Hazelnut Almond Flapjacks

I apologize for the lack of recipes lately; I've been off in the mountains of North Carolina, and while I could have gotten internet at the chocolate shop in town, I was busy being sociable with my in-laws. I had a lovely time whitewater rafting, playing Tripoley and Rummikub, and checking out the Heinzelmannchen brewery.
Now I am back to where I can cook. I just had these splendid flapjacks for breakfast. Huge kudos to Elana for the initial concept. I think that the hazelnut syrup, which substitutes for agave nectar here, adds a lot. However, they'd be good with any flavor, I'd betcha, or with a simple syrup. The best thing about these flapjacks (or pancakes, if you will) is that they have the same texture as actual pancakes. In fact, if you make smallish pancakes, a bit larger than silver dollars, they turn into lacy golden coins that delicately melt in your mouth.

Hazelnut Almond Flapjacks

2 eggs
¼ cup sugar-free hazelnut syrup (I use DaVinci)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (use the real stuff, please!)
½ cup water
1 ½ cups almond flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
Butter or the oil of your choice to grease the pan (pancakes pick up the flavor of the oil, so choose wisely)

In a blender, combine eggs, syrup, vanilla and water and blend on high until smooth.
Add almond flour, salt and baking soda and blend again to incorporate dry ingredients into batter. Warm the oil in a large skillet or griddle (I used a cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Give it a few minutes to get nice and hot! Pour pancake batter onto skillet--your blender is very handy this way--into the pancake size of your choice. Pancakes will form bubbles, first around the edges and then in the middle. When the bubbles are open, give them a minute more to solidify, then flip pancakes over and cook other side for a minute or two. You'll know they're done when you can easily get a spatula/flipper under them. Remove from heat to a plate.
Repeat process with remaining batter, adding more oil to skillet as needed--and you will need more oil!
Makes sufficient breakfast for two people.

I do stress that you need to have your pan hot, and you need to give your flapjacks time beyond the opening of the bubbles to make sure that they don't come apart when you flip them. I killed three pancakes this way, and mutilated others before I finally got things working well. Thankfully, the shredded pancakes are quite tasty too.

Velvety Pumpkin Soup

We had this for dinner tonight, along with ocean perch fillets with seasoned salt, lemon, and butter. I got this recipe from Protein Power.

Velvety Pumpkin Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
½ stick unsalted butter
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced fine
2 packets Stevia
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup water
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can solid pack pumpkin or about 2 cups cooked pumpkin, mashed
2 cups half and half
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and when it foams and just begins to turn golden, add the onion and garlic. Cook for a minute or two until soft.
2. Add the chicken broth, water, salt, pepper, and sweetener and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 10 to15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the pumpkin, half and half, and cinnamon and cook another 5 minutes to heat through.
4. Blend with an immersion blender (or transfer soup to a blender or food processor in batches if necessary) and blend until smooth. May be kept a day or two in the refrigerator (once cooled) if desired.
5. Reheat to serve.

We really enjoyed it, but it doesn't seem to be the savory soup that the website indicated. My husband says it would be a good breakfast food, and I totally agree. It's mild and pleasantly seasoned. If you make it and it seems too bland, try just adding some salt. Or garnish with full-fat Greek yogurt for extra tastiness. In the morning, I might try it with goat cheese.

Ham with Caper-Avocado Spread

In searching for food that might not send me into a spiralling Sugar Crash of Doom, such as the Pop-Tart that made its way into my mouth, I came up with this quick recipe. It's good as a snack or a light breakfast. It has the Husband Seal of Approval. And it is gourmet delicious.

For the Ham with Caper-Avocado Spread, you will need (2 small servings or one very large one):

6 or so slices of Black Forest ham (I think that's what I pulled out, but I'll never know, since it shredded as soon as I touched it)
1 oz cream cheese (soft goat or farmer's cheese would be tasty too, or even Better Than Cream Cheese if dairy is not an option)
Half a Hass avocado
Thinnish slice from the middle of a red onion (substitute other alliums freely)
2 teaspoons capers
2 teaspoons lemon juice, or a couple good squeezes
Salt

Shred the ham onto as many plates as you want servings. Scoop avocado flesh out of the skin with a spoon, and put in a small bowl along with the cream cheese. Use the edge of the spoon to cut the ingredients into small chunks, and the back of the spoon to smash them together. Blend them together, then add lemon juice, several shakes of salt, and capers. After distributing the new ingredients through the avocado cream paste, spoon onto the ham and spread almost to the edge of it. Sliver your onion slice into smallish pieces and sprinkle over the top. Eat with a fork.

If you had ham slices with more structural integrity, you could use a single ham slice, spread the avocado mixture on it, and roll it up. That was actually my intention. But the ham shreds were tasty, so who am I to complain?

I'll be trying some recipes from The Low Carb Gourmet later on today, so look for my report!