1. Marionberry Pancakes After watching the latest season of Portlandia on Netflix, I really, really wanted to make some marionberry pancakes. We don’t live in Oregon, though, so I settled for some blackberry pancakes. Perfect for a late Sunday breakfast right?  I would highly suggest serving these piping hot with the warm blackberry sauce, and walnuts and cold fresh berries on the side. Add pure maple syrup if you want extra sugar. Drink some chilled peachy tea along with it. Any way we ate them, everyone in our household loved them! Pancake ingredients: 1 cup flour 1 tbsp baking powder a heaping pinch of salt 1 cup non dairy milk (we like almond or coconut, but soy will also work) 2 tbsp canola (or vegetable) oil 1 tbsp agave nectar (or any other sweet liquid, apple cider would be good with this recipe) 1/3 cup finely chopped walnutss 1 tsp vanilla extract How to make the pancakes: Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together in the same bowl - lumps are okay. (Don’t overmix or you’ll get really flat pancakes.) Gently fold in the walnuts. Grease a flat pan (we use non-dairy margarine) and turn the heat to medium high. Pour on the pancake batter and let cook until bubbles start to form in the center of each pancake. Flip and let cook on the other side until golden brown. This recipe makes enough for about 10-12 pancakes. How to make the blackberry sauce: Toss 3 cups blackberries into a food processor or blender and blend them until they’re a consistent liquid. Pour the blackberry sauce into a pan, and set the heat to medium. Add in the juice of half a lemon and half a grapefruit if you dig extra flavor. Also add in 2 tbsp sugar (we use turbinado sugar.) Heat until it’s combined and warm, but not burning hot. Serve warm.
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    Marionberry Pancakes

    After watching the latest season of Portlandia on Netflix, I really, really wanted to make some marionberry pancakes. We don’t live in Oregon, though, so I settled for some blackberry pancakes. Perfect for a late Sunday breakfast right?

    Read More

    January 20, 2013
  2. baked bourbon apples with maple cinnamon walnuts these are so easy to make, but look spectacular to a group of friends and/or family. if you don’t consume alcohol you can easily substitute the bourbon with some flavored agave or apple or pear juice. core some apples, one per person is enough. if you don’t have an apple corer, just use a paring knife. be careful not to poke through the bottom, though! place the apples in a baking pan, or in individual ramekins. in the center holes you just created, pour in each: 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, 1 tbsp bourbon*, and 1 tbsp apple cider. if it spills out, don’t worry about it at all - it’s good to have some liquid in the pan here. (*you can use a non-alcoholic alternative as mentioned above. if you’re out of bourbon but still want the alcohol, you can freely use amaretto, wine, or brandy. [apple brandy would be especially good in this!]) sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the tops of the apples, and stick a whole cinnamon stick in the liquid of each. bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft but not mushy. a few minutes before the apples are done, make the walnuts. pour into a small sautee pan about 1/3 cup walnuts per person you’re serving.  drizzle maple syrup over them and dust on some cinnamon. stirring constantly, let them cook on medium heat for just a few minutes. let cool on some parchment paper until the apples are done. to serve, place each hot apple in a bowl and cut it into slices. sprinkle the walnuts over top and enjoy!
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    baked bourbon apples with maple cinnamon walnuts

    these are so easy to make, but look spectacular to a group of friends and/or family. if you don’t consume alcohol you can easily substitute the bourbon with some flavored agave or apple or pear juice.

    1. core some apples, one per person is enough. if you don’t have an apple corer, just use a paring knife. be careful not to poke through the bottom, though!
    2. place the apples in a baking pan, or in individual ramekins.
    3. in the center holes you just created, pour in each: 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, 1 tbsp bourbon*, and 1 tbsp apple cider. if it spills out, don’t worry about it at all - it’s good to have some liquid in the pan here. (*you can use a non-alcoholic alternative as mentioned above. if you’re out of bourbon but still want the alcohol, you can freely use amaretto, wine, or brandy. [apple brandy would be especially good in this!])
    4. sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the tops of the apples, and stick a whole cinnamon stick in the liquid of each.
    5. bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft but not mushy.

    a few minutes before the apples are done, make the walnuts.

    1. pour into a small sautee pan about 1/3 cup walnuts per person you’re serving. 
    2. drizzle maple syrup over them and dust on some cinnamon.
    3. stirring constantly, let them cook on medium heat for just a few minutes.
    4. let cool on some parchment paper until the apples are done.

    to serve, place each hot apple in a bowl and cut it into slices. sprinkle the walnuts over top and enjoy!

    December 5, 2011
  3. since our vegan ice cream post turned out to be a huge hit (our most noted post yet!) i thought we’d follow it up with different versions. this one is simple, just like the chocolate recipe: just add in chopped walnuts when processing in your food processor/blender, and sprinkle some brown sugar on top for a little extra sweetness. it’s like a dessert version of banana nut pancakes mmmm after some feedback from the original post, i’m going to add a few extra tips to make your ice cream perfect every time. the concept of the ice cream is simple, but so is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - and those can be made terribly, if you don’t know what you’re doing. my two extra tips: choose bananas that are a little spotty. green bananas are a little bitter, and aren’t suited for dessert. slice them up when the skin starts to turn brown. do not over-process! this will turn the soft-serve texture into runny, mushy baby food texture. good luck, and we hope you find it as tasty as we do!
    High Res

    since our vegan ice cream post turned out to be a huge hit (our most noted post yet!) i thought we’d follow it up with different versions.

    this one is simple, just like the chocolate recipe: just add in chopped walnuts when processing in your food processor/blender, and sprinkle some brown sugar on top for a little extra sweetness. it’s like a dessert version of banana nut pancakes mmmm

    after some feedback from the original post, i’m going to add a few extra tips to make your ice cream perfect every time. the concept of the ice cream is simple, but so is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - and those can be made terribly, if you don’t know what you’re doing. my two extra tips:

    1. choose bananas that are a little spotty. green bananas are a little bitter, and aren’t suited for dessert. slice them up when the skin starts to turn brown.
    2. do not over-process! this will turn the soft-serve texture into runny, mushy baby food texture.

    good luck, and we hope you find it as tasty as we do!

    March 29, 2011