My heart is heavy this morning. Our little Sketchie cat is going through a surgery right now. It broke my heart saying good-bye this morning. He has no idea what he’s in for, what he will wake up to, and have to recover from. I haven’t written much about Sketchie’s bowel problems (most likely because it doesn’t tie into the topic of food very well!), but our vet suspects that he has Irritable Bowel Disease. Many days he is running to get to his litter box in time. I won’t get into details, but it’s so sad to watch. His problems were there as a kitten and have gotten worse over the years. We’ve tried relentlessly to find a cure for his problems – grain-free food, the raw food diet, single protein food sources, pumpkin, probiotics – you name it, and nothing seemed to help for long and he’s also extremely picky with food so that complicates things too. He has had blood work and stool testing galore! I feel so bad for him because he obviously doesn’t understand what is going on with his body.
Our vet recommended that Sketchie have exploratory surgery where they will take a biopsy of his intestines, examine his organs, and look for anything unusual like cancer. If we just put him on medication it might cover up a serious problem that’s going on, so we decided it was best to know what’s really going on inside him. His recent blood work came back that he has low B12 which could be a result of IBD or it could be due to something more serious like lymphoma. The hardest part about this decision is that we don’t know for sure if it will end up finding a solution to his problem, but we figure it’s worth a shot for his long-term health and happiness. We really don’t know what else to do at this point. One thing is for sure; this wacky, quirky little cat has left such a mark on my heart, I can’t imagine my life without him and I would do anything to help him.
The house feels so empty and quiet this morning (there’s no one rubbing his head on my computer screen right now or meowing at me!), but I know he’s in great hands. And he will be spoiled and taken care of 24/7 when he’s home, so hopefully his recovery goes well. I’ll keep you posted on how he’s doing. Hopefully he doesn’t hate us too much, especially with that cone around his head and mystery incision.
There’s no good way to transition into a pancake recipe today, but let’s just go with it. I need a little comfort food right about now! I made these pancakes for Eric and I after the hockey game on Sunday to celebrate the Olympics. It was an event we looked forward to for weeks and I couldn’t think of a better way to treat ourselves. It’s been a LONG time since I wrote about pancakes on this blog…too long, in fact! Hopefully this makes up for lost time.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Easy Vegan and Gluten-Free Pancakes (Strawberry Shortcake + Whipped Cream)
Yield
9 pancakes
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These vegan pancakes are made with raw buckwheat flour, rice flour, and arrowroot flour - making them naturally gluten-free - and chopped bananas are folded into the batter to provide a fluffy, pillow-like texture. You can enjoy them plain (they are seriously really good without anything added!), or you can get fancy and serve them with some coconut whipped cream, fresh berries, vegan butter, and/or maple syrup. The sky is the limit, pancake lovers. They are also fantastic with some finely chopped chocolate thrown into the batter or blueberries! You can tell I’ve made this recipe a lot! One word of caution: The combination of gluten-free flour is sensitive to changes. I don’t recommend subbing any of the flours with oat flour, for example - it tends to create a pancake that cracks, sticks to the pan, and falls apart. I don’t have any issues with this recipe when I follow it as written and use a non-stick skillet though. This recipe is adapted from my Vanilla Blueberry Buckwheat pancakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw buckwheat groats, ground into a fine flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1.5 cups + 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or agave nectar)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup diced ripe bananas (about 2 small/medium)
- Coconut Whipped Cream, for garnish
- Chopped Fresh Strawberries, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. A drop of water should sizzle on the skillet when it’s ready.
- In a blender, blend the buckwheat groats on high speed until a fine flour forms. Place into a large bowl. Now whisk in the rest of the dry ingredients (rice flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, syrup, and vanilla extract. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and whisk the batter until no clumps remain.
- Dice the banana until it's the size of peas or a bit larger. Fold the diced banana into the batter.
- Lightly grease skillet (I spray olive oil on it). Scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of batter onto the preheated skillet and quickly spread the batter out into a circle. Cook until some bubbles appear and the edge looks deeper in colour and more firm. Flip and cook for another couple minutes until golden. Adjust heat as needed. Repeat for the other pancakes. I spray the skillet with oil before each pancake is cooked and this seems to work well.
- Stack and serve with Coconut Whipped Cream and fresh chopped strawberries, if desired. Or simply serve with pure maple syrup!
Tip:
- If using frozen blueberries, pour batter onto skillet first and then top with blueberries to prevent bleeding.
- I tried subbing the rice flour for oat flour and the pancakes stuck to the pan, so I would advise against that substitution.
- If at any time your batter is too thick or if you want thinner pancakes, simply thin it out with a splash or two of almond milk.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Lastly, I want to thank all of you who have let me know you received the cookbook a bit early (Indigo is shipping early and stocking the book in some stores, FYI). I’ve received so many tweets from you sharing pictures of the book in your home, recipes you’ve already made, and the like. It’s really brightened up my week and I’m so grateful for your excitement and support. One week from today, the book will be officially released and out in the world. I feel nervous, excited, anxious, scared, and grateful all at once.
Don’t forget, if you haven’t taken advantage of the Bonus Recipe Bundle with 10 bonus recipes you can still do so until next week. Details here.
Now go on and treat yourself to some pancakes!
I made these today and they were fabulous! I even reduced the buckwheat flour to 1/2 cup and used a combination of coconut flour, almond flour, and GF flour since it was what I had in the house, then threw in a few kale leaves for fun, and they were still fluffy and tender! Thanks again for a great recipe, and I hope your sweet cat is doing better!
I can relate to your kitty issues. We’ve been through such heartbreaking kitty trauma the past few years. One unexpected death and another with mystery illnesses resulting in ultrasounds, biospies, surgeries. These babies are part of our hearts and our lives. I pray that Sketchie is okay, that you receive positive news, and that your heart will be at peace. One piece of advice that encourages me…pets live in the now. We are here to make their now as happy as we can. When he’s back in your home with you he won’t be thinking about his experience at the vet. He’ll just be happy to have you snuggle him. :)
My boyfriend gave me your cookbook on Tuesday for my birthday. I was so surprised, because I didn’t think it came out anywhere until March. I can’t wait to read every single recipe inside!
I hope Sketchie is okay!! I’m thinking of all of you!! I’ll call on my Angel cats to watch over Sketchie today and going forward.
thanks for a great site.
^^
Meow
I received your cookbook this week. It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to dive into it this weekend.
Congratulations on the fabulous work!
Thoughts and prayers for Sketchie and your family. Hoping he gets better soon! :)
I love pancakes – make them almost every weekend – I also love vegan food – but have not been able to make a really satisfying vegan pancake to date. I will try yours and see how it goes. Thanks!
People have been getting they’re books early? Where’s mine? I pre-ordered last year
Hope your Sketchie will be fine. I have a chocolate lab that goes almost everywhere with me. She is my best companion. She had a stomach problem for about a year and I fed her a poached chicken, rice and pumpkin combination. Then poof! all of a sudden she was fine. Sending healthy thoughts your way.
I’m sorry, dear heart. Sending you, Sketchie, and Eric love and hugs. xo
Giving your pet to the vet (even though it is for the best) is always really hard but it is such a relief when you KNOW what is going on with them. My cat Barb had some serious fur loss and my vet did a biopsy on her to find the source of the problem. Turns out she just needed to change her diet. Relief! I hope all goes well with your kitty and it turns out to be something completely manageable for you, your kitty and family. Best of luck!
Sorry to hear about Sketchie. I myself have Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It sucks. From what I’ve heard, animals with it are generally treated with prednisone or some other corticosteroid. It certainly helps us humans with it. Hope everything turns out well. Best wishes from me and my four kitties.
Everyone around me is craving strawberry shortcake lately – this will be a nice healthy surprise for them!
I made these and they were absolutely delicious. I’ve made so many different gluten-free vegan pancakes and been disappointed more often than not. When I saw your recipe, I was so excited. The pancakes turned out wonderfully. Many recipes use a ton of different types of flour and they don’t even turn out good, your recipe is proof that simple is sometimes better. My sister also said it’s nice to be able to eat pancakes and then not feel sick after… gluten-free is great!
Many gluten free vegan pancakes are dry, flat, gooey or just don’t cook properly. These pancakes are just what pancakes should be, moist, fluffy, cooked all the way through. I really enjoyed them.
Cannot wait to go out and buy your cookbook!
Also, really sorry to hear about Sketchie! Just last weekend I had to take my Chase to the vet for a similar problem – worst part is that even after doing everything they said (changing his litter box, changing his food and forcing pills) he wasn’t any better. A little online research pointed me to Pumpkin and (for now) he seems to be doing a lot better. Keep us posted on Sketchies progress – he’s definitely my second favourite reason for reading your blog :)
Hoping & praying that Sketchie gets better soon! And congrats on your cookbook – just got notified that my copy shipped :)
Just made these for shrove Tuesday and they were out of this world! Thank you for such an incredibly delicious recipe.
Lovely, I usually cook pancakes from veganyumyum.com but I will definitely try yours, looks sooo amazing!
Oh no. I’ve read through all the comments and no news on Sketchie. My heart aches and my own kitties are wondering what has happened with Sketchie.