Week of Vegan. Day 4, Friday.

Breakfast: 
- buckwheat pancakes with banana and maple syrup*
- tea

Lunch: 

- big salad (salad greens, quinoa, nori, smoked almonds, sesame seeds, dressing)*

- nectarine

Dinner: 

- corn tortillas, red cabbage slaw*, black beans, sautéed kale and salsa fresca

- mango

There's a bag of buckwheat pancake and waffle mix that I'm fairly certain has been at the back of my baking supplies cupboard since I moved into my house over 8 years ago. Today I decided it was time to throw it out or use it, so I used it. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. I got a well-formed pancake that only stuck to the pan in the way that all of my pancakes stick to the pan. It had a dark color and a rich flavor, perfect with bananas and ample syrup. Begin by heating a small skillet with plenty of cooking oil (I used canola). Measure and stir 1 cup of pancake mix, 1 cup non-dairy milk, 2 tbsp canola oil, 1 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt. If you don't have pancake mix, used 1 cup of flour and 2 tbsp of baking powder. Make sure that the batter isn't lumpy, then pour it into the skillet and spread it to the edges with a spatula. My pancakes needed to be cooked on on side for about 3 minutes before flipping and cooking for an additional minute on the other side. Makes two thick pancakes. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my friends Brock and Heather told me that they make a point of eating a big salad for dinner at least once a week. So, I always think of them when I'm figuring out which combination of veggies I can throw together to make a satisfying meal. Todays salad was really quick to prepare. Toss together 1 cup of salad greens, 1 cup of quinoa, 2 sheets of torn nori, 2 tsp of toasted sesame oil, 2 tsp rice wine vinegar and 2 tsp of soy sauce. Top with sesame seeds and smoked almonds. 

Red cabbage slaw has to be an all-time easy favorite for getting some color on your plate. Chop the cabbage, sprinkle with salt and vinegar, and leave it in the fridge for a few hours before serving. This goes with all kinds of meals an keeps in the fridge up ages, up to 5 days. Feel free to add carrots and onions, or get creative by adding fruit or jalapeños.  

After thought: I stayed up much later than I meant to and ended up getting hungry for something sugary around midnight. I figured it would be a good time to try out a quick new recipe for microwave coconut pudding cake. Unfortunately, it did not turn out well. It didn't look attractive and the texture was all wrong. Don't try this at home.