Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Gluten-free Pancake with Strawberries

I made gluten-free pancakes for the boys after school yesterday. They spread some maple syrup and ate with strawberries. It was a big hit. They loved it and J even went as far as making a grab for the biggest pancake to be saved for later. He's like a squirrel, that one.

Here's the recipe for the pancake:

Gluten-free Pancake
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2/3 C Rice Flour (Either brown or white rice flour will do. Brown gives it a bit more bite.)
1/3 C Sweet Rice Flour (You can get this at the asian grocery stores or in the asian aisle food section in your regular store.)
1 T Sugar (I find it helps the pancake brown a little besides adding slight sweetness to it.)
1/8 t Salt (I added a little bit because I like some slight saltiness.)
1 C Rice Milk (Water can be used instead too. Milk just gives it a little richness to it.)
2 T Oil (I used olive but any oil will do.)
1 Egg (I tried pancakes without eggs but they ended up being too dry.)
1 T Baking powder (Rumford brand makes aluminum-free baking powder.)

Mix egg and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Mix the rest of the ingredients in till the whole batter becomes smooth. Make sure there are no lumps. Put a little oil on your pan and pour about one small ladle or 1 T of pancake batter on it. Cook in medium heat. I don't know how many will turn out because sometimes I get lazy and make big pancakes and sometimes small ones. Make sure you mix the batter before scooping.

To eat : put some maple syrup on it and wrap a strawberry in it. Stuff the whole thing in your mouth.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Freezing Fruits for Smoothies

We bought a package of strawberries from Costco ($5.88 for 4 lbs, I think) and they were overly ripe so after picking the good ones and cleaning them, I froze them. I put them into small containers so when I can pop them whole thing out when I need them.

I made strawberry banana smoothie the other day.

Banana Strawberry Smoothie
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1 C Frozen strawberries
1 banana (with brown spots on the skin)
1 T flaxseed meal (store in freezer for longer shelf life)
1 C cold water

Blend them nice and smooth. I have a K-tec blender. I can't tell you how much I LOVE it. It made a nice smooth smoothie very quickly.

Kept me full for a little while and gave me a boost in energy. The downside? It was brrrr ... cold! BUT, I like it!