COCONUT + ALMOND FLOUR PANCAKES

I was skimming a goop article last week (I have a love hate with all things goop - I appreciate the health angle, but I don't like that the average advertised clothing article is $480. You had me at hormone balancing but I disconnected with the suggestion of using $50 bath salts). Anyway. I liked the interview in the article and I jotted down this line to remember:

"The goal is to gain greater awareness of yourself on every level: what makes you tick and what makes you sick, what your passion and purpose are, what you want to express in your lifetime, and what makes you most fulfilled" ... "When you wake up to the awareness of who and what you are, you can discover the confidence to live your way, the courage to make choices that serve you best, and the compassion to be kind to yourself along the way—a compassion that inevitably ripples outward to others." - Dr. Frank Lipman

Both Hugh and I are trying to be proactive about growing/changing our businesses this year, and it has begged the question to explore what I actually like doing. I need to make a living, but if I am going to steer my ship towards something, where are we going? I make money in a number of different ways, where can I focus and do better, or perhaps expand? Or do we reroute completely? I think lulls in workflow are good for recalibrating, though honestly, I am mostly just super anxious :)

I listened to a recent One Part Plant podcast with Candice Kumai, and Jessica Murnane, the host, remarked on how confident Candice was, and asked if she came by that naturally. She responded that she believes we all have that in us, that the disclaimers and insecurity are there as masks to cover it up. What are you really good at, and you know it, but you're not making the most of it? How can you pursue those strengths and be a better boss lady, mom, giver, artist, worker, whatever? These questions are tough! But I am asking them. I thought I may find one of you in a similar place, in the midst of a recalibration. 

On food. Maybe you already make your pancakes in a blender, but I swear it makes the thought of making them feel like much less of a project. No clumps, not even a dirty spoon, and I can pour into the pan straight from the blender. These flapjacks (they really are quite thin) below have a decent amount of protein and good fats from the almond meal so they keep me full longer. 

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ALMOND + COCONUT FLOUR PANCAKES

Makes 12 small pancakes

As it goes with gluten free things that don't have any gums in them, these are super tender and delicate. I love them for that, I don't like a heavy baked good first thing in the morning. The trick to getting them to not break on the flip, is letting them cook through more on one side than you would a traditional wheat pancake that goes about 50/50 each side. I cook these about 70% through on the first side, so when I flip, they are pretty strudy and mostly cooked through.  I do not have an egg replacement I can pass on confidently, though I have had decent luck with one medium overripe banana mashed with 2 Tbsp. flaxmeal in their place. However, VERY delicate.

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond milk or whatever milk you use
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. avocado or melted coconut oil or ghee, plus more for cooking
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt

Into a blender, combine all of the ingredients. Run it until combined, about 30 seconds. This can also be done by hand, mix all the wet ingredients first, then mix in the dry to combine. Let the mixture hydrate for a minute.  Warm a skillet over medium heat. Use ghee or coconut oil to grease the pan. Make small, 3" pancakes. Cook them most of the way on one side, about 2 minutes, flip, and cook for another minute. Transfer to your plate. I like mine with plain coconut yogurt, berries and maple. Garnish as you wish!

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NUT + SEED MILK

Popping in to add something to the pantry staple arsenal. Malk? Mylk? I can't. It's just milk made from nuts and seeds and has made no sense to my parents how one "milks" a nut so I hope I can clear some things up for them, if perhaps visually, here. See the nipples on that cashew, Dad? ;)

It's been chilly lately, so my coffee and tea consumption has been a pretty steady stream through the day until happy hour. I typically use an unsweetened coconut milk creamer from the market but have more recently fallen in love with homemade cashew milk in there instead (after the coffee has cooled down quite a bit, the milk just separates and falls to the bottom of a super hot cup). We also have a family wide adoration of peanut butter Puffins cereal that floats beautifully in the almond milk.  I am including a few recipes for nut and seed milk (for those with nut allergies) below. You do need a nut milk bag or small sieve (cheesecloth optional) to strain the almond milk. I tend towards the cashew milk because the fibers all blend into the milk enough that you can just include them in the finished product, leaving you with something that resembles whole milk versus skim. If you prefer it the viscosity of store-bought, strain it. I make muffins with the leftover pulp (reference this pumpkin muffin recipe, swap in overripe bananas for the pumpkin and use a dry sweetener instead of the maple to compensate for the wet pulp). The suggested soaking step helps break down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, making the nuts easier to digest. Overnight is easiest for me, it's all hands off time, then I can blend them in the morning, but at least 4 hours would likely do the trick. More notes on why to soak them on My New Roots. 

Are you thinking "Sara, I can buy this?" I know, I think that too, and usually do, so I won't sell this too hard. I will say this turns out much creamier and has a fresher, stronger nut flavor and you can personalize the sweetness or lack thereof and it is more cost effective and less wasteful. It's like anything homemade, I buy store-bought marinara sauce and cookies and such all the time, but making something from scratch has the extra magic you can't buy. Perhaps that is just from being close to the process. 

NUT + SEED MILKS
I use about 3 1/2-4 cups water and find that to be my optimum nut and seed milk viscosity - a little thicker than store bought stuff. You can play with that 1/2 cup either direction for something on the thicker or thinner side. Two dates in 4+ cups of nut milk is just barely sweet. Using maple to taste instead will be a bit more of an obvious sweet flavor. 

// almond milk //

1 cup almonds, soaked overnight
2 dates, pitted
pinch of sea salt
4 cups filtered water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract or seeds from half a vanilla bean

Soak the almonds and dates overnight. Drain off extra water from the top. Put all the nuts and dates in a high speed blender with 4 cups fresh water, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Blend on high for 2 whole minutes. Strain through a nut milk bag for a smoother milk, this is optional. 
Store in the fridge, covered, for a week. 

// cashew milk //

1 cup cashews, soaked overnight
2 dates, pitted
4 cups filtered water
pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract or seeds from half a vanilla bean

Soak the cashews and date overnight. Drain off extra water from the top. Put all the nuts and dates in a high speed blender with 4 cups fresh water, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Blend on high for 2 whole minutes. Strain through a nut milk bag for a smoother milk, this is optional. I leave the fibers in.
Store in the fridge, covered, for a week. 

// pumpkin + hemp seed milk //

1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1-2 dates, pitted
3 cups water
pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Soak the nuts/seeds and date overnight. Drain off extra water from the top. Put all the seeds and dates in a high speed blender with 4 cups fresh water, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Blend on high for 2 whole minutes. Strain through a nut milk bag for a smoother milk, this is optional. 
Store in the fridge, covered, for a week. 

NUT'NOLA

Months ago, I may have mentioned that Hugh was doing the ketogenic diet? Surely you've heard of it. Most of the cookbooks at my local Costco are keto books so you know it's mainstream. He humored me and went off it for the holidays and is back to it these days. I refuse to make a third version of whatever I'm cooking, but I will compromise. How saintly of me, right? I have my current granola recipe pretty nailed down, but I gave it a spin with less sweetener and replaced the oats with more nuts. It replaces the carbohydrates with more fat, so I don't know where your nutrition paradigms lie, but it tastes good either way. You can use this as a topping for plain yogurt, oatmeal, as a snack or I used it as a crunchy bit for a green salad with arugula, red onion, and roasted butternut chunks and thought it worked perfect. I made a few notes below on seasoning options. 

NUT'NOLA // Makes about 5 cups

You can find the coconut flakes (the wide shards, not the same as shredded coconut) at Trader Joes, larger conventional grocery stores or Amazon. The kind of nut isn't as important as the yield. Swap in pecans or macadamia nuts, whatever you prefer. We use this as a breakfast sort of deal, if you want a more savory route, a dash of cayenne and some fresh chopped rosemary is a great swap, or that Everything But The Bagel seasoning from Trader Joes is pretty amazing here too, especially if you want to use these as a crunchy salad topper. 

2 Tbsp. coconut oil, warmed
1/3 cup maple syrup
3/4 tsp. sea salt
heaping 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

1 cup raw whole almonds
1 cup raw whole cashews
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp. raw sesame seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes/chips

Preheat the oven to 325' F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
In a large mixing bowl, combine the warmed coconut oil, maple, salt and cinnamon/spice. Stir to combine. 
Give the almonds, cashews and walnuts a rough chop. Add them to the maple mixture along with the pumpkin seeds, sesame and coconut flakes. Stir everything to coat. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the baking sheet and pop in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, stir, bake another 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to cool completely. The nuts will crisp up as they cool. Store in an airtight container for a couple weeks.