This Summer I’ve been obsessed with these pancakes. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t had good gluten-free pancakes before them. Or because I’m just relishing having a stove that’s not 3 floors down(oh, the life of a student).
As much as I loved having them with a dredge of maple syrup, I figured that couldn’t be good day after day. Instead I wanted to sweeten them the natural way with some fruit. By using chia seeds to thicken the sauce, it comes together literally in minutes but has the texture of a sauce that’s been cooking for much longer.
Look how thick it is(that’s what she said)! It’s hearty, warm, and the perfect pancake companion. The chia seeds not only thicken but also add a healthy dose of omega-3s.
You can use almost any fruit for this—strawberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, mango. The one exception I’ve found is that using all raspberries creates a very tart sauce. If you want to make a raspberry version, switch out half with a sweeter fruit like strawberries or add a tablespoon of sweetener.
Quick Fruit Sauce
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients(makes 1-2 servings):
- 3/4 cup fruit, fresh or frozen
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
Method:
- Pour the fruit into a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute for fresh fruit or 3 minute for frozen fruit until hot and bubbly.
- Mash the fruit into a puree and mix in the chia seeds.
- Let the sauce sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Pour hot onto pancakes, waffles, French toast, or a dessert.
This is so easy to make, I throw it together in between mixing and pouring the pancake batter. If it gets better than that, I don’t know how.
I spent this past weekend in Providence, one of my favorite cities around, and ran the inaugural Providence Rock N’ Roll half-marathon. The night before my friend and I went to Garden Grille Café, a vegetarian restaurant I can’t get enough of right on the edge of town. The special that night was cornmeal-crusted tempeh with a black bean mole sauce and roasted fingerling potatoes. There was nothing in that name I didn’t like so I got it and ate every last drop of sauce on that plate.
The mole was the best I ever had; it was also the first I ever had, but it was still incredibly good. Spicy, sweet, tangy—almost like a barbeque sauce but with a tantalizing bitterness. Of course I had to recreate it. Two days later I was making this in my own kitchen. I wasn’t sure if I had hit the nail on the head until I realized I was literally licking my food processor clean. At that point I figured it was pretty good.
This mole is about as untraditional as it comes. For one, you don’t cook it at all. It’s entirely made in the food processor. I also used spices instead of actual chilies because that’s what I had on hand. That makes this a super friendly recipe if it’s your first mole.
Black Bean Mole
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 5 Tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
- ~1/4 cup water
Method:
- Combine all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Slowly add the water while blending until the sauce reaches a fluid yet thick consistency.
- Heat up before serving. Scoop a generous amount over protein like tofu, tempeh, or chicken.
After dinner we went over to Wildflour and I ate one of these. It’s OK; I was carb-loading.
As much as I like salads, I’ve never really liked most salad dressings I’ve tried. They’re usually oily and watery; I want something thick and hearty. Because of that I pretty much stuck to Caesar salad dressing and buffalo wing sauce to flavor my greens growing up. What could be more appetizing than a plate of iceburg lettuce with hot sauce and butter slathered on it? I’m not sure what I was thinking back then, either.
Enter this dressing, which has completely changed how I think of salad dressings. It’s not oily or watery; in fact, there’s no oil whatsoever. It has a thick body but you won’t find any cream in the ingredients. Instead this dressing gets its body from whole strawberries and almonds. What could be more delicious? It’s sweet with a tang and slight nuttiness—much better and better for you than buffalo wing sauce.
Strawberry Almond Salad Dressing(inspired by this recipe)
Ingredients(Makes 2 cups):
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries, stems removed
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- ~1/4 cup water to thin
Method:
- Combine all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Slowly incorporate the water while still blending until the dressing reaches a thin consistency.
- Bottle and keep stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Since it’s fresh without any preservatives, use this dressing quickly to make sure it stays fresh. Something tells me that won’t be a problem; you’ll never go back to bottled again.
