Vegan Banana Pancakes

I AM NOT A VEGAN. But I have several close friends who are. Being in college and eating in a dining hall most days, I never really had to concern myself with what my vegetarian/vegan friends ate. They did their thing, and I did mine. I was in for a wake up call when my friend group decided to stay at a beach house for a week. The house itself was free; we only had to pay for gas and groceries to cook. And as I was planning meals for the week, a scary thought came into my mind: "Hannah can't eat ANY of this." Majority of my meals are centered around a meat protein, and I couldn't just slap a bag of peas and carrots in front of my friend while the rest of us had actual composed dishes. So I rethought some meals, and throughout the week, one breakfast really stuck out. Pancakes. I looked up what goes in vegan pancakes, and with our extremely basic pantry, whipped up some pancakes that EVERYONE loved. So much that they've been asking me to share the recipe for months now. But to me, the pancakes were a little dense. So I spent those months tweaking the recipe, adding much needed ingredients that weren't worth buying just for that beach house, and finally came to something fluffy, flavorful, and fulfilling. I made my new and improved pancakes for pretty much the same group of people one night recently, and they couldn't believe they could like the pancakes any more than they already did. So with both my friends', and my own seal of approval, I am sharing the secret to these wonderful breakfast pillows with the world.

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder together. The dry ingredients are pretty common in most pancake recipes. What makes it vegan lies in the wet. Instead of using cow's milk, use the same amount of almond or soy milk (I don't taste any difference in the final products). And instead of egg, use a tablespoon of oil for each one replaced (you may have read that tip in one of my other stories "Food Tips and Hacks Everyone Deserves to Know"). Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry, add the margarine, mix a bit more, then add the mashed bananas and mix one more time. Old, brown bananas you probably don't want to eat anymore are the best to use because they have a stronger banana flavor than green or ripe bananas.

Heat your griddle or pan to medium-high heat and add margarine or non-stick spray. When the pan is ready, turn the heat to low and keep it there for a minute or two. This is important because if your pan hasn't had the time to heat properly, your first batch of pancakes will turn out REALLY weird looking (I've made this mistake countless times). Add the batter by 1/4 cups. Let the pancakes cook for two to three minutes or until there's lots of bubbles and holes forming on top of them. That's them telling you it's time to flip 'em over.

Let the pancakes cook on the other side for about another minute and they're ready :). It's a good idea to re-spray or add more margarine to the pan after each batch of pancakes. That's what give them that delicious ring of crust around the edges. These are best served fresh and hot.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP (all purpose) flour
• 2 T dark brown sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 3/4 cups almond or soy milk
• 2 T oil
• 3 T margarine, melted
• 3 overripe bananas, mashed

Directions:

1. Whisk together dry (first five) ingredients in mixing bowl. Make a well in center.
2. Add oil and milk to well, whisk from center and travel out until everything is combined. Add melted margarine and mix a bit more.
3. Mash bananas with fork and mix into batter. Heat lightly greased skillet to medium, then turn down and let stay at low temp for two minutes.
4. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Wait until sides hold form, and there are lots of bubbles appearing on top to flip (two to three minutes). Cook pancakes on other side for another minute. Serve hot.