Not masa-ing around: tamale pancakes

Oh what a terrible pun. Here's a shot of me from my Compassionate Eating class at church. I've had the honor of teaching 6-8 congregants the mental, physical, spiritual, and ethical advantage of eating a plant based diet. The results have been amazing! People are really jazzed about the class and have been trying more and more vegan dishes at home.

We had the following for dinner the other night:
Tamale Pancakes

Who wants to spend hours filling corn husks with masa dough? I want to get right to eatin' so I created a pancakey version of this for your enjoyment. The toppings are really up to you!

pancake batter you'll need
3 c. masa harina for tamales
3 c. water
1/3 canola oil
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder

Mix dry with wet thoroughly and set aside. It won't be batter, and it won't be dough. Get your toppings prepared!

Lentil Topping

• 1 c. lentils
• 4 c. water
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 t. cumin
• 1 t. habanero hot sauce
• 2 t. chili powder
• 1/2 t. paprika
• 1/2 t. oregano
• 1/4 t. cayenne (optional)
• black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cheddar daiya cheese (optional, throw in at end)

Cook lentils-(this takes about 20 minutes), then saute them with a little olive oil and the other ingredients. Keep the heat low and cook for a good 15-20 mins. You can add onion if you want to, but I didn't. I made the dish a little neutral spice-wise because I have varying shades of people who do/don't like hot dishes. This is essentially my go to recipe for vegan taco meat.

Guacamole!

• 2 avocados
• pinch salt
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Smash everything together. C'mon, it's guacamole for cryin' out loud!

You can also have the following toppings:

• jalapenos
• refried beans
• fresh cilantro
• finely chopped green apple, YES apple! This is nice if you make your toppings spicy, it's good for coolin' off.

Get a griddle or skillet ready to cook on medium heat. Using 1/3 c, measure out the masa dough/batter and spread out a little with a wooden spoon. Cook one side for about 4 minutes, then flip again for another 4. you want them to be slightly crispy. So I guess this is more of a tostada pancake? Who cares. It's forking amazing.

For dessert we had chocolate chip cookies using Abuelita chunks! I wasn't wild about the turn out, but the students loved them! I thought they tasted more like muffin tops.

I used the following recipe:

• 1 c AP flour
• 1 c ww pastry flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 c. sucanat
• 1/2 c. applesauce
• 1/3 c. canola oil
• 3 T ground flax seeds
  
• 1 c. vegan yogurt + 1/3 c. warm water, whisked
• 1 circle Abuelita cocoa, chopped into chunks-(this will be messy and grainy!)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry with wet ingredients and dollop large spoonfulls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. These will get fluffy! Bake for about 10 minutes. Let them cool completely, then eat. They will be muffin-toppy and cinnamon chocolatey. Again, I wasn't wild about them, but 6 against one says differently!