Breakfast | littlesillychef

Looking for a hearty breakfast or lunch? This is a perfect one.

Since I have started to dabble with gluten-free cooking, I have been looking to experiment with different kinds of flour. My gluten-free baking goods turned out pretty good. Well, to my benefit, I had an excellent recipe book to help me with that.

But I also wanted to try using a gluten-free flour in a salty dish. This is my first experience using chikpea flour and the result turned out to be quite interesting. I thought it tasted like an omelet, and my husband confirmed that as well, once he tasted it. Although, I am not going to take credit for this recipe, as I stole it from another recipe post (Oh she glows!) with some minor modifications.

Veggie pancake

1 green onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped spinach leaves
1/2 cup chickpea flour (or garbanzo flour)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup of water

For serving
– 1/2 of an avocado
– 1/2 cup of tomatoes cut in cubes
– 1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion
– 1 clove of garlic, crushed
– fresh basil leaves

Cut the veggies finely and reserve aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Add the water and whisk until there are no clumps left. Add in the veggies and mix it all.

Heat a non-stick pan, or spray/rub a pan with oil. Pour in all the batter and spread out to fill out the pan. Cook for 5-6 min on one side and carefully flip it and cook for another 5 min. Transfer to a plate

Make a salsa with the tomatoes and onions. Saute the onions and the garlic with a squirt of vegetable oil. When the onions start to soften, add in the tomatoes and cook until they are slightly soft.

Serve the pancake with the sliced avocado, salsa and some fresh basil leaves.

I am a big fan of breakfast. But on weekdays, it is hard for me to get a decent one as I usually tend to stay in bed (partially because a 3 year old little man does not let me get out of bed and snuggles me real hard) until I have just enough time to shower, get dressed and go. So, making something I can take with me is my best chance of avoiding to stop for a big sweet muffin at 7-eleven and instead eat something a bit more healthy as my first meal of the day.

These breakfast bars are perfect for that kind of “on the go” breakfast but they are also good for a snack. Heck, they are good anytime!

This recipe originally asked for dates but I substituted it to raisin, and the result is a lightly sweet, energy-packed chewy goodness.

Chewy breakfast bars

3/4 cups of rolled oats, ground to flour
1/4 cup of gluten free flour
1 cup of water
3/4 cup of raisins
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries- finely chopped
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 325°F. Line a square pan with two sheets of parchment paper crossing each other.
Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until it is the texture of flour. Transfer to oat flour to a bowl.
Add the water and raisins to the blender and blend until it is smooth. Add this to the bowl of oat flour. Add all the residual ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

Transfer the mix to the pan and evenly spread it. Bake for 20min until it is not soft anymore. Rest for 5 min and lift it out the pan using the parchments papers and place on a cooling rack for 10-15 min before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. I individually wrap them in plastic film to they can be transported more easily.