What's Cookin'? Part One

Though I'm a little bummed that my summer vacation is already over, I definitely cannot complain. After all, I live in Santa Barbara. Nuff said.

PLUS, when I get back in the routines of my daily life, that also means that I am back to cooking, and summer seasonal eating is wonderful. I have already got so many recipes tagged and marked and dog-eared that I am ready to either bring back or try for the first time. Stopping by the local produce stands requires major self-discipline; if I'm not careful, I overload my bags with zucchini, berries, corn, peaches, spinach, leeks, beets, watermelon and my TOP FAVORITE, red bell peppers...

My goal is to blog much more regularly for the next few days or weeks and share some of what's cookin' this summer...

I'll start off by sharing something I have for breakfast at least twice a week. As I said to a couple of girlfriends last week over coffee, I just "need" to have hot food for breakfast. So believe it or not, I cook myself an actual meal for breakfast just about every day -- no cold cereal for this girl, or a little yogurt container on the run.

Let's start by saying I l-o-v-e pancakes for breakfast, and being gluten-free has put a little cramp in my pancake style. Sure, there are a bunch of gluten-free pancakes mixes out there, but my heavens, they are made from really sweet flours and kick up my glycemic index. Which means after I eat these I am hungry in about 45 minutes. Not good.

I want fiber in my pancakes, and something that fills me up. So pictured here is a good approximation of a dependable, low-maintenance gluten-free recipe for oatmeal pancakes that I have come up with after a few false starts. I'm almost embarrassed to call this a recipe because it's so basic. But you can't enjoy it unless you plan ahead, because you have to do a tiny bit of prep the night before.

Kelly's Oatmeal Pancakes
Serves 1 (or 2, if you're really nice or a lighter eater than me, I guess)

1/2 Trader Joe's Rolled Oats (gluten-free)
1/2 cup almond milk (P.S. I have become totally hooked on almond milk)
1/2 egg (or 1/8c egg white or egg substitute)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp agave
Cinnamon to taste

Possible add-in's
Peanut butter
Diced almonds, walnuts, almonds
Flax seed
Protein powder
Dried fruit: apple, apricots, raisins, etc.

Before I go to bed, I will mix together the oats, milk and egg in a mug or small bowl, covering them with a plastic bag. In the morning, the oats have absorbed the milk and egg, so the liquid has basically soaked in.

I add the oil, baking powder and cinnamon. If you're feeling more creative, try some add-ins.

Heat up a skillet to medium heat. I spray mine with Pam Spray, but obviously you can use a little butter or cooking oil. When the skillet sizzles after you sprinkle a few drops of water on it, spoon some batter onto the skillet. I recommend keeping the pancakes no larger than 3-4" across. Flip over when you see the cooked side is turning brown.

Best part: when I'm done cooking them, I top each pancake with Greek yogurt and fresh berries (when in season -- otherwise, I defrost some frozen berries the night before when I mix the oatmeal and almond milk). This combination provides plenty of protein and fiber, and is quite tasty, I must say. Enjoy!