Barley Pancakes

4 cups barley flour
1/2 cup flax seed, cornmeal, or just more barley flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons honey
4 large eggs
2/3 cup safflower or grapeseed oil
3 cups rice milk
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance or margarine

Stir together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make a "well" in the middle of the dry ingredients and add in honey, eggs, oil, and rice milk. Beat the wet ingredients together and then stir gently into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix (thanks Granny, for the good advice)!!!

Heat the griddle or frying pan to medium temperature. Don't let it get too hot or these will surely burn. When griddle is hot, coat with the Earth Balance or margarine and swirl to coat the pan. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto the griddle and wait until you see the edges just drying a bit before you flip. These are not as sturdy as wheat pancakes but they are almost as fluffy! They're worth a few practice batches so that you can perfect them.

Makes about 18 medium sized pancakes.

Just some notes on barley flour:
1. Grind your own if you can. The nutrients are much more available when you grind the flour and use it immediately than if it sits on the shelf for a month (or longer) before you buy it.
2. Barley is an excellent source of dietary fiber, selenium, phosphorous, copper, and manganese. Moreover, the variety of fiber in barley breaks down into butyric acid (and a bunch of other stuff) which friendly bacteria in the large intestine eat to grow strong. Finally, barley binds to and removes from the body cholesterol-containing bile.
3. Anecdotal evidence only but I find that the adults in our family can eat barley carbs to our hearts' content without gaining an ounce. I can't even come close to saying the same for wheat--not even whole wheat (which I still love anyway)!