Buckwheat Pancakes (GF, DF, soy-free, egg-free)

I'm back! Once again a long delay, but, well, it was the holidays, right? I started to feel guilty but then some of the blogs I follow took similar sabbaticals, so then I felt less guilty. Also, and here's the real reason I haven't been blogging and haven't been feeling guilty ... I'm going to have a baby in July (yay!) so these past couple months have been filled with fatigue, nausea and generally feeling bleh.

But now my energy and stamina are back and I'm ready to get back at it. To start off the New Year right, I'm getting back to being dairy-free. Dairy-free holidays foods are not a common occurrence, so I've cheated more than I should have this past month. I am now reaping the consequences. To make amends, I whipped up a batch of these gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free buckwheat pancakes this morning and they were delicious. My son had them for breakfast, lunch and snack, so clearly I'm not lying.

Personally, I love the taste of buckwheat. I'm not good at describing the flavor, but I've heard it described as sort of a blend between nutty and grassy. In fact, it's not a cereal grain like wheat but is instead a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel, which might explain its unusual flavor. It's quite high in the trace mineral manganese as well as being a good source of magnesium, copper and fiber. The type of fiber most prevalent in buckwheat is soluble fiber which you should know by now is fantastic for reducing cholesterol. It's also rich in flavonoids which are potent antioxidants and important for heart health.

I took the basics of the recipe from here: http://mattikaarts.com/blog/baking-recipes/gluten-free-buckwheat-pancakes/ and modified it to make it free of everything under the sun. Despite not having eggs as a binder, mine turned out much like the ones pictured. One note of caution. I'm not sure why, but my Le Creuset crepe pan did not seem to like these pancakes and made them stick horribly. This has never happened before. I switched to a non-stick pan and they worked fine. Just an fyi.

So, please tell, how are you planning to start off the year right?

Buckwheat Pancakes
-1 cup of buckwheat flour (I used Bob's Redmill)
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-2/3 tsp baking powder
-pinch of sea salt
-1 Tbsp maple syrup
-1 1/4 cup coconut milk
-1 Tbsp oil (your choice, I used peanut)
-1/4 cup applesauce

1. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk together milk, maple syrup, oil, and applesauce.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix with large spoon until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour 1/4 cup batter on oiled pan on low to medium heat and cook until small holes appear in pancake. Flip and cook another 15-30 seconds. Keep warm in oven until ready to serve.