffles
Base Camp blonde brownie
G-F spaghetti

That's $30 right there. Each gluten free item generally costs at minimum, $5. The pizza was $10. The spaghetti was on sale as was the brownie. Still. I cannot forsee buying all of these each week. Maybe one of them, once per month. But I am trying them and then keeping track of how I like them so I can make a mindful choice as to how to enhance my menus without getting sick all the time. I'll review them at some point soon.

OK I better get moving if I am to get on my schedule for reading by noon!

Gluten free

I'm trying gluten free lifestyle for a while to see if my tummy troubles and other symptoms go away. So far, they have. Therefore, I am keen to continue on this path.

Sunday is Pancake Day. I always have pancakes on Sunday, sort of to celebrate the brunch atmosphere and relaxing day ahead that Sundays always are.

Hmmm, gluten-free means no pancakes. I tried scrambled eggs last week, but again, with no toast, it just felt incomplete.

At Kroger they have this weird section that has sprung up, where they put marked down organic items. It has a sign above the shelves that says "Sink Accessories" which I find hilarious, and the section is across from the toilet paper, more hilarious. Total incongruity.

So anyway I noticed that some gluten free flour from Red Mill was there last week. Red Mill is a good brand and the priced they'd marked it down to was great. I bought it and made muffins last week, and they came out good. This week I found a gluten free pancake recipe using Red Mill flour.

Pancake perfection!

Now, just because Sunday is Pancake Day does not mean I am skillful at making them. I never, ever, ever seem to be able to make them thick. Or I burn them. Or they come out rubbery. Or whatever. I still enjoy them.

The photo on the gluten free pancake recipe looked great, round, thick, crispy edged pancakes. I made the recipe, making the same substitution I'd made last week with the muffins. I do not have buttermilk on hand but I soured some milk with vinegar last time with no ill effect. This week I did not have white vinegar for the souring, so I used lemon juice, something the recipe actually suggested.

The pancakes came out crepe thin. Like, paper thin. It turned out to be a happy mistake, though, because the recipe made lots, and lots, and I decided to use the remaining pancakes as sandwich bread for this week's lunches. I don't think I will ever make pancakes as good as the ones like in the photo above, but I enjoy the specialness of the ritual and the festive-like atmosphere I create for myself on Sunday mornings. My church service begins at 3:00 so I really have the whole morning for coffee, reading, prayer, and pancake brunch. Here are mine. You'll see the thinness, but how equally applicable these are for use as a sandwich wrap.

Plate is Vernonware, mid-century modern, produced in 1952-53, Raffia pattern

Pretty thin. But tasty!