Chai Coconut Vanilla Pancakes

I wasn’t a big chai tea fan before. I found the spices too strong for my liking- the cardamon usually gets to me. Then I tried a few other brands and realised it’s really the blend of tea that makes the difference. A right blend makes such a big difference in the taste of the tea. These days,  I usually have it with almond milk- although i have tried it with coconut milk before and it was so lovely. Especially on a cold and rainy evening.

Following a few paleo bloggers, this recipe caught my attention. It combines tea and pancakes. Doesn’t that sound lovely for breakfast already? Not to mention, it’s so quick to whip up.

I have been loving my coconut flour lately. Again, like chai tea, I thought coconut flour was dense and dry. Indeed it is. However, blended with the right ingredients, it shines through in baked goods. It is really really filling as well. I whipped up 10 mini pancakes and hubby and I could not finish it at all. I had 2 and hubby had 3 and we both agreed the size of the pancakes are deceiving.

Chai Coconut Vanilla Pancakes
1/2 cup of coconut flour
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt

4 eggs
1 cup of almond milk warmed with 2 chai tea bags
2 tsp of vanilla essence
1 tsp of maple syrup

Berries to serve- 1 cup of frozen berries and a few tsp of water

Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk eggs, vanilla and maple syrup. Pour warm milk over the coconut mixture and work it in. Then add the eggs mixture. Spoon 1 tablespoon on a heated oiled pan. Flip it over after 3 minutes. Repeat.

Berries compote- In a saucepan, heat frozen berries with a few tsp of water. Cooked till soft and spoon over pancakes.

Happy Valentine’s Day my friends!! Make this gorgeous breakfast for someone you love! xx 

Salted Coconut Chocolate Bark

This must be one of the most addictive chocolate snacks ever! I certainly do love my chocolate- I have a weakness for dark varieties. Pairing it with coconut butter though, it create this creamy chocolate chips that I have to will myself to stop eating. 

I mentioned before that I generally follow the paleo way of eating. PaleoOMG is probably one of my favourite bloggers who posts such gorgeous treats that I’m tempted all the time. She posted this for Christmas and I knew I had to make it.

And I’m not sure if it was the best thing to do or was it a mistake. I had to ration portions and give them away as gifts together with some of my bliss balls. I placed peppermint essence to the coconut butter instead of chocolate as I find that it seizes the chocolate a little.

Oh well, at least they are clean. 😉

Salted Coconut Chocolate Bark
1 cup of coconut butter
100 grams of dark chocolate
pinch of salt
2 tsp of peppermint essence

Melt coconut butter and add peppermint essence. In a separate jug, melt chocolate too. Line baking paper on a cookie tray, spread coconut butter on the tray. Drizzle and spread dark chocolate on it, swirling along. Sprinkle salt to it.

Shakshouka with Poached Egg

I can never tell if Shakshouka is Spanish or Arabian in decent. Regardless, I love a mean shakshouka for breakfast. I recall the first one I had was at Perth Art Museum in Fremantle. The tangy tomato and  oozy egg yolk simply seduced me.

I have good intentions to create this dish for breakfast. I told hubby 3 weekends that I will experiment and create this for him. However, when each weekend rolls along, there would be an excuse for me not to do it. Fed up, I decided that this could be a dinner dish instead.

After all, who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner?

It’s probably not authentic- I do not have a tagine for the flavours to develop further. But if I dare say so, it’s a pretty good darn delicious meal even without the right tools. So simple as well. I probably made more of a tomato stew but I loved it.

I have experimented and made a few versions of this. Left over christmas ham? Checked. Left over roast chicken? Done that. One of my favourite version though is chorizo. On lazy nights, I pop an egg in the stew and cooked it. On other days when I felt like practising my poaching egg skills, I added an poached egg.

Shakshouka with Poached Egg (serves 4)
1 red onion chopped
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 chorizos diced
1 can of diced tomato
1 fresh tomato diced
2 cups of water or stock
Half a can of chickpeas
1 tablespoon of parika
2 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of chill flakes

4 poached eggs

Saute onion and garlic with spices. When it smells heavenly, add chorizo. When chorizo is brown and sizzling, add tomatoes and chickpeas. I add water then and put my pressure cooker lid on. Cook for 10 minutes or so. Serve with coriander and poached eggs.