Friday, February 26, 2016

Almond meal pancakes with orange-ginger syrup

Aromatic almond pancakes with zesty orange syrup....slurp!

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Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day and most often our busy schedules do not allow us to sit down, take a deep breath and enjoy the first meal of the day. The task list for the day often coerces us to either skip breakfast or rush through it. I like to enjoy my meals, sit back ...be mindful of feeding my body. Our body gives us so much and our very existence is dependent on it....still that is the first thing we take for granted.

My father was a big proponent of discipline...self discipline. He always said, you save a lot of time and effort if you practice it. Having meals on time, keeping right things in right place, being mindful of what you are doing and trying not to multi-task. As a teenager, it felt like a restriction or should I say obstruction to what I thought was 'life'. I would tell myself...that I want to be a free bird, I do not want to bind myself with time. Sounded very romantic at that time, it's only later in life as I grew up I realized, to enjoy 'free-bird' life one must have time. You can create a lot of time by plugging in the time drain ....so I made a list of what I do through the day. Well, believe it or not seventy percent of my day was going in 'house-keeping' and most times...it stemmed from my lack of discipline. Searching for car keys, looking for email to respond, going to the grocery store twice in a week, because I forgot something, running down with the laundry as I need to wear my white shirt...oh I could go on....

Life is a full circle, as I tell my teen to stop and listen...listen to yourself. Get a routine, have a discipline, it helps your organize better - saves you time. Well, 'yes mom' is the response and she's out of the door running with a toast in one hand and a phone in another...and a backpack threatening to fall of her shoulders.

No matter how much I tell her..it's not going to register, she's a teen and if mom is talking it's probably tuned out even before the first words are spoken. She has been running like this day after day for weeks...lunch - no time, dinner- too tired, breakfast - late for school. You really cannot survive eating like this. So, I made a list of her favorite foods and started giving her prior notice, so she can make time to enjoy her favorite dish.  Favorite dish does the trick. For now it's working and I know I will be searching for a new idea soon...until then let me be thankful something is working.

The next step, I started re-doing the recipe with better nutrition, so I know even if she had a smaller serving, it is fine. And at least, she is being mindful about her meals and enjoying them, not as a chore. Oh ! How I dislike that. I totally do not agree with people when they say I eat to live, I do not care what it is. We have something called taste buds and food is such a sensual experience, more in terms of gratification of the senses.

In this recipe I added home made almond meal to the pancakes and instead of maple syrup I made orange syrup made from freshly squeezed kara-kara oranges.

If I may say so myself...this is oh! so good. F A B U L O U S !! The syrup has stayed good for a week.

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Almond pancakes

1 cup almond meal or almond flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda*
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp zest of orange
1 clove crushed and powdered
1/2 cup milk plus more

Mix all of the above, add more milk for desired consistency. I used almond meal as I like it a bit course. Just took a handful of almonds in my vitamix.

Orange Syrup 

4 cups of freshly squuesed orange juice
2 cups organic sugar (less if the juice is sweet)
1/4 cup or less ginger finely diced
1/2 star annice

Add a bit of turmeric for healthier version.

Take a saucepan, add all the above and on a low flame let it simmer and reduce for about an hour. The sugar will caramelize the juice into a warm orange-red.

Let it cool and strain it into sterilized bottle, refrigerate for future use.

It's great to use over granola and yogurt, ice creams, poached fruits.


For the pan cake.

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. Heat the griddle on high. 
Test if the griddle is hot, by sprinkling afew drops of water on it. If the drops sizzle, you are good to go. 

Pour batter onto the preheated griddle, let cook for a minute or two, till bubbles start to pop on the pancake surface. Flip and cook about one more minute.

Swerve with butter and orange syrup. 

The pictures does not have butter as.....I ate the pancakes after I photographed it. Trust me, I don't need the butter. 

I love eating these for dinner, nothing like breakfast for dinner. 

*Every brand of baking soda is different, if the pancake does not have tiny holes on it when you put it on the griddle add a whee bit more of the baking soda. 

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8 comments:

  1. Heavenly pancakes! That syrup must be insanely delicious.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Looks and sounds delicious!I love your stories too...xoxo

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  3. Simi, I scrolled up and down the screen thinking of reading the recipe but I was so mesmerized by the photos that I kept missing the recipe :-) :-) Pancakes with almond meal sounds so interesting and the orange syrup looks divine. Will try this recipe very very soon. Enjoy your weekend.

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  4. Wow, you had me at pancakes. And those pictures! I definitely understand what your dad was trying to say, there are only 24 hours in a day... Nice read, and good recipe!

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  5. 1. Love the write up!! I need to make this routine and not multitask. It's such a bad idea, I feel like time is slipping like sand. 😢😢😢
    2. Photos are just fabulous!
    3. I love gluten free pancake as I have developer a little bit gluten sensitivity :-) almond pancake is in my list - but the orange syrup sounds the best pairing with it. I did not want to have maple syrup, so thanks for sharing a new idea.

    As always, love your post. 😘😘😘

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  6. Simi.... have you used Cara Cara Oranges. I assume yes. I simply love those. Amazing and the Orange theme looks so beautiful.

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  7. Its hard to pick..the pancakes or the syrup. I would say they complimented each other :). Loved reading through the post and I felt that you spoke on my behalf..lol!
    Beautiful pictures as usual Simi!

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to browse. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. Hope you enjoy your stay :))

hugs!
simi

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