Meg Haworth

Yesterday, I decided to experiment with some leftover soy flour I had sitting around.  I don’t usually like soy flour but it was all they had at a local mainstream grocery store that was trying desperately to be organically correct.  Soy flour just misses the mark for me.  It’s a personal preference thing.  The taste of soymilk even makes me sneer and say “Eh.  I can take it or leave it.”

My brilliant idea was to create a new recipe for soy pancakes.  My cupboards were nearly bare so I figured I would make something out of nothing -- first impressing myself then sending it out on video for all the world to see.  At least the world of gluten & dairy free consumers and my family and friends who I force to watch my videos – or die!    

I began to create the magic.  I mixed the flour with the usual suspects – baking powder and sea salt.  I then added cinnamon, cayenne pepper and chili powder.  I wanted to add a warm flavor that would dispel the soy bite I'm not fond of.  I thought, this is original, inventive and the sweet taste of honey will combine to create a soulful, irresistible, delicious pancake.

I added the wet ingredients -- eggs, olive oil, rice milk and honey -- and I began to mix them.  The batter thickened quickly and I wanted it to be thinner.   I added more rice milk and dipped my finger in it, popping it into my mouth.  Mmmm.  I was onto something good and I could already see myself on set at Eat, Drink or Die making this great new dish on camera.  I could pair it with mahi mahi and a spicy, sweet, black bean mango salsa.  I was so excited!

I heated the pan.  I took it to the perfect temperature for pancakes and prepared it with Earth Balance Butter (shameless plug).  At just the right moment, I placed the batter in the pan and gleefully watched it cook. 

That’s when the air began to fill with the smell of burning food.  The pancake center was not cooking at all.  I attempted to flip the pancake over so it wouldn’t continue to burn.  The operative word here is attempted.   T he wet batter fell to the center in a heap of thin burnt crust and gloppy white matter. 

At that point, I thought that if I turned the heat down and allowed the pancakes to cook more slowly, it could work.  So, I tried it.  It did not work.  The pancakes did exactly what they did at a higher heat only this time it was more excruciating to watch the process. 

The odd thing about this recipe disaster was that the blackened appearance of the pancakes did not transfer to a burnt taste.  The centers of the cakes remained largely uncooked and they actually tasted great.  Yes.  I admit it.  I tasted them.  I was dang hungry and I was going to eat them!  Or at least try to.

You may notice that the title of this post is Kitchen SNAFU Number One.  Over the years I have witnessed legendary kitchen disasters including the famous cake broiling incident of 1981 in which I earned the reputation of being the worst cook in my family for years to come.  Well, family, who has a cooking show now?  Seriously, I expect more kitchen accidents and culinary crack-ups.  I urge you to share your own right here on this Blog and be looking for my next recipe SNAFU.

For more information and my 14 day cookbook, go to www.DelciousAndHealthy.com