Breakfast: Nutritious Gluten Free Pancakes

I am a pancake enthusiast, as is my two and a half year old son, Wyatt. We eat them fairly regularly, usually filled with fruit and piled high with fruit as well. Randy prefers chocolate chips. Actually I'm sure Wyatt does too.
Anyway today for lunch I had a hankering for pancakes. I usually use my "Perfected Pancakes" recipe, with some variation. If I have cooked quinoa, that is my go to healthifier. Sometimes I put in some oatmeal. It's always good, no matter what.
Today I wanted to try something new. It was sooooo good! Crispy crust, nutty flavour. And healthy.  This reipe makes about 4 six inch p1ancakes, good for me and Wyatt for lunch. If making for the whole family I would double it!

1/4 cup ground quinoa
1/4 cup ground oatmeal (I used quick oats but any kind should work, with a little extra soaking time for raw)
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tbs oil
Blueberries or other extras

Heat a pan (I use my cast iron for everything, but if I'm making a big batch of pancakes I use my griddle) to low medium heat. Never high!!! I used coconut oil to grease the pan.
Wisk dry ingredients, then add wet. I let it sit for maybe 5 minutes after I stirred it, to allow it to thicken. It didn't get bubbly like wheat flour batter does, but it thickens a bit. I threw in a couple handfuls of blueberries too.
Pour some batter into the pan or onto the griddle. I did about 1/2 cup at a time as I wasn't sure how sturdy they would be to flip. I am sure larger would be fine, they held up very well.
Allow to sit without touching until edges are dry, several minutes. Again, they don't bubble like wheat pancakes. Flip once. If you want to be sure it is cooked through you can peak inside by making a small slit. If it is dry, it's done. If its gooey, it's not done.
You want to do the majority of the cooking before the flip. The second side takes much less time.
Serve with maple syrup, fruit, cashew cream or whatever your heart's desire.

Blog about the Vegg!

Ok! So I responded to the Vegg's Facebook post asking for bloggers who were interested in writing about their product, and they sent me some. Exciting! There is only one (two now?) place to order the Vegg online in Canada, and it's been on back order or sold out so I haven't gotten around to purchasing my own to try.
Anyway, my mother asked me a while ago what I miss most, in terms of animal products. Not much. Maybe fried eggs, was my response. I would have thought it would be cheese, but once you detox from that stuff, it's pretty easy to stay away. I ate it a bit when I was pregnant (and feeling very sick, craving weird things) and it was always disappointing. Not worth it in any case.
Eggs though... Eggs.
The Vegg, prepared as is, smells, looks and tastes so much like egg yolk it is off putting! Not a dis, that is what they are going for. Buy I admit, it freaks me out. I ate it with toast. Good. But it did the same thing as cheese... I have realized I don't really miss it.
Never fear! The Vegg has many other uses! I tried it in a tofu omlette, but was underwhelmed by the results (it might have been my methodology). I didn't care for the sliminess that it added to my scrambled tofu either. But, I DID like the French vanilla ice cream recipe from the Vegg's website.
Also, I made lemon curd. I love lemon curd. Vegan curd is always too corn starchy, or too firm. This stuff turned out fantastically!

The Vegg lemon curd:
4 tsp the Vegg powder
1 cup water
1 tbs arrowroot powder
1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
Grated rind of one lemon

Blend water and the Vegg. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined and creamy. Transfer to a pot on stove and heat on medium low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly as it thickens. Allow to cool on stove, then refrigerate to set.

I still have some Vegg left, I plan to use it to make French toast.
I like this product. Its not something I couldn't live without, but it is nice to have. It's a great step! Hopefully more and more tried and true recipes will pop up so we can have more success with re-vegging un-egged recipes!

Etsy shop update!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadisonConlin
Check it out!

Dessert: Amazing (Raw) Vegan Whipped Cream

There are many recipes for vegan whipped cream, but this is the one I have played with and found works best for me!

Amazing (Raw) Vegan Whipped Cream
1/2 cup soaked raw cashews
1 can coconut milk
2 Tbs (or to taste) agave nectar or maple syrup (or other sweetener)
1/4 cup coconut oil (you could probably get away with less, perhaps 2 Tbs)

Blend all together in blender until smooth. I use a magical Vitamix, so this works really fast and easily for me. Some blenders won't get the smooth consistency, especially if the cashews aren't very soft from soaking.
Refrigeration will cause mixture to firm up nicely, sometimes I add more coconut milk and blend again just before I use it to thin it out.
If you are unfamiliar with working with coconut oil, it can be a little tricky when blending because it is a solid when under 24 degrees Celsius, but blending can warm it and make it a liquid, causing the cream to be runny. Refrigeration solves this of course, and even if it is runny it is still delicious! In any case, I usually make this a day or two in advance to ensure it is thick and creamy.
This stuff is always a hit and is even better than real whipped cream! Serve on chocolate anything with fruit.
I plan to play around with this too... I'm thinking a couple tablespoons of cacao powder to make chocolate whip? The possibilities are endless.

Blog about ART SHOW

Ok fellas and ladies.  The past several months have been crazy busy for me in life.  I had a baby and such. And a two year old. Financially things are tight so I have kept myself busy at home, cooking a lot, making stuff... Artistically I could have let things go, but NO! I am very fortunate to have a friend (who owns a wonderful local business known as the Mud Oven) who is allowing me to showcase my works, and I have filled my time since my last show (at Venus Envy in the fall) with making ALL NEW stuff! It's all very different from what I have been doing since I finished school. It has been so fun and exhilarating to keep the juices flowing.
So what's the deal, you ask? Where and when is this wonderful show so I can attend and bring all my friends???

Please do come if you can!

Here is the facebook event:

Mud Oven Art Show

Lastly, please go to Facebook and "Like" my page to be kept up to date on my work!

Paintings by Madison Conlin

Thank you!!

Completed two more Instagram challenges, yes!

Ok so I haven't been blogging much this month but I have been keeping up with (more or less) two Instagram challenges. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Instagram, it is a iPhone app that you use to upload photos to a stream, and you can follow people and people can follow you. For us visual people it is quite interesting! I would love to spend more time reading (and writing) blogs but honestly it is just hard to find the time. These challenges keep me on a bit of a schedule so I keep working and don't get caught in time warps...

So, here are my completed projects!

Breakfast: Biscuits and gravy!

My husband is American and loves biscuits with sausage gravy. It's not something I have traditionally eaten, but I aim to please. This is the second time we've had it... I think it was the best. I made a double batch of biscuits from "Vegan Diner" and navy bean gravy (made with white beans instead) from "Vegan with a Vengeance". We also had leftover sausage cutlets from dinner, also from "Vegan Diner".
I am so happy with this hearty, healthier version of traditional biscuits with sausage gravy.
Oh yes, "Creamsicle" smoothies to get a dose of peaches, oranges and soy milk (and a secret serving of Omega 3 with chia seed). Mmm!