Breakfast Rice with Fruit

2ÝcupsÝÝÝÝ leftover rice (brown preferred)
1 largeÝÝÝ apple, chopped (about 1 ‡ cups)
2ÝcupsÝÝÝÝ soy, almond, rice or coconut milk
ºÝ cupÝÝÝÝÝ agave nectar
‡ÝÝtspÝÝÝÝÝÝ cinnamon
‡ÝÝcupÝÝÝÝÝ currants or raisins
ºÝÝ cupÝÝÝÝÝ nuts of your choice
DashÝÝÝ salt

Heat the milk in a steel pan or other 4 quart pot. Add all of the ingredients and heat through. Season with salt and serve. You can use any fruit or berries you want. Be creative!

Article courtesy of Susan OíBrien from her book, The Gluten-Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-Free, Animal-Free Recipes, available at Marleneís.

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Fabulous Wheat, Dairy and Egg-Free Pancakes

The following two recipes courtesy of Debra Daniels-Zeller, author of Local Vegetarian Cooking: Inspired Recipes Celebrating Northwest Farms.

Before you start making pancakes, itís helpful to review a few tips.

Follow these proportions when creating your own recipe: 1 cup flour (plus 1 tablespoon tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch for non-gluten flours) 1 cup liquid and 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons leavening.

Sift or mix together dry ingredients, making sure no small lumps remain.

Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch per cup of gluten-free flours.

Beat liquid ingredients separately, making sure liquid is well blended.

Once liquid and dry ingredients are combined, use the batter immediately. The leavening process begins once the dry ingredients are introduced to the liquid.

Use less salt with alternative grain flours. Wheat-free pancakes need additional leavening, which means a little more baking soda or powder, and both contain significant amounts of sodium.

Baking soda is used when an acidic ingredient like apple juice, orange or lemon is added. One-half teaspoon soda is sufficient to counteract the acidity in a recipe. Too much baking soda causes pancakes to taste bitter.

Baking powder contains a small amount of baking soda and only needs liquid to be activated. Double-acting baking powder is activated again with heat.

Preheat griddle for even browning

Measure 1/4 cup of batter per pancake.

When bubbles appear all over the surface and then break, flip the pancake and cook the other side. The first side takes a few minutes longer to cook than the second side.

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Buckwheat-Banana Pancakes

(Makes about ten 3-inch pancakes)

The assertive flavor of buckwheat is balanced by the sweetness of the bananas. You can use regular dairy milk in this recipe, but increase the date sugar by 1 tablespoon. Substitute chocolate for carob in this recipe if you prefer.

1 heaping cup buckwheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs date sugar or organic brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup carob soy or rice milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium mashed banana (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tbs finely chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine or sift all dry ingredients. Mix well. In a blender or with a hand mixer, combine soy or rice milk, vanilla and banana. Combine wet and dry ingredients and spoon onto a preheated griddle. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired. When bubbles appear and break, turn pancakes and cook until lightly browned.

Recipes submitted by Debra Daniels-Zeller, author of Local Vegetarian Cooking: Inspired Recipes Celebrating Northwest Farms (debradanielszeller@clearwire.net).

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Light Lemony Oatcakes

(Makes about ten 3-inch pancakes)

These crepe-like pancakes are a refreshing change of pace on lazy Sunday mornings. Theyíre perfect for rolling up jam fillings, or dusting with powdered sugar. When zesting the lemon, be sure to get only the outside peel. The white part is bitter.

1 cup vanilla soy or rice milk
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 cup old-fashioned oats (or 1 cup oat flour)
1/2 Tbs tapioca flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest (the thinly shredded outer peel of an organic lemon)
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbs nut butter or tahini
1 Tbs maple syrup

Combine soy or rice milk and lemon juice. Set aside. Blend oats in a spice grinder or blender until finely ground. Mix oat flour with tapioca flour, baking powder, soda, lemon zest and salt, making sure there are no small lumps.

Combine milk mixture, tahini and maple syrup in a blender or with a hand blender. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Spoon 1/4 cup onto a preheated griddle. Mixture will be quite thin. When bubbles form and break, turn carefully and cook until lightly browned.

Recipes submitted by Debra Daniels-Zeller, author of Local Vegetarian Cooking: Inspired Recipes Celebrating Northwest Farms (debradanielszeller@clearwire.net).

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