Vanilla Yogurt Pancakes

It's been pretty quite around these parts, I know. It's not that I haven't eaten well. It's not that I haven't cooked a up a few good things. It's well.

I moved.

I know. I know! I moved and I was too afraid to tell you. Too scared you'd be sad, or hurt, or maybe you wouldn't even care at all. That would be kinda bad too. So, like a little sulking kid, I gave my 'ol blog the silent treatment.

But moving out and moving on is a good thing for me, I swear. So let me tell you again, not just "I moved", but I moved!

It was a sudden and quick turn around. An "okay we're offering you this job and you've got 12 days to move here" kinda quick. The kind of move that makes your head spin, the kind of move that makes you pack only your essentials and makes you hound UPS for the arrival of the rest of your stuff, and the kind of move that doesn't involve bringing measuring spoons, or muffin tins, or even mixing bowls. Seriously.

But I've been here nearly a month now, and this morning, I woke up with a serious craving. So despite not having legit measuring equipment, despite my teeny-tiny kitchen (I prefer to think of it as "darling"), and despite not having milk, I was bound and determined to make pancakes.

And pancakes I shall have.

With my last remaining baby cup of Trade Joe's vanilla and cream yogurt, I made the most curious, gummy, spongy pancakes. I love 'em. I don't know if I can go back to regular pancakes again...even if I have milk.

(PS: Get out your datebooks, blackberries, and open those gmail calendars, next meeting of the Greater Cleveland Celiac Society will be in Solon, Sunday September 13)

Vanilla Yogurt Pancakes

as inspired by those POM Wonderful pancakes, which were inspired by Joy the Baker

1 cup all purpose GF flour w/ xanthum gum mix (as measured by a ziplock storage container)

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of sugar

1 Tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt (or like 8 grinds from the salt grinder, for those who have no table salt or teaspoons)

2 Tablespoons earth balance butter, melted and cooled.

1/2 cup cold brewed orange spice tea (water would work okay, too)

1 egg

4 oz (1 container) Trader Joe's Vanilla & Cream Yogurt

Additional cooking spray or butter for frying

If you have berries, cinnamon, vanilla, almond extract, chocolate chips, nutmeg, etc,

by all means, add some or all in. This kitchen has ziplock containers; I'm lucky I had the tea.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar) in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the egg into the cooled butter (or temper, slowly, if the butter is still warm), followed by the yogurt and the tea. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, in three parts, letting all of the flour get incorporated into the batter.

This batter will be thick. I mean thick. If you need to, pour in additional tea until the batter becomes workable again. Remember though, this is yogurt based, yogurt is thick, these pancakes are thick.

Let the batter rest as you heat up your pan and grease it with your desired spray, butter, or butter substitute. Make sure not to pour out too much batter into each pancake (remember that whole thick thing?) and cook about 3 minutes before flipping (check for bubbles, you know the drill pancake people).

Makes about 12 small, chewy, delicious, filling, can't believe I never made 'em this way before pancakes. Cover with jam, fruit, or syrup and devour.