Teff blueberry pancakes recipe to celebrate my blogiversary!

Well, it's been a year since I started this whole thing. Coincidentally, it's also my dad's birthday. I suppose it's not such a coincidence - I got the idea when I called to wish him a happy birthday and the conversation turned to cooking. He suggested that I keep some kind of journal to keep track of recipes that I try, and I immediately decided to start a blog. So, many thanks to Dad for starting this adventure! For several months I kept it private and there were only a few family members (and after a while a few friends) who knew about it. I never expected that anyone else would be interested in reading it, but I decided to open it up to the public just in case. Now I spend more time cooking and writing than I ever thought possible, and I'm ecstatic that people who aren't related to me actually find it vaguely interesting.

In addition to Dad, I must thank my other loyal readers who have been with me from the beginning, and all of you who have found my blog through one way or another and think that it's worth reading! I can't tell you how excited I get with each and every comment. If you've seen Julie and Julia, you may remember Julie's reaction to the first comment she receives. I can definitely relate :). Speaking of Julia, I'm also glad to have received some great advice from Julia at Grow. Cook. Eat., my blogging mentor, over the last few months.

It's all too fitting that my parents are visiting this week. So, for Dad's birthday, I decided to make brunch. I almost never cook big breakfasts, so this was my perfect opportunity to try out several new recipes. Unfortunately for my parents, this meant that they had to be guinea pigs for my first gluten-free pancake adventure, but they're good sports. I did let Dad pick the type of pancakes, so I suppose that we all won.

Teff blueberry pancakes (adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen)

(Printable version)

1 cup teff flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

2 Tbsp flaxseed meal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp honey or agave nectar

oil for cooking pancakes (I used macadamia nut oil because that's what I grabbed first)

1 cup frozen blueberries

Whisk dry ingredients (teff flour through salt) together in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients (water through honey) in a separate bowl, and then whisk them into the dry ingredients. Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. For each pancake, add 1/4 cup batter to skillet and spread it out with the back of a spoon. Drop some blueberries onto each pancake and wait until bubbles start to form on the top. Then flip and continue to cook for another minute or so, until pancake is cooked through. Makes 9 medium-sized pancakes.

I suppose it's a good sign that the only way that Dad could stop eating these is to get up and leave the table. I loved them, too, and they didn't taste "weird" like some gluten-free baked goods do. I'm really becoming obsessed with teff - it works great for breakfast because of its hint of a chocolate taste, and it's extremely filling. This convinced me that I should put in the effort to make breakfast more often. It was definitely a great way to celebrate my blogiversary and Dad's birthday!