Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Pancakes

New Year, new blog!

For our first breakfast of the year, I veganized a staple of my childhood: oatmeal buttermilk pancakes. These always seemed like such a special treat because you have to--get this--START THEM THE NIGHT BEFORE. oooOOOoOoooo. Well, perhaps my frame of reference is off because of all the crazy holiday food I've made over the last six weeks, but these were really simple and hassle-free.

They have a different texture than diner-style fluffy pancakes--they're far more dense, but they're not heavy. They taste really healthy but not in any kind of unflavorful way.

Onward:

OLD-FASHIONED OATMEAL PANCAKES

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups soymilk (plus up to 3 tablespoons extra)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
6 Tablespoons water
1/4 cup margarine, melted and cooled back to room temperature
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the soymilk and the apple cider vinegar and set it aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled. Add the oats and stir to blend well. Cover and chill overnight.

In the morning, prepare the margarine. Whisk together the flaxseeds and water in a small bowl and let it sit for a few minutes to get goopy. [highly technical vegan cooking terms here, people.] Add the flaxseed mixture, melted margarine and raisins (if using) to the oatmeal mixture, and stir just to blend.

In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to oat mixture and stir just until moistened. The batter will be very thick and sticky; if it seems
way too thick you can stir in up to 3 more tablespoons of soymilk. (you might need to test a few pancakes to figure out if the batter is not spreading easily on the griddle and needs the extra soymilk.)

Use 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. You'll probably need to help the batter spread out a bit so that the pancakes are not too thick; just kind of encourage them outwards with a spoon. Cook on a lightly greased pre-heated griddle or in a lightly grease frying pan over medium-high heat until pancakes are brown on the bottom and bubbles break on top. Turn and cook until browned. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen pancakes.

...no photos because I have no good food-photographing camera. yet.