11.8.16 Top of the Morning
Not everybody has time to make a special breakfast every single day. Some of us are running for President. Others are trying to get the kids off to school. Still others don't have access to things like coconut flour and eggs fresh from the farm. I'm aware that I'm writing from a place of privilege, but this is where I am right now. If it's all you can do to rip open a package of instant oatmeal, you'll get no judgment from me. Let's just stand together for breakfast in general, for doing the best we can and for a country in which we are free to make choices. Are you with me? Good. Because I'm with her.
Baking cookies might not be your jam, but maybe you can still find 10 minutes to throw some tasty heirloom apples and fresh cranberries in a hot skillet and toss them with a little butter and maple syrup. Your reward will be this sweet, slightly sticky mass of caramelized fruit punctuated with bursts of tart flavor. It's just the thing for eating with pancakes.
Coconut flour pancakes are part of the paleo craze. Apparently neanderthals were eating coconut flour. I like them because they're so simple, they're gluten-free and, because of all the eggs, they're protein-rich and very sustaining. A little milk of some sort helps binds them together; I use homemade almond-cashew milk (of course she does, you say) but canned coconut milk also works, as does any other milk.
Coconut flour is ground from dried, defatted coconut meat. It's nutritionally dense, high in fiber and low in digestible carbohydrates.
As Nina Simone sings, I want a little sugar in my bowl. I'm getting sick of hearing people go on and on about how "toxic" sugar is. There's really no need to vilify it to that extent, is there? Just limit the amount you eat and try to opt for less processed versions. I love jaggery, and also honey and molasses and maple syrup.
Coconut flour pancakes with caramelized apples and cranberries is not an everyday breakfast. It's a special occasion breakfast for days when you need extra energy or are celebrating something momentous. Let's hope that tomorrow is such a day.
Coconut Flour Pancakes
- — 4 large eggs
- — 1/4 cup milk of any sort
- — 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- — 1/4 cup coconut flour
- — 1 tablespoon jaggery or other sugar
- — 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- — 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and oil until combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the coconut flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well blended.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until well combined and no lumps remain.
Grease the griddle or skillet with oil or butter. Drop scant 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the hot griddle. Cook 3-4 minutes until small bubbles begin to form on top, then flip. Cook on the other side 1-2 minutes more.
Serve warm with fruit compote and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Download Recipe
Apple-Cranberry Compote
- — 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- — 2 medium heirloom apples, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
- — 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- — Pinch sea salt
- — 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- — 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
In a large, heavy skillet over high heat, melt the butter. Add the apples, tossing to coat, and then the cranberries, salt and cardamom. Cook, turning occasionally with a spatula, until apples begin to brown and cranberries to pop, about 8 minutes. Add the maple syrup and cook until it thickens and glazes the fruit, about another 4 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Download Recipe
11 Comments