Aloha Pancakes

It’s Saturday night, when lots of people unwind, party or just lay beached-whale-style on the couch and stare at the tube. It’s also a perfect time for…
Breakfast for Dinner!
I am seriously dreaming of vacationing close to the coast, but our work schedules aren’t allowing for that anytime soon. Why not bring the coast to us, in a town deemed the Heart of Texas? Heart of Texas, shortened H.O.T., and that it is. No coast, a couple of rivers and a fake lake (ok, Army Corps created). We’re at 100 degree days. Boy, do we need a little coastal comfort.
These pancakes were thrown together, and I’m pleasantly surprised with the outcome. These are some of my favorite fruits, and I hope you like them, too. Normally, warm pineapple is not my thing, but this worked well. 2 notes:
1) Toasted coconut would be tasty in this, but a certain lady caught her toaster oven on fire tonight while trying to do so. Shocked the smoke alarm didn’t go off. Hope you’re toasting goes better.
2) Fresh fruit is ideal (especially when fresh pineapples are $2 right now at our grocery!) but canned works, too.

Aloha Pancakes
serves 4, 16 3-inch pancakes

Fruit-filled pancakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup bread flour (or all-purpose)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
1/3 cup chopped coconut
1/3 cup shredded coconut (sweet or un)
1/4 cup chopped cherries (8 cherries)
1 medium banana, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Optional other ingredients: 1/4 cup chocolate chips, chopped macedamia nuts, or chopped mango

Tools needed: skillet/pan for pancakes, 2 medium bowls, 1 large spoon, 1 spatula, can of nonstick spray

It really is a pretty batter, trust me 🙂

Steps:
1) Heat a skillet or pan to medium-high heat. In a medium bowl, stir the first 5 ingredients until well blended.


2) In a second bowl, stir almond extract, milk and egg until combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and blend. Fold in fruits until well blended. If batter is too thick for your liking, add milk, 2 TB at a time.


3) Spoon 3 TB or so of batter to make a small pancake (bigger will take much longer to cook). Wait until bubbles and flip, cooking for 3 more minutes or so. 

Melty banana and pineapple in the middle
I hope you like these little flapjacks. They took me to a happy place as I daydreamed of breezy beaches and ukulele serenades over dinner. Happy vacationing over a fun breakfast meal next to the shore or at your own kitchen table.
Little Jeweled Pieces of Paradise…I hope
A little trivia…
~Spanish explorers discovered and named the coconut “Coco,” meaning monkey face, because of the 3 indentations resembling a face.
~Falling coconuts kills over 150 people a year, about 10 times the rate of people killed by sharks. Strange.
~You can make coconut butter (a wonderful spread on toast, in baking, etc.) by putting shredded coconut into a food processor and blending until it becomes a creamy, smooth consistency. It’s a $1.50 solution to avoiding the $10 jar of coconut butter in health food stores.
 
~Laurel~

Coconut Tropics Salad

Over the next couple of months, you’ll see quite a few salads, both savory and sweet. Here’s another, with toasted coconut and fruits that you probably already have in your produce drawer.

Coconut Tropics Salad
*8 servings*
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
2 red apples
1 green apple
1 lime
1 pear
1 banana
1 mango
2 navel oranges
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds (optional)

Sprinkle coconut and almonds on a small baking sheet and put in oven or toaster at 300 degrees F for 7 minutes.
Get out a large bowl. Chop the apples into small bites and toss into bowl. Squeeze half of lime over apples and toss, to prevent browning later.
Next, chop pears and bananas. Toss into bowl with juice of other half of lime. Toss gently.

Then chop mango and oranges, as well as any other fruits you have on hand. Gently toss with other fruits and top with toasted coconut and almonds. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Laurel~

Banana Pie Oatmeal

Remember these? These double banana ‘donuts’ were so tasty in my mout-h, but they’re a bit fussy. So, when a craving for warm banana hit at about 10 the other night, I searched for something quick and easy.

Healthy Slow Cooker had a recipe for Banana Pudding Oatmeal, but who has time to crock pot it so late at night? Not me.

So I altered the recipe for a fun dessert/snack and went from there.

Banana Pie Oatmeal
1 ripe banana, slice into bite-sized rounds
1/3 cup oats
2/3 cup milk (i used unsweetened vanilla soymilk)
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Dash of cinnamon
1 t. agave syrup (to taste)
1 TB sweetened shredded coconut
1 TB choc. chips (optional)

Making it happen:
1. Literally, stir everything together in a coffee cup or pot.
2. On the stovetop, cook for 5-7 minutes or until oats are large and cooked. In the microwave, heat for 2-4 minutes, watching carefully (milk tends to make oats spill over!).
3. Once heated, allow to cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle more coconut or chocolate chips on top for fun. The bananas will be warm and gooey. Enjoy this healthy and tasty treat!

Renew…with some tastiness!
~Laurel~

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