Lemon Poppy Seed Quinoa Pancakes

Hi Everyone!

It has been a while since I have written a post. I have been crazy busy between starting a new temporary job and hosting visitors, that I haven't had the time to blog. I finally have some free time and I thought I'd share with you this delicious lemon poppy seed quinoa pancake recipe from La Tartine Gourmande. 

If you've been reading my blog for some time now, you already know that this is by far my favorite cookbook. Not just because the recipes are delicious and sometimes easy to make, but because they are also super healthy! This is key because my boyfriend is a triathlete and he adheres to a very specific diet. I have found that the recipes in this cookbook are perfect for him and delicious for me. Something we don't always have in common, such as the time he tried to get me to drink his kale smoothie. Not going to happen. Pass me the Trader Joe's cherry juice instead, please!

Enough blabbing, let's get cookin'!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup white rice flour or sweet rice flour
• 1/3 cup of quinoa flour
• 1/3 cup of quinoa flakes
• 2 tbs blond cane sugar
• 1tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 2 pinches of salt
• 2 tbs of poppy seeds
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract (optional)
• 1 tbs of canola oil

I found the ingredients at Trader Joe's, World Market and Whole Foods. But you can find these at most grocery stores or specialty foods stores. I like going to TJs and World Market because they usually have the best deals.

Directions

• Combine the flours, flakes, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1 pinch of salt, poppy seeds and lemon zest in a bowl and stir. 
• In a separate bowl, separate egg whites and egg yolks and mix in the buttermilk with the yolks. Add lemon extract and oil.
• Combine the two mixtures and stir.
• In a new bowl, beat the egg whites with 1 pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Then fold the whites into the batter. I used a handheld mixer for this so I could control the speed and the peaks.
• In a frying pan, heat 1 tbs of canola oil over medium heat and pour 1/4 cup of batter in the pan and repeat for as many pancakes as the pan can hold. I sometimes melt a little butter instead of using canola oil, as i find it holds the shape of the pancake better and gives it a better flavor.
• Cook the batter until bubbles form on the surface, then take a spatula and flip the pancakes. Continue to cook for another minute or 2, or until golden.
• Serve with maple syrup or honey. We like maple syrup and World Market has great deals on various types of maple syrup. 

You can add some lemon zest to the top of the pancakes once served for some extra lemon flavor. I really liked these pancakes with a little bit of maple syrup and some fresh squeezed orange juice (no kale smoothies with these). Now that the weather is getting warm, I have a feeling I will be making these with a mint fruit salad with fresh ingredients from my garden. Yum!

I am planning to plant my garden sometime this week, and I will make a post about how I grow veggies, herbs, spices, and fruit on my little balcony in the middle of a big city. I like making my garden as organic as possible, but also cost efficient, so stay tuned for some tips on that! In the meantime, enjoy these pancakes with a special someone =)

xoxo