Recipes, Old and New

This morning's breakfast? Johnnycakes!!!
In an effort to clean out the 'fridge and freezer, there hasn't been too much excitement going on in our kitchen the past couple of days. Lots of leftovers and simple fixes. Today, when I woke, I knew that grocery shopping was high on the list, but something tummy warming and satisfying for breakfast was higher. So, what did I come up with using only the basic staples found in my barren pantry? Johnnycakes!

I've never been much of a pancake fan, but I love all things corn. Johnnycakes were the precursor to pancakes, from back in the 1700's, when Native Americans taught English settlers how to prepare them. This recipes is not totally traditional, but it's veganized, yummy, and full of corn-y goodness. They need something to make them a little sweet as there is no sweetner in this recipe, so I've found that a tablespoon of pure maple syrup per serving is the perfect accompaniment:

1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp non-aluminum baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt 3/4 c. nondairy milk (i use soy)
1 tsp corn oil or canola oil

Mix flour, cornmeal, nutritional yeast, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. pour milk and oil into dry ingredients, and stir them together to make a batter. let the batter rest for about five minutes, then stir again. Mist large iron (or nonstick) skillet with canola spray and heat on medium heat. when skillet is hot, spoon batter onto skillet using 2Tbs for each cake. spread out each cake a bit using back of spoon. cook cakes until bottoms are golden, flip and cook that side until golden as well. serve with maple syrup and a side of fresh fruit.
this should make about 8-10 cakes.
Per Serving: Cal 229, Prot 8gm, fat 3gm, carb 43gm

Once the 'fridge was restocked, I dove in to try Dreena's (from Vive le Vegan!) Creamy Orange-Poppy Seed Dressing on a spinach salad:
(fresh baby spinach, cucumber, shredded carrot, red onion, diced yellow pepper, sliced apple, walnuts, and some tomato)

and then her Sunflower Lentil Pie, complete with Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce drizzled on top of it
I LOVED the poppy seed dressing when I tasted it after whipping it up. It is light and creamy and orange-y and YUM! Once on my salad, though, it kind of lost something. I used fresh squeezed orange juice and not anything from concentrate, so I'm not sure if the oranges I used just weren't flavorful enough? It might be better just as a simple dip, the way mine came out. Been thinking I'll maybe squeeze some more OJ tomorrow and thin it with that (it's also rather thick) to see if that helps.

The lentil pie is to. die. for. Granted, I'm a sucker for all things lentil, but this recipe is certainly a keeper and will be made again! Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of tahini or tahini based sauces, but this one is light enough to just give the pie that extra liquid it needs and a flavor (with a mustardy kick) that stands out without competing. I would like to use her other suggestion of topping it with Balsamic-Garlic Flax Oil, perhaps, the next time I make it as that's much more my kind of flavor combo.