FLUFFY Pancakes - GF/DF

Oh pancakes.

Delicious fluffy pancakes. They are hard to come by when gluten free. I've tried numerous recipes and store bough mixes. None of them ever make it close to gluten filled, dairy & sugar loaded light fluffy pancakes.

Until I met these pancakes.

 

Light and fluffy and simple. What else could you ask for? We love these...and they sure are an indulgence for our family. They satisfy that craving for fluffy pancakes. To ask for more (which I often do), i'd ask for them to have a nutrition kick. More fiber, or protein or something...so I won't feel bad about eating them cold as a snack (with yogurt, yumm!), or having them more often then just on weekends.That is in the works, so i'll keep you posted.

In the mean time though, I give you these amazing light, fluffy, naturally sweetened pancakes to fill that void you've been feeling!

Fluffy Pancakes - GF/DF


1 cup Almond milk (or other milk of your choosing)
1 extra large egg
2 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
dash Himalayan sea salt

*In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until lightly frothy.
*Add the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until no (of very few) lumps are left. Transfer mixture into large (4 cup) measuring cup for easy pouring.
*Pre-heat a skillet or large frying pan. Add a tsp of coconut oil to heat and coat the pan/skillet. Pour batter to desired size pancakes (I can do 3 small pancakes at a time on my frying pan).
*Flip once you see little bubbles on the surface and the edges look set (about 2 minutes) and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Pancakes should spring back when lightly touched.
*Keep finished pancakes warm in a heated oven until ready to serve.
*Makes about 12 small (3") pancakes.

*Enjoy!


<3
Eryn

Etsy

On the weekend, I had the chance to whip up this cute little make-up clutch.

It's perfect for keeping in your purse for touch-ups on the go, or overnight trips when you don't need all your make up and need something nice and compact.

I've seen a few things like this in the past and always thought they were a great idea, but never got around to making one.

The design I ended up using I modified from a project in Zakka Style, since I wanted a different closure and more 'pocket' space. I bought this book a couple months ago. There are so many cute projects in it. An added bonus is the use of linen, which I also love!

I plan on making a few of these since they are just so simple to whip up, so this one is in my Etsy Shop (that's right, I finally got it up and running)! You can also find some cute pincushions and wash cloths. I'm adding items often right now, so be sure to check it out!


Eryn

Granola

This Granola. Oh my.

Loaded with nuts and seeds, it's high in protein, naturally sweetened with maple syrup and high in fiber thanks to hemp hearts and chia seeds, this granola is probably one of my favourite breakfasts to have.

I never liked store bought granola's much for two reasons. For one, they are always way too sweet! Second, too much oats with not enough hearty ingredients to keep you full long enough to make it to lunch. This Granola definitely hits the spot.

Slowly baking the granola at a low temperature not only leaves the nutrients intact, but makes for a wonderfully crunchy treat.

Granola is one of the simplest things to make yourself...so why spend (way too much) on the store bought stuff that can't keep you full?

 My favourite way to serve it has been to top with frozen raspberries or fresh cherries and a blend of almond and coconut milk. Recently though, I found an amazing Dairy free, Soy free yogurt!!! Seriously guys....I didn't quite realize just how much I really missed it until I had my first delicious spoonful of this yogurt.

The brand is Yoso. They started with Soy based yogurts, but since soy turns my insides black (seriously...it's disturbing) and sends me to the bathroom for hours there is no way I'm going near it. But then walking by the yogurt section at my local grocery store reminiscing of the days I could enjoy this fermented treat, I spotted this wonderful stuff. It's the closest thing I've found to dairy yogurt. Creamy with just a bit of tang, and not all jello-like as other coconut milk yogurts tend to be. As an added bonus, it's actually a great source of calcium as well as being a probiotic!

So back on track with the Granola...

Since i've found this yogurt, I'm loving parfait again! Crunchy, perfectly sweet granola, slightly tangy yogurt topped with berries. Drool. That was definitely my breakfast this morning.

Hurry and make this so you can enjoy it too!!

Granola

5 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup coconut chips
1/3 cup hemp hearts
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup maple syrup

*Mix all dry ingredients together in a very large bowl. Add maple syrup and mix until everything is coated.
*Spread over baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Don't over fill the sheets or the granola won't cook evenly. (I usually need three large trays).
*Bake at 200°F for 2 - 2.5 hours, or until lightly golden (easiest way to tell for me is the watch the coconut chips...when they're golden, the granola is usually done)
*Let cool then store in an airtight container. (I use 1/2 gallon mason jars)


**To shake things up, I sometimes add dried fruit once the granola is done baking and has cooled. Try adding 2/3 cup of a dried fruit of your choice if you like. Yummy options could be raisins, chopped dried apricots, cranberries, golden berries, blueberries, etc. You can also switch up the nuts for a change or if you just don't really like one of the ones listed above.


I hope you enjoy this healthy Granola as much as I do!



Eryn

Feathers

This past week I've spent my down time casually cutting up this pile of pretty fabric.

I had originally planned on this being a scrap only quilt, but most of my scraps were just too small for the cuts required. So I dipped into my stash.

Fin helped! He's much faster than me.

So this has been my view most of the week. (baby sock will not be included in the quilt...)

These 10 stacks are the fruits of my labour. They are so pretty all lined up. I've been testing them next to the slate grey that will be filling in all the spaces between. I can't wait to start sewing! Colin has taken Fin to the museum today...so maayyybe!

These little mushrooms have to be my favourite fabric. Ever. It's just so cute! It's Mushrooms in aqua from the Little Red Riding Hood Line by Riley Blake. I bought it a while back, so most places i've checked recently are sold out. You can still find pretty much the entire here at Hawthorne Threads. They have an amazing selection of fabrics and the site is one of the easiest to navigate (compared to other online fabric stores)! I'm pretty sure i'll be buying more!

I'm usually not a fan of purple, but these shades have called out to me and are making me swoon!

 

Hopefully I'll have a few blocks to show you next week.


Before I go, here's a quick update on R2D2!

Since most of my spare time this week was spent on the feathers not too much got done (sorry Colin), but I did manage to finish all the applique pieces! I was even able to start the embroidery. I can already see how much that will make everything pop. Eeek!

Until next time!

Eryn

Scrap Happy

Today, I realized something.

I am becoming over-run with fabric scraps! Pretty, pretty scraps. It's kind of exciting actually.

January marked my first full year of quilting! I'm sure any quilter who's been in the game for more than a year will think me crazy for being excited about scraps.

But with the 5 quilts, and other projects i've completed this year (plus the 4 quilts in progress), I have a pretty decent selection of colourful scrappy goodness.

And this awesome quilt pattern is the lucky winner for how those scraps will be put to cozy good use. Feathers by Alisson Glass can be found here, or here, as well as her new fabric line, Sun Print here, that I have been so tempting to snatch up (especially the feathers). I love how the bright colours contrast with the grey, so my version will probably be similar in that way. This quilt pattern requires paper piecing, which i've never done before. I am looking forward to learning this new skill! It's supposed to be great for accuracy.

I also have this fairly new stack of solids that i'm itching to use. Maybe I'll slip some in those feathers :)




Eryn

Traill's Chevron Forest

Last week was a busy one, but I did manage to squeeze in some sewing and baking here and there. Here are some snippits of what I was up to last week!

The chevron forest quilt that I showed you in this post for my friends baby is finally finished! Some late night stitching allowed me to get the binding all finished!

The yellow chevron is so cute for the binding! I decided to quilt with a nice yellow thread 1/4" from seams to bring out the chevron. Keeping the quilting nice and lose like this, in addition to the super soft minky back makes for one floppy baby quilt!

Look at that cutie down there! The quilt finished at 35" x 55". Big enough he can enjoy it for years to come.

As a little treat I made some Oatmeal Raisin cookies. De-Lish!

I started whipping up some cute wash cloths for baby or general use...

I'll be selling them in sets of 3 or 4 in my Etsy shop that i'm in the process of setting up. As soon as it's ready i'll make sure to link it up here so you can get some!

They are backed with a nice fuzzy Chenille cotton that make them nice a thick. Great for cleaning the wee-ones, personal use, dishes, you name it!

And last but not least, R2D2...

The applique stage is almost done thanks to late night-the baby's asleep-tv watching stitching! Next step will be adding embroidery to make everything pop. So excited to see this little guy come together!


Until next time (which hopefully won't be so long),

Eryn

Un-Cheesy Kale Chips

These Kale chips are one of my favorite snacks that really pack a health punch!

What kind of punch are we talking about? Well to start, Kale is packed with Vitamins K, A, and C, Iron, Calcium (per calorie, it has more calcium than milk), powerful antioxidants, fiber and sulfur (making it a great detox food too).

Then add Nutritional Yeast loaded with B12, Folic Acid, Fiber, protein, raw Cashews packed with copper, magnesium, the heart healthy fat Oleic Acid and antioxidants, and Red Bell Peppers full of Vitamins C, A, B6 and Lycopene. Now there's a health punch for you!

This tasty snack is perfect to replace that pesky last night crunchy chip craving! Not only will you get loaded with nutrients, but they are dehydrated (or baked) not fried. I love taking these on road trips too!

Want to make them for your kids lunches, but need to follow a No-Nuts school policy? Raw sunflower seeds make an excellent substitute for the cashews!

Try and use Organic Kale and Red Peppers since these veggies tend to have very high pesticide residues when grown conventionally.

Un-Cheesy Kale Chips

2 bunches kale, washed and dried
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours
1 large red bell pepper
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
sea salt & black pepper to taste

*Tear kale leaves into bit sized pieces. Put in a large bowl and set aside. (Leave tough stems out)
*In a food processor, puree cashews with lemon juice to a hummus-like consistency. Add all remaining ingredients (except kale) and pulse until smooth.
*Pour cashew mixture over kale pieces, and use your hands to massage the mixture into each kale leaf.
*Place the kale pieces one by one on your dehydrator trays. They can be fairly close together. Dehydrate for about 8 hours, rotating trays every 2 hours for even drying.
*Alternate cooking method:  Place kale on a baking sheet and bake at 150°F for about 1 hour (check every 20 minutes to ensure they don"t burn).
*Store in an air-tight container and enjoy!



Happy snacking!

Eryn