Ray Peat Inspired Milk Powder Pancakes
Over the years, I have dabbled in all forms of pancakes. What can I say, they make my heart yodel and bounce around with childhood excitement. I grew up eating everything from diner pancakes smothered with whipped cream and studded with gooey chocolate chips to artisanal pineapple upside-down pecan pancakes from our local breakfast joint.
We’ve made:
trail mix pancakes
peanut butter pancakes
curried zucchini pancakes
sweet potato pancakes (both savory and sweet!)
spam-cakes
almond flour pancakes
jumbo-sized spiced pumpkin pancakes, thanks to good ol’ Trader Joe’s.
I grew up with Sunday mornings that began with the fluffiest yogurt-lemon poppyseed pancakes. I still remember how the house filled with waves of candied lemons and caramel before even stepping out of bed: I thank my mom for that!
More experiments
In my college years, I experimented with everything from vegan banana oatmeal pancakes, to fermenting my own blue corn and heirloom wheat for sourdough pancakes, to using leftover rice and lentils to make my own dosa-inspired pancakes, and even soaking and sprouting buckwheat groats for the heartiest, meat-like pancakes in town.
I’ve blended up leftover sourdough with eggs and successfully birthed a stack of tasty cakes. I even mastered the 3-ingredient tahini-banana-oat pancake, that sticks together surprisingly well, and I later realized, sings even more gloriously with some orange zest, olive oil, and chopped rosemary tossed in.
I even look fondly back to the dense, nut-flour based pancakes I’d experimented with in my gluten-free baking days, so heavy that one before bed guaranteed a good night’s sleep, albeit filled with groggy brain fog the next morning. (Nuts are for squirrels, not humans, I later learned.)
Yet, even with my buckets of pancake memories to hold me over in a grain-free phase of eating, my heart still yearned for something fluffier and lighter. Something a little less meaty and a little more…Dreamy? Shareable?
Finding Ray Peat
As I dove into the work of Ray Peat and experimented with expanding my diet beyond just meat, I feel euphoric about sharing my version of his milk powder pancakes.
They have brought the fluffy, cloud-like comfort of pancakes back into my life, and my goodness, do they pair well with a cup of milky coffee and a drizzle of maple syrup. Melted butter, freshly mashed local black berries and maple is another combination worthy of savoring.
I hope you enjoy these scrumptious little ones as much as I do. Right off the griddle, they are fluffy and light, sure to fill you with warmth and delight.
Milk Powder Pancakes
1 cup of organic non-fat milk powder
2 pasture-raised eggs
¼ cup cottage cheese
⅛ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt (or more!)
Splash of orange juice
Optional: lemon zest,ginger zest, lemon juice, 1/2 ripe banana
Directions:
Put everything in a bowl, lovingly.
Mash it all around until it resembles chunky mashed potatoes. Shake your hips in the process. It makes stirring feel like dancing.
Heat a skillet to medium heat, generously oil with a mix of coconut oil and butter
Cook until you begin to see bubbles, then flip, lowering the heat as needed
Share with someone you love or could use some love. Pancakes taste best shared.
If you have any leftover, I highly recommend trying them cold. They serve as the most delightful snack any time of day or night, and even pair well with savory toppings like cilantro, feta, poached eggs, and crumbled bacon bits.
