So a month of VeganMoFo begins. I’m imaging the Internet staggering under the blow of vegan bloggers submitting their first posts today and I kind of like the thought. I’m aiming for 20 posts this month, something I haven’t done for a long while – at least I think I haven’t done for a while – so wish me luck. Here’s hoping inspiration hits and carries me through to October 31. Which reminds me. The vegan madness doesn’t end with the Vegan Month of Food. The Virtual Vegan Potluck is scheduled for World Vegan Day, November 1. I’ll be posting the details soon on how to enter.
It feels appropriate, somehow, to begin Vegan MoFo with a breakfast recipe. Breakfast went from being my least favorite meal of the day – as a kid I could only just get down a bowl of Frosted Flakes – to being my absolute favorite one. Though the first meal of the day Monday through Saturday is great, what I really look forward to is Sunday. That’s when I roll out the big griddle or the waffle iron, warm up the almond butter, maple syrup and the plates (nothing like hotcakes on a warm plate), prepare big, steaming cups of chai tea and settle down with knife and fork in hand. These pancakes are two-for-one, really. You get a tasty breakfast, but you also get dessert.
Banana Bread Pancakes w/ Cacao, Pecan & Walnut “Butter”
Makes ~15 pancakes
Pancakes:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
dash cardamom
2 cups coconut milk (or your favorite nut milk)
3 seriously overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 dates, chopped and soaked overnight in 1/2 cup of orange juice, divided
Butter:
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pecans
2 tbsp. cacao nibs
2 tbsp. hempseeds
Soak the chopped dates in orange juice the night before you plan to make pancakes. The next morning, process the dates/OJ until smooth, then divide the mixture in approximately equal parts. Half will go into the pancake batter and half will go into the nut butter mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, almond meal, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl or large measuring cup, combine the mashed bananas, milk, half of the date/OJ mixture and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and whisk in the wet ingredients. Stir just to combine. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
To make the nut butter, chop the walnuts, pecans and cacao nibs in the bowl of a food processor until chunky, but not finely chopped. Add in the other half of the date/OJ mixture and the hemp seeds and process to combine. Make it as smooth or as chunky as you desire.
Cook up your pancakes and top with the nut butter and generous amounts of sliced bananas. (This batter would also work in a waffle iron.)
