Chick Pea Flour Contined (by way of Coconut Flour)

I have flour coming out of my ears. Okay, maybe not out of my ears, but off my Uggs and the cuffs of my jeans. And it has to be kept in the refrigerator. As if I don't already have enough unrecognizable containers of old leftovers in there. Now, I have to keep track of flour? Chick pea flour, black bean flour, flax seed meal, coconut flour... Oh, right, coconut flour.

Apparently coconut flour doesn't exactly "bind" like wheat flour or other flours you typically think of when cooking. My daughter is allergic to eggs, and I have made regular old pancakes for her a thousand times without using a single egg. Some wheat flour (yes, the regular white, bleached, enriched wheat flour), a little baking powder, salt, a little milk, melted butter, and a hot pan become pancakes. Stacks and stacks of them, in fact. So, why not do the same with coconut flour, right?

Since I can not eat eggs now, I decide to whip up some coconut flour pancakes. A little flour, a little baking powder, salt, a little milk...sounding familiar yet? I whisk, let it sit for a few minutes, get my pan lubed and nice and hot, and pour in the batter. Can't wait for the result. Now children, this is a life lesson for you, so listen up: Coconut flour pancakes aren't. This is the equivalent of pouring bechamel sauce into a hot pan and trying to flip it. These "pancakes" aren't browning; they aren't even cakes. They are reducing into some strange bubbling concoction of coconut. So I begin to stir, and stir, and Eureka! (I love Eureka moments). I realize that I am making Coconut Polenta!

So I stir until it is the consistency of cream of wheat. Slap it in a bowl and stir in some wild blueberries. This is better than pancakes folks. And a happy accident for breakfast keeps your belly full all morning.

Coconut Polenta

1/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
1/2 cup wild blueberries
sweetener to taste (honey, stevia, whatever you like)

Whisk in 1/4 cup of the water to make a fine paste. When smooth, add the rest of the water and salt and continue whisking. The mixture will be very thin. Pour it into an oiled or buttered saucepan (nonstick preferably), and stir continuously over medium high heat until it reduces to the consistency of cream of wheat. Remove from the heat and stir in the sweetener and berries.
Eat!