and some are not!
I am talking about developing low-carb recipes here. Specifically a recipe for Blueberry Pancakes. Now I have been making a great pancake recipe from Mellissa at I Breathe...I'm Hungry. I LOVE her recipe BUT it is more crepe-like than pancake-like to me. I am wanting a thicker, more *cake* like pancake -- one that can take on blueberries and syrup and hold up.
So I have been carrying that around in my head for a while and then I SEE the exact kind of recipe I am wanting. Positively perfect except for the fact that it contains wheat flour. Besides that it also contains one of my FAVORITE ingredients....GREEK YOGURT!!
Rabbit trail warning: I LOVE Greek Yogurt. For most of my low-carb journey I have simply avoided yogurt although I have always enjoyed it. Last fall I decided to add greek yogurt to my diet and am so glad I did. Not only is it wonderfully delicious, but the REAL thing (traditional, full-fat, plain) is LOW CARB -- only 5 carbs for a 1/2 cup serving. Believe me, 1/2 cup serving is about all I can eat at one time because it is so rich BUT seriously, I could eat it everyday. E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. -- and sometimes I do. Well, better get back on track or this will only be about the yogurt.
For the pancakes -- needed some yogurt, egg, baking powder and then a flour -- cannot use wheat so I needed to figure what I could substitute in that would give me the texture I wanted. I decide on coconut flour although I know it is notoriously dry and tricky. I could handle that challenge -- less flour and more eggs should do the trick. Now I need a guinea pig -- that presented itself pretty quickly -- an overnight guest was going to be the perfect guinea pig.
Company arrived, my ingredients were assembled and the experimenting began. Now just so you know I rarely tell a guinea pig that they are one -- the secret is to just confidently carry on like you've made this same recipe hundreds of times before. My kids are kind of used to this kind of behavior from me and will even ask IF I have made something before or if this is a first. They know how I roll but my company, well, he was none the wiser.
Everything came together very well. The blueberry pancakes looked, well, they looked picture perfect. But as I flipped them I saw an issue -- they were somewhat dry-ish. Darn that coconut flour. I carried on and served them. Another rabbit trail warning: if you haven't tried Waldon Farm Pancake Syrup you must.
It is sugar free, calorie free and carb free and despite all that, very good. Now please do not mistake this as a recommendation for all of Waldon Farm products. The sugar free, calorie free and carb free peanut butter-like product is horrid.
Back to the pancakes, the taste was fantastic, the texture not quite what I was going for. I'll try again. I have another idea that should solve the dryness issue. In case you're concerned about my poor company having to endure this failure....
He had no complaints!!
