Pancakes in the Jungle

Another breakfast in the Ecaudorian jungle, but not pancakes

When I went to Ecuador last year, the tour company warned me that the jungle homestay may be challenging for a vegan. They make the food, and there are no restaurants for miles around, so I was a little worried. I brought extra food with me, as I always do, in case I was stuck in the middle of nowhere watching everyone else eat hot food while I finished my plate of fruit and stared forlornly at the kitchen.
Instead, the homestay family fed me like royalty. I even had pancakes. Vegan pancakes in a shack in rural Ecuador, can you believe it?? Sadly I did not get a picture of the most surprising pancakes I ever had--I was still in shock after our tour guide brought down another plate of pancakes and put them down in front of me saying, "No an-ee-mal." And I may also have eaten them too quickly to take a picture.
I still have a lot of travelling to do, and I hope I am never held back because of what I can or can't eat--and I hope I'll be pleasantly surprised.

(Road) Avocado: family pancake breakfast

Today's post requires little in the way of explanation: vegan fluffy pancake breakfast. I offered to make pancakes on Saturday, since I was at my parents' with family on the weekend. Later, when I was thanked for cooking most of the meals, I just admitted it's easier. I would end up cooking for myself anyway, and I cook cook for everyone we can all eat the same thing.
The first recipe I found called for flax seeds--which were nowhere to be found. I looked high and low in the kitchen and could not find any. So I googled "vegan fluffy pancakes" and found this recipe. And they were in fact fluffy, as promised! And since my parents live in the Land of Maple Syrup, there was plenty of delicious real maple syrup to eat with the pancakes. It was a good breakfast.

Seize your whisks, my vegans!

I made choclate pancakes last week. No big deal, of course, I just MODIFIED A RECIPE! Which is a big deal for me. When it comes to standard dishes I have learned to follow the recipe the first couple times I make it, then modify away. Leek and bean cassoulet (from Veganomicon, I think?) was modified from the first time I made it. I know, I'm such a vegan foodie bad-ass!
But with baked goods, I hesitate to change a thing. The first time I subbed cornstarch for tapioca flour, I googled like crazy. I see cookbook authors and adventurous friends going crazy qwith experimentation, and I feel envy. So when I made pancakes last weekend, I went crazy too. I added 2 tablespoons cocoa powder to the recipe. It was great! I added blueberry sauce too, becuase blueberry-choclate combo is music to my tongue. So I think we should experiment more. But a word of advice--start small, with single batches only, or you could be eating your mistakes for days. Seize your whisks, my vegans!