Banana Flapjacks

It seems that whenever I go to the store I see a bunch of bananas, think oh, that sounds good, and buy it.  99% of the time, I eat one or two bananas, Hubbs eats 1-2 bananas, and the rest sit there ... and sit there... and sit there. Till one day they are almost entirely black and I have to figure out something to do with them or throw them out.  I bought them - I don't really want to throw them out!  I'm soooo tired of banana bread - not something I want to think about baking, let alone eating, ever again!  And I have tried the whole freezing the banana thing, but it just really doesn't work too well for me - I forget about it for a long time, then when I remember, they're already freezer burned!  I was browsing for some banana recipes in my cookbooks, shuddering at almost all of them, when I came across the Banana Flapjacks recipe in Vegan Brunch.  Just something about the word flapjack really got to me and I had to make it.  So I made it, kind of in the middle about my expectations, and when the "flapjacks" were finished, topped with earth balance and smothered in maple syrup sent to me from my Mum's neighbors back in Michigan, I was in heaven.  Seriously so tasty!  And easy - and a great way to use up a couple bananas.  

Even after making this recipe, I still had 3 bananas left, which I removed from the peel, mashed and placed in a plastic deli container, to be used the next day.  This is something I had competely forgotten from my days at Babycakes - prepping ingredients like that.  I always feel like cooking and baking at work and home are such completely different things, that  I forget I can still do things like prepping to make my life a little easier.  When I go to make the recipe tomorrow, this step will already be finished.  Just keep in mind that if you do mash and store the bananas, the top will become a funky brown color, but you can use it as is, or just scrape off the very top-most part.  The rest of banana underneath will still be a nice fresh color. Make these pancakes/flapjacks the next time you have some leftover ripe bananas.  You could get creative here as well - add some chopped strawberries, chocolate chips, or any other fun and interesting ingredient.

Banana Flapjacks:

Yields 6 large flapjacks

Banana Flapjacks:

2 very ripe medium-sized bananas, mashed well

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup vanilla soymilk

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon agave

1 cup unbleached flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1.  Place the mashed bananas in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients: the canola oil, soymilk, cider vinegar and agave.  Whisk together until a somewhat smooth mixture forms. 

2.  Into the same bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

3.  Get your pan ready.  Place a nonstick pan over medium heat and spray with oil. 

4.  Whisk together all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl until a thick batter has formed. 

5.  The pan should be hot by now.  Use a ladle to portion out some of the batter into the prepared pan.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until bubbles form on the top.  Carefully flip the pancake over and cook for an additional couple minutes or until the other side is cooked through. 

6.  Place cooked pancake on a plate, and continue cooking the remaining batter, continuing to place the cooked pancakes on top of one another. 

7.  To serve, spread earth balance on top until it melts and pour a generous amount or REAL maple syrup over top.  Yummy!  Eat two!

Enjoy!

-K