Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I tried kickboxing today. I'm still not sure how I avoided paralyzing myself. It was pretty tough, and it really made me realize how impossibly uncoordinated I am. Kickboxing is surprisingly very satisfying...especially if you're having a bad day. I knew if anyone saw me doing this activity they would think I was suffering from a seizure or transforming into a zombie or something, so I definitely did it on my lunch hour...in my office...in my scrubs. I have no dignity. I am sure it was a sight to behold. I have to say I was exceedingly delighted and terribly grateful to have somehow had the entire hour of flailing limbs to myself, without any interruptions...obviously.  I wanted to tell you all, one of my most beloved things about having this blog are all the emails I get from readers. I don't might actually keep them all stashed away like a super creep or some obsessed teenage girl. Yes, every single one of them. I treasure them! On average, I get about two or three per day. Readers email me with questions regarding different food items or to tell me that they love the blog and the recipes or just to plain chit chat.

I love them all. So keep them coming my friends! I'd love to post some of these emails because some of them are so incredibly lovely and sweet, however, since they were emailed to me personally, obviously, I couldn't do that. So I will just have to hoard them instead. My preciousesss. Oh and please, please, please for the love of god, use the voicemail feature! It's my favorite! 

Okay, enough sappiness! Onto the greatest recipe that has ever graced my lips! Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. Unrefined coconut oil and coconut milk flavor these pancakes with a creamy, rich coconutty flavor in addition to all the gooey deliciousness of a fresh, hot cinnamon roll and drizzled with a sweet, coconut flavored icing. 

LORD ON HIGH. Alright, I don't know what that means really (I am not a religious person) but a friend used it in an email to me and it somehow seemed incredibly appropriate here. This is one mind-numbingly delicious breakfast.

Ehhhh...let's be real here. At this point it's pretty much just a cake. If you thought Todd and I had this for dessert though, you'd be wrong. Oh, for breakfast right? That makes sense. Pancakes = Breakfast. No, still wrong. We had these delicious mofos for dinner cus that's how we roll, yo! It's like having dessert and breakfast for dinner and seriously, what is better than that? Nothing. It's heaven on earth. Now let us thank the food gods for this unbelievably delicious meal. 

Prepare yo self!

Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Inspired by Recipe Girl and McCormick

Serves 2-3

• --The Egg--
• 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
• 2 Tbsp. cold water
• --The Cinnamon Filling--
• 4 Tbsp. vegan butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon 
• --The Icing--
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk (carton, I like Silk)
• 1/2 tsp. Kahlua or vanilla extract
• --The Pancakes--
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (optional)
• 1 cup carton coconut milk (I like Silk)
• 1 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted

Flax is first. To make the flax egg combine the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and whisk very well. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

To make the cinnamon filling, add all of the ingredients to a small zip-lock bag and squeeze/knead until well mixed. Careful not to let it burst out the top! Once it is well mixed, cut a very small hole in one of the corners and place in the fridge until ready to use. 

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To make the icing, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until very smooth. Add additional milk if needed. Set aside until ready to use. 

To make the pancakes, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Then add in the milk, the flaxseed egg, and the oil. Mix until just combined.

Over medium-high, heat a large frying pan and coat with a nonstick cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup of pancake batter to the pan. Allow the pancake to cook until the edges start to form bubbles, about two minutes, then "pipe" a swirl of the cinnamon filling onto the pancake, as such. Careful not to let it get too close to the edges of the pancake.

Then, flip the pancake over and allow the other side to cook for about 30 seconds. You don't want to leave it flipped for too long or else the filling may begin to burn. Some of the melted filling will seep out from beneath the pancake and that's okay. Remove the pancake from the pan once cooked through and place on a plate.

Before making a new pancake, take a paper towel and whip the pan, taking care not to burn yourself! This will help get some of the remaining filling off the pan so it doesn't burn. Continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve the pancakes stacked high, hot and drizzled with the coconut icing. No need for maple syrup or butter!

What am I listening to? Kate Nash – Mariella

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Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets & Backpacking

Today I give you a simple recipe and some awesome Alaskan backcountry pictures!  When Todd and I decided to go backpacking up by where we got married last year, we knew we had a rather large stash of 1000 year old Mountain Houses and Backpacker's Pantry freeze dried meals. We dug them out only to discover that, as vegans, we couldn't eat a single one. Poo.

So, I decided to make some oatmeal for us. When I was a child, we always brought along those little, sweetened packets of oatmeal backpacking. My favorite was the Fruit and Cream type. Don't you dare give me any of those Apples and Cinnamon ones, blech! Did you know those little packets have whey in them, though? Why, Quaker!? Why???

Oh well. So if you don't want whey in your oatmeal either, here's how to make your own! I used erythritol but you can use sugar if you like. 

Be sure to add freshly picked berries if you have access! This is my favorite breakfast. Bonus points if you eat it in sleeping bag, outside on top of a mountain!

Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packet

Inspired by Quaker Oats

Makes 1 packet

• 1/2 cup dry instant oats
• 2 tsp. erythritol (or sugar)
• 1 tsp. vanilla powder
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (optional, or cinnamon, etc.)
• boiling water (amount to preference)
• add-ins (berries, fruit, seeds, nuts, etc.)

In a small baggie/canister/bowl add all the ingredients and mix or shake well to combine. When ready to use, place in an appropriate bowl and fill with desired amount of boiling water.Voila. Done. 

Awesome Alaska Backpacking Pictures

And now on to some amazing Alaskan photos. Below you'll see some of the berries I put in my oatmeal!

Yes, it was a little late in the season, however, the blueberry situation was OBSCENE! I went bananas...obviously. 

Blueberrymania, no? It was pure joy. The Fall colors were very lovely. We don't have these colors quite yet, outside of the mountains. 

Still a little ways to go! It was extraordinarily muddy. And here we are, finally at camp! We made it!

This is the Official "My Backpack's Off"' pose, in case you were wondering. There's no quite feeling like it. Don't laugh.

Todd and Bob may have the whole "relaxing" thing down a bit better than I do.

We saw a massive bear print along with scat. So that was special.

This is what vegans bring camping when they don't plan ahead and dehydrate a meal. There is also some chocolate with candied ginger, and lemon drops too!

Todd got a JetBoil for his birthday. What a spoiled boy!

Our furry child hauls his own goodies, of course. 

He loves us.

Family picture! We were photobombed by a blueberry...

We were happy to squeeze the last backpacking trip in before the snow flies. It was 32 F when I left for work this morning, so literally, we could have snow any day now! Bring it on.

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The Best Lavender Blueberry Muffins

There are no words to describe how perfect these muffins are. They are so incredibly moist and fluffy. The wild blueberries lend a robust tartness, the lavender is floral and comforting and sugar sprinkled on top gives a nice, sweet crunch. I don't know if I'll be able to resist making them again this weekend!

I have a different blueberry muffin recipe on Produce On Parade. You can see it here. But I didn't do my homework well enough. Move aside old blueberry muffins because these muffins will top any other blueberry muffin you've ever have tried. Yes, I am making that claim. I will never look for a different base recipe for blueberry muffins. They are that good. I of course "veganized", and "snobbified" this recipe from Cook's Illustrated. If you don't know about Cook's Illustrated then you better go find out about here. I can pretty much credit everything I've ever learned about how to cook well, to my parents and Cook's Illustrated. Cook's Illustrated is a magazine. They also have a site online as well as podcasts! Growing up, my grandparents as well as my parents subscribed to the magazine and I looked forward to it every month. I loved the always changing watercolor illustrations of various fruits and vegetables that was on the back cover. Yet, my favorite part of the magazine was the "Taste Test" part, where they ranked various canned/boxed or jarred food items by taste and affordability. I also loved the "What Is It?" article. Readers send in photos of some random and obscure kitchen gadgets that they found in their great grandmother's kitchen and they are explained in detail what they are and what they were used for. In regards to the images in the magazine, most are all sketched as opposed to actual photos which is really cool. As somewhat of an artist myself, I always cherished that. Though, I don't get the magazines anymore because I use the online subscription.

Don't know the difference between quinoa and couscous? Does chopping an onion take more than 5 minutes? If you're new to cooking, or just looking to better your chef skills, Cooks Illustrated is where to get your start. They even have an online "cooking school". Take a look at their site to see recipes, equipment reviews (which I love!), and taste tests. America's Test Kitchen is under the same umbrella as Cook's Illustrated as well as Cook's Country and they're one of my favorite shows on television. If you've never checked out the show, there's a link to when they air on TV, here. I feel I should note that I am in no way affiliated with them, though I wish I was...I just really think there's a lot to learn from them!

Okay, so let's remember this muffin recipe was inspired by them. They are divine. I made these for our family's August birthday party. Todd as well as my Grandma, Grandpa, Dad and Uncle all have August birthdays so we just have one big celebration towards the end of the month. I will tell you that there was German chocolate (the standard) as well as red velvet cake at the party, but my little brother only wanted the muffins. He kept asking me, "Is it okay if I have another?" I think he had three or four! There are no words to describe how perfect these muffins are.

The Best Lavender Blueberry Muffins

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

There are no words to describe how perfect these muffins are. They are so incredibly moist and fluffy. The wild blueberries lend a robust tartness, the lavender is floral and comforting and sugar sprinkled on top gives a nice, sweet crunch. I don't know if I'll be able to resist making them again this weekend!

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 2 Tbsp. cold water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup granulated vegan sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) vegan sour cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, wild if you can find them
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lavender, minced
• extra sugar, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a regular 12 muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the cold water and flaxseed and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In an electric stand mixer bowl or a large bowl add the flax mixture and the sugar and whisk vigorously for about 1 minute. Add the butter and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and sour cream in two steps, mixing until just combined.
5. Add the frozen blueberries and lavender to the dry mixture; toss to coat. Gently fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture until just combined. Be very cautious not to overmix. There may even be some sprays of flour and that's okay. The batter should be very thick.
6. Drop an even amount of dough into each muffin space on the pan. Do not flatten or arrange the batter and do not overfill. Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes until somewhat firm and a light golden brown around the edges. Rotate the pan halfway through.
7. Remove from pan and place on a wire cooling rack; sprinkle with sugar if you like and allow them to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 00:30
Total time: 00:40
Yield: 12 muffins