It’s super blustery here on our little island today, and I’ve wanted something carby and sweet to stuff into my face as I sit cozily with the pups in front of the wood stove. I sent out a request for a recipe for a good vegan pancake on one of my vegan FB groups and someone suggested this one from Cearas Kitchen, which is surprisingly good!

I deviated from the recipe in only two ways:

1. In place of the coconut/can sugar, I used 3 TBS of date syrup. I got this idea from a preview of Dr. Gregor’s new cookbook, The How Not to Die Cookbook. It’s basically one cup of pitted medjool dates and one cup of boiling water blended in the Vitamix until smooooooth. Oh, and a tsp of fresh lemon juice.
2. I left the batter for five minutes to puff up a bit because that’s what you do with regular pancakes. I could see the puffiness in the batter, so I think it was a good plan.

The recipe is supposed to make six to eight pancakes, but I got ten…and I used a quarter-cup measuring cup as recommended. As you can see, the dough is quite thick, so you need to spread the cakes out to make them even across (no one likes a mushy middle!).

I ate three for lunch, and, freak that I am, I enjoyed them with a smear of peanut butter, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a couple of banana slices on each. I know peanut butter on pancakes sounds a bit weird, but if you like the delicious butter of the peanut, try it: you will love it. The hot pancakes melt the PB into all kinds of deliciousness!

And after my little foray into the kitchen for pancake-making, I found the dogs like this in the living room: 

And yes, that is Stella LYING ACROSS THE COFFEE TABLE with her tongue hanging out.

Meanwhile, here it is mid-November, and I continue to wear flipflops…and not just in the house. More than a few Denman residents have commented on the fact that on our daily hikes, I’m bundled up in a big jacket and woolly cowl, but still wearing flipflops on my feet.

Ah retirement…I don’t know if I’ll ever wear shoes again.

And here’s a tune from Van Morrison and The Chieftans–a haunting tune for a dark, blustery island day…