Buckwheat pancakes [Gluten-Free, Vegan]

Okay, so I did NOT put spam in my pancakes this morning, but after visiting the [International] SPAM® Museum in Austin, MN, just a few weeks ago I am quite tempted…

I was going to make eggs for my guest, a seminarian who stopped through town on his way back to the seminary. But, alas, I opened the fridge and there were no eggs. So, I thought this morning could be a perfect experiment with substitutions.

When you don’t have eggs, I hope you have chia seed or ground flax seed. Make ground flax seed a staple in your grocery cart. It is healthy for you [I promise a future post on the health benefits of things like flax seed, buckwheat, etc.]. I have been in a few different kitchens over the past few weeks, more mendicant chef than monastic foodie. Ground flaxseed has helped me tremendously in fashioning recipes based upon what is in the cupboards of my friends and family. A foretaste (with your eyes) of what is to come:

Buckwheat pancakes [Links to products support Monastic Foodie]

Yields 8 pancakes.
Prep: 10 minute prep. Cooks: 10 minutes.

1 cup Buckwheat flour [Grano Saraceno, in Italian..more on that below].
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
2 Tbsp of Honey
1 cup Almond milk
1 Tbsp of Ground flax seed [+ 3 Tbsp of water] (or 1 egg)
2 Tbsp of melted Ghee [Butter, if you prefer] [or Coconut oil if you want vegan]
1-2 Tbsp of ground cinnamon [optional: I add cinnamon to most of the baking I do]

Optional: Chocolate Chips, Nuts, Blueberries (add lemon zest to batch if you want to do berry pancakes, YUM…)

Directions: Heat pan on stove top at med-high heat. In a small bowl, combine ground flax seed and water and stir, let this sit for 5 minutes. Mix the dry ingredients. Add honey, almond milk, Ghee and flax seed. Stir after adding each ingredient. Turn down stovetop to medium heat and spray/add oil of choice to pan (I used coconut oil). Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour batter onto pan. Drop in chocolate chips on top of each pancake. Flip pancakes when bubbles crack on surface. Press down on pancake with spatula Cook for 1 – 1 1/2 minutes.

Enjoy with a few more chocolate chips on top and a little bit of syrup. [I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so I used syrup sparingly as the batter is pretty sweet with honey.]

I wanted more than 8 pancakes, as I love leftovers. So I actually multiplied the above by 1.5, but wanted to give you the basic measurements for a normal batch. I was able to make 12 pancakes.

Don’t forget to press down after flipping. The batter is pretty thick with the buckwheat and pressing down ensures an even cook.

Dropping the chocolate chips into the cake will ensure an even distribution of chocolate chips. Don’t forget to spray/add oil to the pan before starting the next round of pancakes.

N.B. I love chomping down on Grano Saraceno (Buckwheat, that is, Saracen Grain). It makes me think of Our Lady, Destroyer of all Heresies!