Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

Shortly after the beginning of our vegan journey last year, Sandy and I attended a Vegan Retreat at the Leaven Center in west Michigan.  It was an amazing weekend with new found best friends and some of the most sensational food I had ever experienced, each meal cooked together joyously and enjoyed like vegan royalty.

One of the dishes that I really loved was savory chick pea pancakes, made from chick pea flour.  If you haven’t tried this flour yet, it is one for the list when you are ready for something new.  It has a gentle nutty flavor and creates a pancake that is oddly both fluffy and dense.

The other night I wanted to make some savory chick pea pancakes, but this time thought it would be fun to find another version with an Indian flair.  Sandy did some scouting around online and found a recipe that I re-imagined for our palates.

Photo By: S. Duquet

We topped these spicy, nutty cakes with a fresh Tabboulli salad. The cool and the hot and the cake with the veggies is extraordinary. The jalapeno creates a sassy cake so add more or less to suit your tastes.

Savory Indian Chick Pea Pancakes

by S. Boulton and S. Duquet with inspiration from the Indian Culinary Center

Ingredients:

2  Roma tomatoes coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno, seeded, chopped

1  1/4 C chickpea flour

1/2  tsp cayenne pepper

3  tsp ginger powder

1  tsp garlic powder

2 Tsp nutritional yeast

Make it Happen:

~Place all ingredients except the chickpea flour into a food processor and blend until smooth.

~You want your mixture to equal 1 cup of liquid so if you need more, add a smidge of water.

~Put the chickpea flour in a bowl and stir in the wet mixture. Mix thoroughly and set aside for 15 minutes.

Stir mixture one more time.  Spray skillet with oil, warm on medium heat and begin to pour about 3 inch rounds of batter onto surface.  Cook exactly like a pancake, until golden brown on both sides.

Keep the cooked pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven on a foil lined baking sheet while you are making the rest of the pancakes. Top with condiment of your choice like:

Photo By: S. Duquet

Sandy’s Homemade Tabbouli, chutney, salsa, hummus, avocado…Let your imagination run amok then let me know what you tried and enjoyed.

Sandy’s Tabbouli

Ingredients:

1/3 C medium bulgar wheat

1 C boiled water

1 bunch of rinsed and chopped fresh parsley

1 C seeded and chopped cucumber

1 C seeded and chopped tomato

1 +  Tbsp of Syrian spice (ad lib if you can’t find this seasoning, use equal parts ground cumin, allspice and cinnamon, add a dash of pepper and nutmeg and mix well).

Juice from 2 lemons

1 tsp + a dash of coarse sea salt

Make it Happen:

In medium bowl cover bulgar wheat in boiled water, set aside for about 20 minutes until bulgar softens.  May need to drain (press) out some of the water if not all water is absorbed.   In large bowl mix together bulgar, parsley, cucumber, tomato, Syrian spice, lemon juice and sea salt.  Taste and add more of the seasonings or lemon juice if needed.   Should have boldly fresh parsley taste with lemony seasoned bite.

Next time,  I’m going to double the pancake recipe so we have leftovers for lunches and snacks. They  are full of vegetables, oil free, easy to create, a tantalizing color and  spectacular in flavor. You are going to love these, with any topping you choose.

Have a delicious day.

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