Gluten-free, egg-free pancakes and the immediacy of Saturday mornings

One of my favorite things to do on a weekend morning, particularly in the lower light of the three seasons-that-are-not-summer in the PNW, is to wake up at a reasonable hour, spin some Simon and Garfunkel, and putter around in the kitchen. This morning, the album of choice is Bridge Over Troubled Water, and I decided to finally try my hand at gluten-free, egg-free pancakes (out of a package—actually, two packages).

I used Arrowhead Mills organic pancake mix, and for the eggs I used Energ-G egg replacer for the first time. I also don't have any milk in the house, and one of the things about Simon and Garfunkel mornings is that the minute you step outside to take out the garbage or borrow sugar from a neighbor or run to the store (which is only three blocks away, in my case) to get some milk, you've broken the magic spell. Once again, one of the joys of being single (for one must claim the joys one can) is that you can do what you want and envelope yourself in a lovely world of your choosing on lonely Saturday mornings. Anyway, I had to use the very last of my powdered milk—a very handy thing to keep around, by the way, for anyone who doesn't keep his or her fridge stocked with milk at all times (and I don't, because it often goes bad when I do).

I whipped up the egg replacer without the benefit of exact science—I have no measuring spoons, and this I should remedy soon—so I made roughly two-ish eggs? and proceeded from there. Cooking in my kitchen is a game of chance and guesswork.

The recipe on the bag called for honey; I thought about replacing it with sugar, which is much cheaper, but now, tasting the pancakes, I'm glad I didn't. The honey gave them a great flavor that complements the surprisingly eggy flavor one expects in pancakes (but which I was surprised to get out of fake eggs) very nicely.

Gluten-free, egg-free pancakes. The picture looks rather lurid in the light—with a greenish hue—because it was taken with my cell phone and on my coffee table (which also serves as my dining table). 

Overall, the pancakes are too heavy, but I think that's owing to my inability (or stubborn refusal) to measure exactly. The first couple pancakes I made in particular will be bricks; when I first made the mixture it was more like airy dough than pancake mix, but after I cooked the first two I got brave and added more and more milk until the mixture was runny as pancake mix should be, with success. So that's an A for Arrowhead Mills pancake mix: Not only do they taste like pancakes, but the process of making them is satisfyingly similar, and the dough is a similar consistency. They are fluffy and browned up in nice pancake-like dapply patterns (as you can see in the picture), though in the center there is that slight grittiness that you get from using rice or potato flour.

And that's a definite A+ for Taste for Energ-G egg replacer, though since this is my first time using them I can't report yet on their consistency or usefulness in doughs that require the other properties of eggs, such as the fluffing factor or the sticking factor.

I topped the pancakes with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, my favorite light spread with a stupifyingly horrible name, and Safeway Organics maple syrup, which is a bit runny but a nice price for those of us who just make a living wage.

I have coffee percolating on the stovetop, fake flames dancing in the fake gas stove, and the real deal playing on my record player. The wind outside is howling and I have a million things to do today, but these concerns only lend to my awareness of these walls and this immediate moment and make me grateful for my winter cocoon.