I woke up last Saturday to a note from my husband requesting pancakes for breakfast (for a friend who was visiting). Um ok, I thought…what do we have to make that happen? (not any kind of “pancake mix” (we rarely have that and if we do, it’s probably something multigrain) and not much maple syrup either, as it turned out) I’m calling this the pantry/fridge challenge because it’s a series of recipes developed from items we just happen to have lying around in the pantry, and a few things from the fridge.

Note: you can play the pantry/fridge challenge too. leave  comment with an ingredient you want a recipe for.

The pancakes were light, fluffy, and entirely non-traditional. They were primarily made of almond flour with a little oat flour thrown in. I had some ricotta and some coconut milk half used, so both of those things went in too. As did some coconut flakes and spices.

♣ The Ingredients

• 1 C almond meal (in this case sliced almonds I ground)
• 1 C oat flour (steel cut oats that I also ground)
• 1/4 C coconut flour
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 4 oz part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 T flax seeds
• 2 eggs
• 1 T shredded coconut
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• cinnamon
• allspice
• vanilla
• cardamom (a pinch, ground)
• water if needed

 The Method

1. Grind the almond and oat flours if you need to (I used a spice grinder). Add to a bowl, along with the coconut flour and flax seed
2. Add in the ricotta cheese and eggs and stir around
3. Add in coconut milk
4. Add in your spices and shredded coconut.
5. heat your griddle(s) to medium high (lower after it begins to sizzle). I use two to maximize space/minimize cooking time
6. If your batter is too thick, thin it out with a little water
7. My griddle allowed me to pour out four ladles worth of batter on each at a time. (probably about 3-4 inch pancakes)
8. I transfer to a tupperware container lined with a towel and cover between batches
9. I served with apple butter