Sweet Potato Pancakes

Life. is. so. crazy.

Eat pancakes, for dinner.

With chocolate chunks.

And coconut butter.

And then get back to your crazy life.

Why is life crazy? Oh, let me count the ways…

I had 7 days, yes 7, off between grad school semesters. And I still had to work, all-day, every day.

Then my (rented) house went on the market, and in the midst of starting up with classes again (3 more credits than past semesters – what.am.i.thinking?) I have to temporarily relocate every few hours, every day.

Including today (I took a “vacation” day to get things done around the house which is now a bust since I can’t).

So I relocated, to the beach… (to read my neuro text, of course.)

And then to the gym.

And then made these before forced to relocate again.

Sweet Potato Pancakes (vegan)

Ingredients:

1/2 c coconut flour

1/2 c unbleached ap flour

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional—I used a sample of a vegan protein)

2 T turbinado sugar (this is a raw sugar—you can use brown sugar if you wish)

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1 1/2 t cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice if you wish)

1 1/2 c almond coconut milk (I accidentally bought sweetened, if yours is unsweetened you may want to increase sugar by a tablespoon or 2)

1 heaping cup of shredded sweet potato (I shredded mine in the food processor, did you know you could do that? I didn’t. No more hand grating for me!)

oil for pan

coconut butter, for topping (optional—but really not)

vegan chocolate chunks, for topping

maple syrup, for topping

Instructions:

Mix all listed ingredients through the almond milk, create “well” and add sweet potato. Mix thoroughly but don’t over mix (I don’t know why but that’s what the pancake pros say). Batter will be thick. Add additional almond milk by the tablespoon if you prefer working with a thinner batter but it’s not necessary.

Heat oil in your skillet (or whatever you use to cook pancakes) to med-high.

Drop batter by 1/4 c onto heated surface. You may want to use the back of your spoon to flatten a bit as the batter is thick and doesn’t spread on the pan. Cook pancakes until done, not sticking to pan and can be flipped. I usually “eyeball” the doneness of my pancakes but usually a few minutes on each side.

Top with a drizzle of coconut butter, sprinkle of dark chocolate chunks and syrup.

Serves 4.

Closet Cooking Inspired: Kimchi (Kim Chee) Sweet Potato Salad

Have you ever tried Kim Chi? Or Kim Chee as it is spelled on this jar I picked up at the store. If not, and you are a fan of all things pickled and spicy, I suggest you give it a try. What is it? I snapped a shot of the ingredient list for those who are unfamiliar.

Chinese cabbage, onion, garlic, ginger, scallion, red pepper, salt, sugar, anchovy sauce. What’s the big deal? Well the vegetables in Kim Chi are fermented and very flavorful by the time you pop open the jar. Kevin has a great photo of Kim Chi. And while you are visiting his site, you can check out the inspiration and recipe for the Kim Chi Sweet Potato Salad I made this weekend.

I made very few changes – his recipe was already incredible. I used double the amount of Kim Chi, added Sriracha to my mayo, subbed regular sesame seeds for toasted and because I couldn’t find “gochujang”, I used regular red chili flakes. Due to the addition of Sriracha and the red chili flakes, this dish was pretty spicy… which I liked. But if you aren’t a huge fan of spicy food, I’d recommend omitting the Sriracha and red chili flakes altogether.

I brought this to a cookout and we enjoyed the leftovers (cold) the next day – still delicious. I will definitely make at least a double batch next time. It’s seriously addictive.

Have you ever had Kim Chi before? If yes, how was it served?

One time I had it on top of a pork-belly slider… I know, right? It was as good as it sounds.

Next order of business: My posts in the next week or so may be even more sporadic than usual. I’m going on vacation! (well I’m going away… it’s ~30% business and ~70% pleasure.) I plan on posting when I can so you can see what shenanigans I’m getting into.

Have a great week!