WAFFLES! with Caramelized Pears and Bananas

ovo-lacto

I got to cabin-sit this past week, and the place had a waffle iron.

This version of the waffle recipe from All Things Mama was delicious. I think our batter was thicker than her description but they baked up sooooo yum, with a great texture. Our buffet of toppings was pretty spot on, too. Everyone loves choice.

1. Preheat your waffle iron.

2. Whisk together:

• 1 cup white + 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

3. In a larger bowl, beat two eggs until light and fluffy.

4. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1+3/4 cup almond milk.

5. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, leaving the batter a little lumpy rather than overmixed.**

6. Leave the batter to sit for 5 minutes, then load up your waffle iron with the first batch and get your toppings ready. 

**The original recipe said add the dry to the eggy vanilla mixture, then stir in the butter and milk. I misread the recipe but really loved our results. Recently thought I’d try being faithful to the recipe and it was way harder to mix, I don’t recommend it.

We got 8 very dense and filling waffles out of this amount. They baked up fluffy with a crispy outside, but if you’re lacking crispness, just toast them in an oven at 250F - or a toaster works like a charm, also for reheating later.

Our choice of toppings for this meal:

• whipped cream
• shredded coconut
• chopped almonds
• raspberry jam
• caramelized pears and bananas - made by melting butter in a pan, then adding a tablespoon or two of sugar and stirring it around until dissolved and bubbly, then tossing in the sliced fruit and cooking on low until soft with a golden skin

Eaten as a late brunch with beautiful natural light pouring in through the windows and skylight, ocean and garden views, we felt like we created a little celebration of life. : )

Pumpkin Pie (mostly) from scratch

crust: vegan
filling: ovo-lacto veg
DIY ingredient: pumpkin puree

I combined two recipes for this creation:

Sweet & Salty Spiced Pecan Crust from Oh She Glows

Easy Pumpkin Pie Filling that's floating around on the web

(I just made the pumpkin puree by cooking chopped pumpkin in as little water as possible, straining and processing it)

The result actually won the pumpkin pie contest at a Thanksgiving potluck! People really enjoyed the sweet and salty combo, despite it sticking hopelessly to my pan... I think my oven was having issues and the pan could probably use more greasing up. 

I had extra filling, so baked it in little cups for wee desserts for the days to come after Feast o' Giving Thanks.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Ovo-lacto veg

Maybe I was inspired by my sister-in-law's awesome raspberry cheesecake back in June when I visited them in Estonia... Because this recipe popped out at me while searching for a sure-to-please dessert for my sister's engagement party. The verdict? Everyone loved 'em. I would only change one thing, which would be to make a graham cracker crust next time, just to up the ante.

Easy and fun to make, but there'll a bit of dish-washing required post-baking.
Recipe from a fellow-Canuck: Rock Recipes

Carrot-Walnut Cake with an Indian twist

Vegan (bananas keep it together instead of eggs)

I've had this recipe bookmarked for a year or even two and finally made it. VERY GOOD! 

The Indian twist is cardamom and the author said it's similar to the yummy Indian dessert called halwa (not to be confused with Arabic halwa made of sesame seeds, which is also fantastic, but different in every way).

I used the lesser amount of sugar and even then felt it was unnecessary, as the raisins and ripe bananas more than do the job. I didn't add the walnut-coconut-caramel topping, which sounds delicious but then would really make this unbearably sweeeeeeeeet. Maybe if I cut all all sugar entirely, topping included? Anyway, it's a keeper!

For another vegan carrot dessert, check out Carrot-Coconut Cookies

Easy Pear Sauce

Vegan

I often make applesauce 'coz it's so darn easy and if you're doing healthy baking, it'll often show up in a recipe to cut down on the amount of oil. Pretty much any fruit puree will do in my experience (these Fudgy Brownies turned out delish with a medley of stewed fruit) and of course are delicious on their own with a spoon, on toast, pancakes, oatmeal, yogurt...

Anyway, we indulged our expat experience recently with a big box of baby Honey Bell pears from Costco, from New Zealand and as they were starting to soften en masse, I browsed again for a pear sauce recipe. Here is a winner - simple, delicious, and it's got my favorite spices. I made it in our Turtle (the slow cooker) but you don't have to - it only takes about 30 minutes on the stove.

I'm getting lazy with taking photos recently... other people just do such a good job!
 Pic and recipe both from Two Peas and Their Pod

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ovo-veg

No kidding, these taste like pumpkin pie!

I didn't take any good pictures, so photo and recipe credit both go to MyGutsy

Pretty easy to make, although they dirtied up 3 mixing bowls and you need the low-carb-lovers-trend-extraordinaire almond flour (which you can make it yourself with a food processor, if not readily available or you're looking to save $).

Actually, you could probably use any flour and it'll work out fine. The 5 eggs could probably hold together a derelict building, let alone a few measly pancakes.


I also recently baked these Pumpkin Spice Bars.

I did use dark brown sugar as directed and they went super dark, so maybe a mix of golden and dark is what resulted in the pretty color below. Anyway, they were good and VERY EASY!

I didn't take any good pictures, so photo and recipe credit both go to Sally's Baking Addiction

Matcha Cookies

Ovo-Lacto (egg, butter)

Rescue Mission (use-up-so-can-buy-more-fresh): green tea (matcha) powder, dried cranberries

recipe

Carrot Cookies

Vegan
well-received : )
from Helen Nearing's Simple Food for the Good Life

Recent Ayurveda reading told me cooked honey is toxic, so maple syrup it is.
Oven 350-375C

Job's Tears Pudding

Vegan

For those of you begging the question: "Can you make "rice pudding" with Job's Tears?"

The answer is - why, yes, and it's delicious! Quinoa and all sorts of other grains work well too.

- cooked 大薏仁＋小薏仁 (from what I can gather, these are two types of barley, 小薏仁 is pearl barley and 大薏仁 is apparently known as adlay or Job's tears)
- apple, cinnamon, raisins, almonds