Whole-wheat Orange Blueberry Hotcakes

Hello Everyone! It certainly has been a while hasn't it? Over ten days and I haven't posted a thing. I have an explanation for that though! (Don't I always.) It has been a hectic fortnight around here. I started an intensive summer class last week. It is titled "food, security and globalization" and addresses food security, hunger and food prices around the world. Very topical, and very interesting, but also a lot of work. So instead of trying to take pretty pictures of my food, lately I have resorted to simply eating it, and feeling grateful to have it in front of me.

Then last weekend my cousin got married so I spent a long weekend in Pennsylvania, overeating at the reception, my favorite local pizza joint, and a memorial day pot-luck. The venison burger and rhubarb pie were especially yummy. I couldn't stay away from you guys for too long though, so here is a picture of my breakfast. This is one of my favorite recipes, orange-blueberry hotcakes. I topped mine with home made Greek yogurt, honey and blueberries (previously frozen!). I actually made these yesterday, but pancakes, hotcakes, flapjacks and the like keep pretty well if you put them in a Ziplock bag with a paper towel and toss them in the fridge. Then you can pop them in a toaster for a quick meal or snack. They are also great as a healthy treat at work.

Whole Wheat Orange Blueberry Hotcakes
This particular recipe is whole grain and fat free and can easily be veganized by replacing the milk with soy or rice milk. If you don't care for berries, omit them and enjoy some plain orange hotcakes. This recipe makes roughly 14 hotcakes at about 55 calories a piece.

1 and 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon flax meal (optional, but gives the hotcakes a nice golden colour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup orange juice
1/4-1/3 cup milk or soy milk (lowfat or skim is fine)
Zest of one orange
Zest of half a lemon
1 tsp sugar (or more, to your taste)
About one cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Procedure:

1. Sift flour, flax meal, soda, salt and powder into a bowl.
2. In a small cup or bowl mix together the sugar with the zests, then add to the dry ingredients.
3. Quickly stir the orange juice and milk or soymilk into the flour mixture. Don't worry about a few lumps. The batter will not be thin and runny, but it shouldn't be like a biscuit dough either, add more milk if you deem it necessary, until you get something like a rather wet muffin batter.
4. Fold in the blueberries and drop by spoonfuls onto a medium-hot, preferably cast iron, griddle or frying pan. (Nonstick works too). Flip when the tops look a bit opaque, or if bubbles on the surface begin to burst.

Toppings:

While the American choice of Maple syrup is always good, I also recommend topping these with a nice marmalade, orange blossom honey and Greek yogurt, or a compound butter. Try this one on for size:

Orange Honey Compound Butter

1 part orange blossom honey
1 part softened butter
zest of orange and/or lemon, to taste

Procedure:

Just cream the honey and butter together thoroughly, then add citrus zest to taste. You can freeze or refrigerate this for weeks or even months if you keep it covered, and it is delicious not only on these hotcakes, but also on scones, biscuits, muffins and fresh cornbread.