Recipe: Vegan pancakes

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Vegan Pancakes!

I decided to make some pancakes today, and as usual, I wanted to keep it simple, so I went with the method that would make the fewest dirty dishes - vegan pancakes! They came out great, and they're really easy, so I wanted to share!

Recipe

(makes enough for 4 normal people, so if teenage boys are around, adjust accordingly!)

1 cup whole grain or other flour (I used 80% spelt)

2 tablespoons sugar (I used demarrara but you can use any)

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup vanilla soy milk (but you can use any kind)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (for those of you wondering, yes, you can use regular "white" vinegar for this instead. Just please don't use balsamic or other wine-based vinegar)

First place all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix with a fork or spoon. Then make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the soy milk and the vinegar into the well. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes, then mix well with the fork or spoon.

Let the mixture rest for about 5 minutes before you start frying up your pancakes.

Fry them up on a lightly oiled frying pan (I like my cast iron pan for this), and enjoy!

I added blueberries to the batter this time - they were great! You can add in anything you want, or just go traditional with this and serve with maple syrup (but the price of that went through the roof lately, so we'll understand if you decide to find a substitute for maple syrup!)

These were a late night dinner for us, but obviously they make the perfect breakfast if you're up for cooking in the morning!

Enjoy!

P.S. the links in this post only work if you're in Israel - sorry. If you want to buy a great mixing bowl or a cast iron pan outside of Israel, check the links down here:

Mixing Bowl: US, also international. UK option

Cast Iron Pan: US, also international. UK option

Versatile Vegan Cake Recipe

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I love having simple cake recipes I can throw together in just a few minutes! Because let's face it - we're all really busy people who just want to bring yummy food to the table for our families, with minimal fuss and minimal stress, right?

This recipe is so simple, it can be mixed in the pan you're baking it in - just be sure to whisk it well! If you've been using disposable baking pans, I highly recommend this awesome set of 6 stainless steel baking pans (2 of each of 3 sizes)! They even ship (free to Israel (and other locations) with a $49 USD order. (I just bought them for Pesach for myself - for year round I had found a different deal, but this deal is so much better I just had to share!!) I'm trying really hard to use real pans instead of disposables, and lately, I have bought a LOT fewer disposable pans! Less waste and lower expense over the lifetime of a pan! Win-win, as long as I can handle washing a few more dishes. And yes, yes I CAN do that!

(Pictures here are from cakes I made before I bought new cake pans. Sorry)

Here's the cake recipe I've been making almost every week, and it is easy to adapt to different flavors (see notes at the end of the recipe).

My family is always happy to see this cake, as are my guests, and no one knows it only took a few minutes to make!

Vegan Vanilla Cake

1.5 cups flour (I use white spelt or whole spelt flour, but wheat flour should be fine)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vinegar

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water

1/4 cup oil

If you want, you can mix this in a bowl and transfer it to a greased or lined pan, OR mix right in the baking pan according to these instructions: 

Use an 8" round cake pan/can also be square or rectangular - it works perfectly in the smallest of the pans in the set mentioned above. Mix together dry ingredients (with a fork) right in your baking pan. Push the dry ingredients toward the outer edges of the pan, pour the wet ingredients into the middle and mix gently but thoroughly (gently so you don't make a mess) - best to use a whisk but you can use a fork. Once it's all combined, smooth it out, add in whatever add-ins you want (use a spatula to gently fold them in) and you're ready to bake the cake!

Bake at 190 C for about 50-60 min.

Variations:

- Leave out vanilla and use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, and 1/4 tsp cloves for a Spice Cake

- Add 2 mashed bananas and 1 cup of chocolate chips for Banana-Chocolate Chip Cake

- Make a cinnamon streusel topping (I combine half a cup of flour with half a cup of sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 Tablespoons of sunflower oil) and swirl it into the batter for a Cinnamon Coffee Cake

- Swirl cherry jam into the batter for a Cherry Cake

- Add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder to the batter to make chocolate cake. Top with chocolate frosting if you're so inclined! I sometimes just break apart a bar of chocolate and leave it to melt on the still-warm cake, then spread it around with a silicone spatula. It makes a great chocolate "icing"/

I love making this cake because it checks all my boxes: 

EASY

INEXPENSIVE

ALLERGY FRIENDLY (no dairy, eggs, or nuts!)

IT DOUBLES EASILY to make a larger cake for a crowd (use a lasagna size pan, or the largest pan of the set I mentioned above!)

YUMMY

I hope you love this cake recipe as much as I do!

Please share this post with your super busy friends who still want to cook from scratch! I know it's counter-culture but there are people out there who like to cook from scratch and take shortcuts! I can't possibly be the only one!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Squares

I baked some cookies. I mean cookie bars. Chocolate chip squares. Whatever name you prefer.

The kind of thing you bake when you need cookies around the house but you don't have any intention of actually taking the time to shape cookies...

Do I need an excuse about why? I don't think I do! After all, we all have the same excuse. It's the middle of a global pandemic. I needed cheering up. There were no snacks on hand.

See, I have plenty of excuses!

Anyhow I just wanted to share some virtual cookies with all of you!

Enjoy!

These are vegan.

Recipe:

2 T. chia seed, soaked in 2/3 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1.5 cups demarrara sugar (what I had on hand, use the sugar you prefer)

splash of vanilla extract

2 cups white spelt flour

dash of salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 bag mini chocolate chips

I mixed it all together in a big bowl, chocolate chips at the end, and spread it out on a large cookie sheet.

Baked at 180 C for about 20 minutes, it could have been a bit more. 

I'm really not a scientist, sorry.

Cut into squares, and eat them... probably best to share them with your family! 

(Great with coffee!)

Catch ya later!

How to make a bunch of cakes in a hurry!

Mine's purple, really!

This is my secret to making multiple cakes for every Shabbat, with very little effort (I usually bring cakes to kiddush). I really don't have time for complicated baking, and erev Shabbat is super crazy - so here's what I do to bake 2-3 cakes every week - and only spend about 10 min. on it (besides baking time)!

Makes TWO 9 x 13 inch baking pans, or 3 round cake pans

Cake Batter:
4 tablespoons flaxseed mixed with 1/2 cup hot water, (allow to cool)
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour (I used whole spelt, you can make it with whole wheat or white wheat, or a mix too)
pinch of salt
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 cup water + 1 tsp vinegar 
Toppings (these are my go-to options, you can be as creative with this as you like!): 


1. 
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
2 Tablespoons of oil - best if solid like palm shortening or coconut oil

2. chocolate chips, sprinkled on top

3.
Reserve about 1/4 of the cake batter after filling the pans and add 1/3 cup cocoa powder, mix well. Add to a half filled pan and mix very gently - to make marble cake

4. fruit jam of your choice folded into one of the pans

Instructions:

Mix together flaxseed/water mixture, oil, vanilla,  and sugar. Combine flour with salt and baking soda. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well to combine (this is best done with a mixer or a whisk). Add water/vinegar mixture slowly while whisking. Whisk till smooth.
 
Pour HALF the batter into each 9 x 13 inch baking pan, or reserve some if making the marble cake option. Top with your choices of toppings.

Voila! You've got (two or) three very easy cakes ready to go into the oven!
 
Bake for about 1 hour at 175 C (check with toothpick to make sure it's done) 

Allow to cool before cutting. 
Enjoy!

"Oven Fried" Chicken (and Shnitzel too)

Everyone loves Fried Chicken, but all that oil doesn't appeal to me. So instead of frying it, I BAKE my "fried" chicken.


It's easy, and delicious, and here's how I do it:


Mix equal parts flour (I use whole spelt flour these days, but it works really well with whole wheat too) and yellow corn meal with spices (I usually use black pepper, cayenne pepper, parsley, and granulated garlic) in a "ziploc"-style bag, or in a bowl.

Coat shnitzel pieces with mixture. 

Arrange in a well oiled baking pan, "mist"the top with oil, and bake, covered, at 200 C - coating will get all deliciously crispy. Usually done in about 25 min, but I don't use super-thin shnitzel.

 
I do the same with cut up pieces of chicken, without adding any oil to the pan, (tightly covered in foil) only those cook for much longer! I usually leave those for about 1.5 hrs.

Dessert When I've Run out of Time!

Sometimes, especially on short Fridays, I discover it's 20 minutes till Shabbat and I haven't made dessert!

Ok, it's not the end of the world, there's always fruit.

BUT if I can make the whole family happy and pull something together very quickly, why not?

Here's what I need to do this:

2 bars of chocolate
1/2 cup peanut butter (optional)
1.5 cups crisp rice cereal (like rice krispies or B&D pitzputzei orez)
sea salt (optional)

First, melt 2 bars of chocolate (I use  double boiler but you can carefully use a microwave, if you prefer).
Then mix in 1/2 peanut butter. Stir with a wooden spoon till smooth. 
Add in 1.5 cups crispy rice cereal . Mix, then spread out in a large pan. 
Sprinkle sea salt over the top if you like. cool (in fridge or freezer) then cut into squares.

THAT'S IT! You're done, and dessert took no time at all!
My family is always happy with this simple treat!

(You can use crushed pretzel or corn flakes instead of the rice cereal, or combined with the rice cereal for an interesting and delicious twist!)

Shabbat Menu Planning

Here's my plan for this post-Pesach Shabbat!

I'm still a bit under the weather (yes, it's getting ridiculous already), so I hope this plan is not too ambitious. Most of the oven cooking will be done all at the same time, and I'm putting my kids to work chopping all the various vegetables...

Fresh Challot
Vegetable-noodle soup
Black bean Cholent with vegetarian kishke (have to write up that recipe someday soon)
Oven Fried Chicken
Baked Rice with garlic
Apple Crisp
Roasted Vegetables (I've got kohlrabi, kishuim, eggplant, and peppers)
Make your own salad

For seudah shlishit, I'm making challah rolls and salads:
pasta salad
potato salad
chumus
cut veggies

For dessert, I will have one of the kids make a chocolate chip cake 

What's on your Shabbat menu?

Menu for the Week

It's that time of the week again - you know, when I realize that if I don't plan out certain things, we'll just get STUCK!

Among all the other things requiring my attention is our menu planning.

So here' what we're having this week:






Breakfasts: muffins, oatmeal, toast, cereal, fruit

Lunches: Soups, sandwiches, random leftovers

Suppers: Sunday: Shabbat leftovers
Monday: Vegetable-Barley Soup, Fresh whole wheat dinner rolls with butter
Tuesday: Split Pea Soup, ??
Wednesday: Baked Ziti, Salad
Thursday: Spicy Potatoes, Scrambled Eggs, Salad

Of course, this menu is subject to change according to my mood!

What's your menu for the week look like?

Dishwasher Detergent Substitute!

I was running low on dishwasher detergent.

Normally, I use Ecover Dishwashing Tablets (I buy them locally when there's a sale, or I order them from iherb when there's a sale), and I'm generally pleased with them. But it works out to something around a shekel per tablet even with a sale.

So I decided that maybe I could cut back the cost.

I experimented a little, and now I use 1/2 a tablet per load, and it really works just as well as a whole tablet. In fact, I think it may work better!

Overall, I was really pleased with this discovery. It allows me to buy less detergent and use up fewer of those little plastic wrapped tablets. (Each one is individually wrapped, which irks me, since Ecover is supposed to be an environmentally friendly company. I'm not sure it makes sense to wrap them like this from an ecological viewpoint, but I digress...)

But now I was running low, as I didn't stock up enough the last time there was a sale. So, it became experiment time again!

I tried all sorts of combinations - baking soda, citric acid, regular dishwashing detergent (only a drop), washing soda, etc. In the end, I have found a formula that works just about as well in my dishwasher as the Ecover half-tablets do!

I'm so happy to report that all I have to do is put a small amount of 2 ingredients in my dishwasher detergent container and we are good to go!

Yes - I just used baking soda and a bit of fruit and vegetable cleaner! The one I last bought has a spray bottle and I just spray two little spurts on top of 2 tablespoons (give or take) of baking soda. Really simple and I don't have to measure carefully! And best of all, it so simple and it WORKED!

Have you ever found a successful hack for a common household cleaner you were out of?
I'd love to hear about it!

Pretty Salad!

Pretty Salad! 

I made this bright salad to go with our supper tonight.
We had gotten a whole bunch of really well priced, amazing mangoes this week, and they were calling my name!

All I did was slice cucumbers, red peppers, and mango and toss in a pretty bowl.
I'm offering sunflower seeds as a garnish, as well as balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

And that is it, because it's the height of the season and fresh fruits and vegetables taste pretty amazing right now.

Just wondering if my kids will eat this though! Anyone want to guess how many will agree to eat it?


p.s. here are the rolls I made for tonight, using a slightly modified version of my sandwich bread recipe:

Shabbat menu! (and Oven-Fried Chicken/Shnitzel Recipe)

Time to plan for Shabbat!

With a chag in the middle of the week, do any of you also feel like doing a really minimalist Shabbat?

I know I do, and I don't think I have much choice - my carpenter will be dominating my kitchen tomorrow installing the new kitchen cabinet doors and drawers!

(When they are in, I'll post some pics for everyone to see, if you want me to!)

So here's my minimalist Shabbat menu - everything I'm cooking can go in the oven at the same time about 1 hr before Shabbat!

Challot (from the freezer)
Split Pea Soup (intentional leftovers from Yom Tov)
Baked Shnitzel (recipe below)
Oven Baked Rice
Apple Crisp
Roasted Carrots
(Black Bean Cholent?)
Make-your-own-salad

Seudah Shlishit will be more salad, sandwiches, and whatever else I scrounge up

We have a banana breakfast cake in the freezer, and lots of watermelon and other melon and peaches.

So we're good to go!

How about you?

Recipe:
Baked Shnitzel

mix equal parts whole wheat flour and yellow corn meal with spices (I usually use black pepper, cayenne pepper, parsley, and granulated garlic) in a "ziploc"-style bag, or in a bowl.

Coat shnitzel pieces with mixture. 

Arrange in a well oiled baking pan, and bake, covered, at 200 C - coating will get all deliciously crispy. Usually done in about 25 min, but I don't use super-thin shnitzel. 

I do the same with cut up pieces of chicken, only those cook for much longer! I usually leave those for about 1.5 hrs.


This is the very same recipe that I served to my next door neighbor in Florida one Shabbat. The good Southern Rabbi ate some and exclaimed,  "You make good southern fried chicken!"

I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't fried. :-)
 
 

Lunch!

I don't usually bother to post lunches but  we are having our first watermelon of the season and I just wanted to share it.

Lunch today is grilled cheese sandwiches, cherry tomatoes (got some for 2.90/kg), and watermelon. Simple stuff, but everyone is happy to have them!

THIS is what summer feels like! I love when we can just cut open a watermelon and enjoy its sweet juiciness...

What's your favorite summer treat?

I'm waiting for grapes to come into season! I love summer fruits. And smoothies made with them...

"Quick Bread" Breadsticks or Pizza Crust (vegan)

I am always looking for shortcuts. I like simple, easy, no fuss recipes I can throw together at the last second, because I often don't plan ahead (I roll with my days)...

Here's our latest favorite - breadsticks! We like them with garlic but you can do whatever you want with them.

I wanted a super easy, whole grain, pourable batter.... but of course, if you want to use white flour, it will work fine too. I really wanted something pourable because it just seemed so much simpler!

Quick Breadsticks (Basic)

3 cups whole wheat flour (sifted)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups water + 1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar

Toppings:
olive oi
crushed garlic or granulated garlic
sesame seeds
coarse salt
anything else you like

 
Mix together dry ingredients, then make a well in the middle and add wet ingredients. Stir with a large spoon. Combine thoroughly. 









The mixture will be batter, not dough.





 



Pour half the batter onto a lined cookie sheet. 






 


Spread it out with your mixing spoon. Sprinkle the top with olive oil, then top as desired.



 


Bake at 200 C for about 20 min (but check it because my oven is acting a little funny, it may not be heating up enough!)
Cut and serve. These come out pretty thin and flat, but tasty. If you want them thicker, experiment with making this recipe in just ONE cookie sheet instead of two.

Enjoy!


You can also use this as pizza crust, by the way. Just bake for half the time, then top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for another 8-10 min.

Let me know if you give it a try!

Shabbat Menu

 
We are slowly getting more settled in our house. Each day we empty a few more boxes... unpacking is a VERY difficult task for me, as I need to ORGANIZE our things as they come out of boxes, and to be honest, I am organizationally challenged...


But Shabbat is coming so we get a break from all that! And this week it's just me and the kids (see why here), so I would really appreciate a low-stress Shabbat!

Here's the plan:

Homemade whole wheat and flaxseed challot
Spicy Roast Chicken
Roast vegetables - each in its own pan: summer squash a.k.a kishuim, beets, butternut squash, and potatoes
(maybe rice)
Israeli salad
Watermelon for dessert

I also made banana coconut oatmeal breakfast cake.

Seudah shlishit is pot-luck at the shul, to welcome new families (I guess that's us, among others). I plan to bring something... not sure yet what...

What's on your menu this week?

Shabbat Shalom

Shabbat Menu

It's time to post a Shabbat menu and time to start cooking it too!

Here's what we're having (trying to get everything into the oven at the same time, too) - same stuff for Friday night and Shabbat lunch!




Challot (I bought this week - can you believe it? It's just very very busy here right now, and made sense)
Roast chicken (rubbed with spices, and with lots of onion)
Apple crisp
Roast kishuim (summer squash) 
Eggplant in tomato sauce
Noodles with lentils
Cornbread (yes, I have a vegan version)

Melon (we have two kinds) and grapes for dessert

For seudah shlishit (we've been feeling like we need a more substantial one lately):

Challah with spreads - chumus, peanut butter, cream cheese, egg salad for the egg eaters. There is only so long I can make my family go without eggs because I think one of us may be allergic to it...
Pasta (not sure how I'm preparing it)
Cut veggies
Plums

What are you making for Shabbat?

Eggless Whole Wheat pancakes!

We've decided to go more or less egg-free. 

I've got no problem making most foods egg-free, but for some reason, I had a lot of trouble with pancakes. They just were NOT coming out right!

Some kind person pointed me to this vegan pancake recipe, which inspired me to try again. I discovered that my biggest problem was probably my lazy measuring - sometimes when I cook I am too lazy to pull out a measuring cup. That does not work well for pancakes!

So, here's my egg-free but dairy pancake recipe. It was a big hit!

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 tsp. sugar
2/3 cup of whey or orange juice
1 cup milk
2 tsp oil

a bit of oil for the pan

 
First, mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add liquid ingredients and stir briefly. It can be lumpy.

Coat your frying pan with a very light layer of oil, and heat to med-high heat.

Make pancakes!

Enjoy!

We served these with maple syrup.

Thursday supper plan

I have to confess. I am SERIOUSLY tired. I may have to explain why so no one gets the wrong idea. My allergies have gone crazy this spring, and in an attempt to get through a day and breathe, not wheeze, and not sneeze constantly, and not scratch my skin open, etc, I have had to resort to many, many allergy remedies. And they are making me feel like all I can do is sleep.
Seriously.
So somehow I will drag myself into the kitchen and pull together some supper, despite the fact that I was too tired to go to the supermarket.

Here's our plan for tonight:

Vegetable Broth with noodles (making my soup stock but not cooking it for long, strain, and serve with cooked noodles)
Baked potatoes with sour cream
Make your own salad (if I can get some kids to cut up the vegetables) - we'll throw some feta cheese and nuts into the salad, so we have a little bit of protein.

And that is all.
Please, please, let the allergies clear up, so I can get my head back on.

Simple Menu for a busy day

Today's food prep is really simple! (Just what I need, 4 kids are tugging on my sleeve as I type this. Well, really just 3. The other is complaining loudly from the other room. He's too big to tug my sleeve...)

So here's my simple, and oh so frugal menu for today:

Vegetable soup (the one splurge in there is 2 kishuim - everything else was really cheap - like 2 NIS/kg - but my hubby was AMAZING! He stopped in at Rami Levy when he was near there, and kishuim were about 40% less there than they are at our local mega bool. I really can't wait till that new shuk opens up here in my town, I'm hoping it will bring down our costs!)

Baked Potatoes with Gevinah Levana instead of Sour Cream

Corn Bread Muffins (so easy - 2 cups corn meal, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 cup oil, 3/4 c. sugar, 1/2 c. milk - dairy or non dairy, 2 c. water, 1 T. vanilla extract. Mix it all up and bake as muffins)

Hard boiled eggs

Lazy, Rainy Day Supper

Quick - here's the menu!

Minestrone soup (sort of - I took my leftover vegetarian cholent and combined it with sauteed onion, garlic, kishuim, carrots, fennel, green/yellow pepper, and eggplant. Added tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, and basil, and I'm calling it minestrone)

Leftover carrot kugel

Roasted potatoes with ketchup

Wednesday night - March 16, 2011

It was so gorgeous out today! And we all got busy and the afternoon. So I didn't really have a supper plan.

This is what we managed to throw together:

Baguette with butter

Garden Pea Soup - this soup is so quick, easy, and yummy too. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, add frozen green peas, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Puree, and serve. Easy as pie. Actually, easier than pie!

Omelets

Melon

For some reason, I couldn't push myself to make a salad tonight. It just didn't happen. At least we had the garden pea soup!

What's your favorite quick recipe?