German Apple Pancakes(Great allergy free breakfast!)

I saw this recipe while looking up mini spelt donuts and spelt cranberry/apple muffins to make for Christmas breakfast.
This recipe for German Apple Pancakes originates from a website called "Foodvergnügen". I tweaked a few things to make it a nice allergy free breakfast this morning. My husband went wild for these pancakes, so I'm going to make them for New Years Brunch.

This recipe uses spelt flour but you can substitute for gluten free flour such as sorghum or brown rice.
Ingredients
1/3 cup whole spelt flour
1/3 cup white spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large crisp apples
3 eggs (or use an egg substitute)
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon earth balance buttery spread
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup plain coconut yogurt and a dash of vanilla almond milk
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Method
This recipe makes 6 pancakes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees (225 C). Brush each muffin cup with canola oil; coat with extra brown sugar. Peel, core and slice each apple into twelve wedges, then cut each wedge into three pieces. Toss with 2 teaspoons brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Melt 1 tablespoon earth balance in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and saute, turning occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until caramelized. Remove pan from stove; let cool 5 minutes. Divide the caramelized apples among the muffin cups.
Put flour, baking soda, salt, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, canola oil(3 tsp), eggs, and coconut yogurt/almond milk in the bowl. Whisk until batter becomes smooth and runny(if it's not smooth/runny enough then add more almond milk). Pour batter over apples. Place tin in oven and lower heat to 400 degrees (200 C). Bake 15-17 minutes. Pancakes will puff up during last 5 minutes of baking.
Take tin from oven and remove pancakes with a fork. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.

I added berries and maple syrup to this instead of confectioner's sugar. Also to make this healthier add some ground flax seeds to the mixture about 1/4 cup.

These Pancakes are truly light and fluffy. Here are some pictures.

Camping/Hiking Allergy Free & Meat Free!

This is a post I started back in September after a Camping trip.....here it is in all it's splendor!

Hi all, I know it's been a while since my last Blog Banter but I've been a bit busy with work. Had a new project and all has been going well. I'm glad I was able to go on this camping trip with my husband and a friend before getting back into the crazy world of film making. :-)

I thought this particular Blog Banter would be Beneficial (say that 3 times fast!) due to us Allergy/Sensitive people occasionally feeling left out on Camping Trips, Barbecue's, Birthday Parties, Office Parties and even the simple lunch ordering at work.

Here is my guide for "fitting in" in the world of Foodies and regular 'ol people when it comes to Camping/Hiking.

The Burger: Great soy free/gluten free choices here for a camping trip or barbecue:
The versatile "Sunshine Burger" http://www.sunshineburger.com/
OR the extremely tasty perfect if you want that large burger feel with loads of flavor "Bahama Burger"
http://www.bahamariceburger.com/

The Bun:
If you have a wheat intolerance but can still stand some gluten I always recommend Berlin Natural Bakery's hamburger buns: http://store.berlinnaturalbakery.com/acatalog/buns.html
They also have great hot dog buns if you are going for some meatless dogs.
If you have a gluten allergy let me suggest the following:
http://www.glutenfreemall.com/catalog/gillians-foods-plain-glutenfree-hamburger-buns-sandwich-buns-french-rolls-frozen-units-p-287.html


The Cheese:
Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese sliced up but if you're allergic to nuts then Daiya cheese shreds are amazing. But really they are amazing anyway.
Daiya Cheese Shreds 8 oz. Cheddar
Dr. Cow Aged Cashew Cheese, 2.6 oz.

Roasted Marshmallows: "Dandies" air puffed Vegan Marshmallows are great for the campfire but tend to be a bit small.
Dandies Air-Puffed Vegan Marshmallows, Original Vanilla, 10 oz. Bag
If you want a heftier marshmallow try "Sweet and Sara" vegan marshmallows
Sweet and Sara Vegan Marshmallows
OR just make your own! Also the above mentioned isn't good if you have a soy allergy, but this homemade version is just perfect.

Ingredients

• 3 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

• Directions

  1. Generously coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
  2. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.
  3. Chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To cut, loosen edges with a knife. Dust surface with confectioners' sugar, and turn out onto a waxed paper lined surface. Dust with confectioners' sugar again and cut with a knife.  *** This recipe is from AllRecipes.com** it originally calls for corn syrup but you can substitute with brown rice syrup. Here is the original recipe link: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/homemade-marshmallows-ii/Detail.aspx
   

Breakfast the next day:
If you are an Ova Vegetarian like myself than you eat eggs. Hard boiled eggs made the day before make a tasty little breakfast in the morning before a hike. That along with some organic dried cranberries and sunflower seeds or cashews (if tolerated).
If you are a Vegan with allergies than making a brown rice hot cereal the day before and throwing in some fresh or frozen berries makes a nice cold breakfast in the morning or you can heat it up on the fire. Or go real easy, get a small carton of Almond milk and some brown rice crisps cereal.
Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal, Gluten Free, Organic, 10-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)

Snacks on your Hike:
Snacks I always find super easy. There are these tummy vegan brown rice crispy style treats (or make your own the day before) Glenny's Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats, Vanilla, 0.85-Ounce Bars (Pack of 24)
Any sort of dried fruit and nuts/seeds are great and power packed or you can go prepackaged and get a few Lara Bars: Larabar Fruit & Nut Food Bar, Cherry Pie, 1.7-Ounce Bars (Pack of 16)

Enjoy!

Fusilli Rice Pasta with Lemon Parsley Sauce

I decided to try a new recipe for dinner last night because my Husband purchased a bunch of parsley for a turkey soup he never made. :-) Soooooo as to not let the parsley go bad I whipped up this quick and satisfying dish.

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 lb fusilli rice pasta Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusilli, 16-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 
  1. Grate yellow zest from lemons.
  2. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, garlic and parsley and set aside.
  3.  Cook Fusilli Rice Pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm(check package instructions)
  4. In a large frying pan or wok, warm olive oil over medium-low heat.
  5. Add zest concoction and salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute, make sure not to burn the garlic.
  6. Drain pasta and pour into frying pan or wok.
  7. Toss to coat. Sprinkle parmesan cheese to top( if tolerated) or a vegan parmesan cheese. I didn't use any sort of cheese and it was delicious.