flour power!

as you may or may not know. i love maple syrup. maple syrup is nature's way of saying "congrats for having figured out the process of boiling sap, humans!" sooo clever of us! (taking credit from historic humans who are too dead to defend themselves...that's super honourable).
now, i know i've waxed poetic in these virtual pages about crepes and pancakes and waffles in the past, but today i want to offer a couple of options that get the syrup in your mouth without any wheat. maple syrup a la gluten free.


sometimes it sounds like a lame diet excuse, but gluten intolerance and celiac disease are for reals. i suffer from neither, but i know that some people do, and that it can put limitations on your diet when you aren't able to eat any of the many food items that contain gluten (the protein in wheat, barley, and rye).
so, without further ado, i present you with your breakfast menu options:


1) oat n' flax pancakes

2) vegan buckwheat crepes

oats don't officially contain gluten, but are often cross-contaminated by other gluten-containing products. unless they are tested to have less than a zilllionth of a percent of gluten (not the actual number), then they aren't technically allowed to be called "gluten free". check your labels.
anyway, i use a coffee grinder (which has probably ground up everything BUT coffee) to crush my rolled oats into a nice fine oat flour. this process takes about 3 seconds. i then add an egg, oil, milk, cinnamon, and baking powder. voila, pancake batter. you know what to do from there, right? i'll give you a hint, it starts with an 's' and rhymes with 'kill it'.


egg is another thing that people are sometimes allergic to. so, if you're someone who's body has decided to reject the world's offerings of protein, you can shove yourself full of these vegan buckwheat crepes and then look down at your tummy and say "take that!", that's what i'd do.


the tricky part is finding an analog for eggs. eggs are a pretty special contribution to baking and cooking. 
because of their incredible rising and binding properties they are essential to creating fluffy masses of edible thing. but as the next best thing... i used ground flax (thanks coffee grinder!) to which i added some water and, with a fork, whipped up into a 'mucus' (thanks for the advice and the choice in words mom!). the flax goop can be used as an egg substitute. you can also use mashed bananas, but alas, i chose wisely to save those for making choco-chip banana bread.
add the gooey flax to some buckwheat flour (c-g. back at it!) *buckwheat, also known as soba or kasha, is, despite its wildly misleading name, not a wheat in any way. it's a seed, and has a sweet, almond-like flavour. 
Mix with water or soy/almond milk, oil, and cinnamon. then pour and gently spread around on a super hot pan. flip. remove. consume with fresh strawberries and the good stuff.
if you like to use your coffee grinder to grind coffee, then feel free to buy oat and buckwheat flour at your local bulk/health food store.


see ya swheaties.