Sunday, 30 June 2013

Brunch: An Abundance of Berries over Vegan Pancakes

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Natalie Imbruglia ~ Sanctuary
The Who ~ My Generation
Voice of the Beehive ~ Don't Call Me Baby
Prince ~ I Wanna Be Your Lover
LeAnn Rimes ~ But I Do Love You
Pulp ~ Disco 2000
Beth Hart ~ Sister Heroine
Soundgarden ~ Burden In My Hand
Kylie Minogue ~ Confide In Me
Chris Cornell ~ Time
Clawfinger ~ I Don't Care
Chely Wright ~ Like Me
T-Rex ~ Hot Love
Sarah McLachlan ~ Possession

So..who amongst us can say they are members of the BAA? *raising both hands high* You are? Phew I knew there must be some other members of the Berry Addicts Anonymous out there. lol. I'm an addict and I will never..ever...be a recovering addict. lol. If there was only berries to eat for the rest of my life...I would be one happy berry juice covered chick. Yep!

Yesterday when out on our family day adventures with my sister and her little ones we walked into a wall of the most beautiful British strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.

*drool*
The smell was intoxicating and made both mine and my sisters mouths water instantly.  It was a really hard decision to make..it took us all of..erm...six seconds to fill our trolleys with them. Mine, with the addition of a beautiful bag of the deepest red apples I have ever seen..in fact I would say they were purple! And also a good bag of Kiwi..summer is finally here folks. lol

Gratuitous Berry Shot 1!
Can you smell them? Delish...
I love berries just as they come..well rinsed! I get so sad when people smother them in sugar. And part of the joy of eating raspberries is the whole shudder factor when you encounter a sharp one!

Gratuitous Berry Shot 2!
These jewels were large and just sweet
Perfect!
A good vegan vanilla ice cream scooped on top of a tumbling pile of berries is heaven...and raspberries served on the side on my chocolate cake...nirvana! Blueberries I can eat anytime of the day..as little snacks..I love when the crisp skins pop on my tongue and you get hit with that wonderful blueberry powerhouse of flavour.

Gratuitous Berry Shot 3!
Did someone say Blueberries??? huh? HUH! lol
Right...where was I? Brunch! Yes! Sorry went over to the berryside there for a while. lol. Today I had the most blissful and delicious brunch ever. Now it looks sweet but apart from the natural sweetness of the berries there really isn't anything competing. The pancakes are cooked quite thin and are simply just a lovely base to serve the berries over and compliment them. Today I was inspired to add a drizzle of vanilla vegan yoghurt and it worked so well. As I ate this meal I was lifted from the urghness I'm in health wise right now..and I could feel the healing goodness from the berries being absorbed into every cell. To say I was smiling whilst eating this meal is a slight understatement. lol And as ever thank you to ML for getting up and making the pancakes and putting things together for me.

Berries and pancakes served with a decaf espresso...Happy Red!!! lol
An Abundance of Berries over Vegan Pancakes
(Pancake recipe the creation of Isa Chandra Moskowitz from Vegan Brunch!)

1 punnet of cleaned strawberries, halved or quartered
1 punnet of cleaned raspberries
1 punnet of cleaned blueberries

A tbsp per person of vanilla vegan yoghurt..for drizzle

Pancakes: (makes 10 pancakes)

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of plain vegan milk of your choice
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat a large skillet over a med/high heat for at least 2 minutes (and up to 5).

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the centre and add the oil, water, milk, maple and vanilla. Mix until the ingredients are just combined. A few lumps in the batter are just fine.

Coat the skillet with a little oil. Pour the pancakes one at a time and cook on the first side until bubbles form and the pancake looks somewhat dry...approx. 3 mins. Then flip and cook for a further minute.

Gratuitous Pancake Shot! lol
As you can see much thinner than standard American pancakes.
Assembly:

Select the required amount of pancakes by each person and arrange on the plate. Generously scoop the mixed berries over them and then drizzle the vanilla yoghurt over the berries and serve.

The brunch complete...berries and pancakes...and a beautiful
decaf espresso. (Ignore the stuff in the glass its just meds..lol)
And enjoy every blissful mouthful folks...food of the Goddesses!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that your Sunday has been filled with happiness...

~Red~

NB: As always a huge thank you to Isa Chandra Moskowitz for her fantastic recipes and the inspiration she has become to the vegan cooks out there. You rock chick! ~R~