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. : )

Awesome Banana Coconut-Flour Bread

vegan, GF

This is the best coconut flour recipe I've tried to date! Only 8 ingredients if you count salt, and it's deliciously and naturally sweet with banana and dates. The texture is kind of crumb-y but in a pleasant way and holds together fine. I baked the batter into muffins. It doesn't rise at all, so feel free to fill up the cups, but of course that will entail longer baking time.

recipe and picture from Popsugar

Getting Cultured - DIY ferments

My culinary adventures have taken a new turn into unchartered territory: fermentation!

Beware, this is a lengthy post that I enjoyed writing, but if you want the quick gist of it:

·         I’ve started fermenting foods in my kitchen to improve my digestive health

·         it’s been fun to reconnect with some traditional foods from my childhood

·         milk kefir has been the greatest success while sauerkraut remains an elusive challenge

·         I will learn how to make more exciting cultured foods this Saturday

Growing up in Belarus, fermented dairy featured prominently in our diet. I still mentally swoon at the thought of the most delicious silken sour cream I would eat with a spoon. In the summer, we would eagerly bring empty jars and bottles to fill with kvass whenever the barrel-shaped trucks happened to pull into our neighborhood. 

Winter would be a time for making sauerkraut and summer for lightly fermented small garden cucumbers – crunchy, emerald-green cousins of the better-known dill pickles that were ready in just a day or two of hanging out in brine on the counter.

Mind you, I never participated in the making of any of this delectable goodness, and so only knew that it could be done. We bought all the dairy and kvass, anyway. So, it’s been exceedingly exciting to not only make forays into this whole collaboration with the world of microorganisms, but to finally have some sweet (erm, savory) success, too!

YOGURT

Once in my early 20s, I tried making yogurt. When I unwrapped the pot from its thick blanket in the morning expecting something thick inside, and only the same milk from the day before stared back at me blankly, I was very disappointed. I’m guessing the temperature dropped too low to support the bacteria. Since I didn’t even drink milk, I tossed the whole lot. Over the next few years, I helped out a few times in this multi-step process in communal kitchens in Canada and New Zealand. It all seemed quite formidable in its scientific exactness – sterilize jars and equipment, check the milk with a thermometer, incubate at a steady temperature for some eight hours… etc. It’s no wonder that when I visited my Mom one year, and she told me she was making yogurt which she started with a jar of homemade stuff from an Indian family, and after heating and cooling the milk, she simply left it sitting on the counter overnight… I just couldn’t believe that this was possible. If I remember correctly, my disbelief somehow jinxed the process, and my Mom informed me later that it had stopped working. Oops! (witness power of the mind, people!)

Finally, while visiting Rich’s sister in Singapore last year, she walked me through her regular yogurt-making ritual and I loved HOW SIMPLE IT WAS. She just washed her jars, didn’t use a thermometer and heated up the milk ‘till just below boiling (or until it boiled over, if distracted… hehe), stuck her finger in to feel if it was cool enough (it should be roughly at body temperature) and incubated it in a cooler filled with warm water. In the morning, voila: homemade yogurt!

Inspired by this, I tried again. And it worked! We don’t have a cooler, so I read about other ways to keep the yogurt warm and cozy, finally choosing to stand it on an electric heating pad turned on low, the entire contraption wrapped in blankets. I put a note with “yogurt baby” on the bundle so it wouldn’t get knocked over. Boy, was I one proud momma in the morning!

Still, there was enough process (heating, cooling and temperature control) that this didn’t become a regular occurrence. And then…

KEFIR

… kefir entered my life. I also drank kefir as a kid in Belarus. Then, it kinda started showing up in health food stores in Canada, but at that point I wasn’t eating much dairy, period, so I more or less forgot it existed. Then, early last winter, a very nice American woman living here in Taiwan who’d bought kefir grains through Amazon wanted to share them since they were growing so much, they were taking over her fridge. Kefir grains, you say??? That was my reaction. The fascinating facts are these, provided by the lovely people at Yemoos:

“Kefir grains look a lot like little cauliflower florets … [and] are a symbiotic relationship of over 30 different strains of beneficial bacteria and yeast. The bulk of the grain that you see is a combination of insoluble protein, amino acids, lipids (fats) and soluble-polysaccharides (complex sugars).”

straining the grains out

The name of the game with kefir is simplicity. Put a tablespoon of the grains into a one-liter glass jar, fill 4/5 full with fresh milk, top with breathable fabric secured with a rubber band and leave at room temperature out of direct sunlight for about 8 hours. Strain to remove the grains. Avoid using metal. Repeat. THAT’S IT! No heating, no keeping warm, and kefir is said to have an abundance of probiotic strains superior to yogurt. If you’re thinking “WOW!” I assure you, that’s how I feel about kefir. My first few batches were so-so, but as I regularly fed the grains high-quality organic whole milk, magic happened. I now get super creamy delicious kefir after simply letting it sit out overnight without needing a second ferment as typically advised to get it to thicken up.

I add a sprinkle to a teaspoon of spices like cardamom, garam masala, etc

I also directly eat the extra grains once there is a surplus. I was a little scared of this at first as bloggers warned of a rubbery texture, but actually they’re just pleasantly chewy and deliver oodles of amazing probiotic goodness directly to my gut.

strained kefir = probiotic labneh
(fresh, thick spreadable cheese - here with olive oil and za'atar)

kefir in an avocado half

NON-DAIRY YOGURT/KEFIR

Although in the process of fermentation, the bacteria devour most of the lactose thus rendering kefir and yogurt largely lactose-free, I’m still not 100% sure my gut is ready for dairy as my digestion’s been compromised for a long time (hence, this foray into fermentation to restore the good bacteria the homesteader way). These are some non-dairy “milk” ferments I’ve experimented with:

1.      Probiotic supplement as a starter: add a packet per ~2 cups of coconut or other non-dairy milk, leave out covered with cloth, check taste after ~12 hours.

2.      Using milk kefir grains in non-milk: so far the results aren’t as nice as with cow’s milk, but it’s an option worth experimenting with further. The milk grains do need cow’s milk to replenish themselves every few batches.

3.      Soaking nuts and seeds: the harder they are, the longer the soak they need, for guidance see charts here and here.

Soaked nuts/seeds can be eaten as is (and are much easier to digest than their non-soaked counterparts), or allowed to ferment a little – whole, or ground into a paste (will become nut “cheese”), or ground into a liquid (add extra water for nut “milk” and get something yogurt-like). Again, timing and tasting is everything as the nuts and seeds will begin to spoil, and I’m very new to this, but there are raw foodies who’ve really taken this to the next level!

SAUERKRAUT

Aah, “sour cabbage” – loved by Slavics, Germans and health foodies. I still remember the way it stank up my childhood apartment’s pantry as the bacteria did their thing. I think from then on, my Dad left it out on the balcony. I’d made fresh coleslaw by shredding cabbage and carrots and “massaging” the whole lot with salt, then adding a bit of vinegar and it’s delicious. But if you’re after the probiotic hit, slow fermentation is necessary.

In my attempts at ‘kraut over the last few months, only one of about 4 batches was really good. I think a large problem is that it’s summertime and it’s way too hot. I’ve witnessed some gnarly growths like kham yeast (apparently harmless but freaky) and just tossed the last of the jar I had in the fridge that had gone cloudy and was definitely adding to, rather than alleviating, my digestive issues. *sigh*

I also read that to really get the good bacteria, you have to leave it for a month, which will only be possible in the winter here.

But, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. In fact, this Saturday my friend Mara and I are going to a fermentation workshop at the nut-cheese-making place I linked to above. Although it’s called Fermentation 101, we’re actually going to learn things that are definitely a step up from beginner-level for me: an imaginative version of kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage), idlas (Indian fermented pancakes) and rejuvelac (a drink from fermented sprouted grains). Stay tuned for another update to my world of cultured ferments!

Although there is a ton of information on fermenting online, the current definitive bible of this revival movement is the 500+ page book called “The Art of Fermentation” by Sandor Ellix Katz.

Low-Carbing It

Although I’m lucky to never worry about carbs for the sake of dieting, I have gone off refined sugar a few times, which is always advisable if you have the willpower. Since Rich and I are doing a cleanse, it seemed like a low-carb diet might enhance its effectiveness. It’s been an interesting challenge in the kitchen and I’ve discovered new dishes, both veg and non, a few of which will even become classic favorites, I’m sure!

Breakfasts:

Miso Soup with extra veggies

can easily make for lunch or dinner, too!

Breakfast Casserole

very portable, so easily doubles as a work lunch or snack

            

Savory Pancakes with carrot juicing pulp

Another incarnation of these oat bran pancakes

Fried egg with greens and grilled tomatoes

Green Tea-Avocado Smoothie

• Chia-Flax-CoconutPorridge

Lunches:

Leftovers!! - the cooking's already done

Grilled mackerel, Baba Ganouj and stir-fried greens

Chickpea Pancake

Based on this and that recipe, served with DIY coconut yogurt

• Veg and Tofu from a veggie buffet: the easy and cheap option here in Taipei

Dinners:

Grilled Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes and Stir-Fried Veg

our kick-off gourmet dinner

Slow-Cooked Tofu & Veg Curry

  loosely based on this recipe

Slow-Cooked Balsamic Chicken

Sooo easy and really good. Def a new fave. 
I didn’t even have to touch the meat, just dump it into a bowl to marinate overnight, then slide into the slow cooker! ;)

This Balsamic Chicken came from The Mediterranean Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone, which is a great cookbook. The recipe goes like this:

1. Oil insert of large slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 2 large finely chopped garlic cloves,1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, 2 Tbsp chopped drained capers, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Dip 4 lb of bone-in breasts, thighs and legs chicken pieces into mixture, turning to coat on all sides. Place chicken in cooker and pour on any remaining coating.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until chicken is very tender and coming away from the bone. Serve hot.

Veg Stir-Fry with Edamame and Tofu 

Snacks:

• Nuts (soaked for easier digestion)
• Broth
• Cheese Cubes
• Raw or Stewed Fruit (no added sugar)
• Smoked salmon, goat cheese and cucumber, wrapped in lettuce leaves
• Savory Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread
• Yogurt, dairy or non, with nuts or ground flax
• Lassis

• Fresh Green Juices

we’ve splurged on a cold press juicer and are even growing wheatgrass

Keralan Curry

Lacto-veg (optional yogurt dressing)

A very pretty, easy and delicious dish from Jamie Oliver's 15-Minute Meals Recipe. It took us a bit longer, but really was a breeze to make and is now a favorite around here. :)

Enchilada Cornbread Casserole - Slow Cooker

Ovo-lacto

This was a real treat of flavors and rightfully stepping into the slow cooker season, since it's winter and all. I'm borrowing the original recipe's picture, since mine was sloppy but the flavors and satisfying factor really fab.

recipe and photo from Some the Wiser

I had a cornbread mix from Bob's Red Mill, but the recipe links to a DIY mix.

Also made this Red Enchilada Sauce to go with it - very easy.

Subbed brown rice for quinoa. 

Yum yum!

Gallo Pinto: Costa Rican Beans n Rice

Vegan

I followed this recipe

This is one of those dishes I had wanted to make for ... years! It turned out to be so easy, I don't know what took me so long. As it was, I inaugurated the huge new non-scratch wok Rich got for us. Yay!

BTW, beans + rice = complete protein.

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.

Easy Veggie-Scraps Stock and Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Vegan

I'm finally in the groove of stashing veggie scraps in the freezer and then using them to make a stock - a few extra herbs from our garden (thyme, rosemary, basil), a bay leaf and you can always add another carrot or onion if you're keen, top up with water, simmer for 45 minutes, strain - voila!

The stock then went on to evolve into a Black Bean Pumpkin Soup loosely based on this recipe. Cumin is key :)

Zucchini-Crust Pizza

Ovo-lacto veg
From the garden: fresh thyme, basil

Based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-crust-pizza

Be sure to squeeze out the liquid from the zucchini before baking the crust.
It has a nice frittata-like eggy flavor and I love having extra veggies all throughout the dish.

Impromptu Coleslaw
Shredded kohlrabi and carrot, diced celery, blanched broccoli and pea shoots, sliced cucumbers

Dressing (lacto-veg)
fresh cilantro, parsley and ginger; plain yogurt, apple cider vinegar, S&P

Middle Eastern Mezze Platter

Lacto-veg (omit yogurt in tahini dressing for vegan)











We recently went to Singapore and stocked up on all manner of spices at the super fun shopping excursion of a mall called Mustafa Center.

While most spices were Indian, we also picked up some za'atar. I later realized this was the stuff from my memories of the streets of Montreal in the wee hours after the bars as I picked out some Lebanese pizzas with this liberally sprinkled on top. (Note: I guess it's technically a flatbread called mannakish za'atar and I should make it sometime, too.)

Source: theKitchn

When I happened upon some Italian eggplants (plumper, much rarer in Taipei than the skinny long Chinese variety) it seemed it was high time for a Middle Eastern-inspired dinner. I based this on this roasted za'atar eggplant recipe and made chappatis for the first time to go with. Delish!

Oat Bran Pancakes

Ovo-lacto

We were treated to these pancakes while visiting Rich's sister in Singapore. She's since moved back to the UK, but we've adopted the recipe and love it. It is a breeze to make and delish.

Fresh or stewed fruit, chopped nuts, yogurt, maple syrup are good sweet options. I think you could easily top with some sautéed spinach and mushrooms and a sprinkle of cheese for savory.

Loose Recipe

1. Mix oat bran with yogurt, and an egg or two, depending on total amount. You don't need that much batter, they are very hearty.
2. We were fed with an addition of turmeric and rosemary that went fine even with a sweet topping, so we do something similar. Turmeric adds a pretty color and is a health booster. A little goes a long way.
3. Make 'em big or small and top as your heart desires. Yum.

Savoury Muffins

Ovo-Lacto
based on these Cheesy Vegetable Muffins (a great basic recipe)

Baked cheese makes for pretty pictures!

These were quite delish and had a nacho-like flavor.

OVEN 350C

IN A LARGE BOWL, MIX:

• 2 cups mixed vegetables (1/4 cup each:
•  sliced black olives
• re-constituted and diced sun-dried tomatoes
• fresh leafy greens chopped into fine ribbony pieces
• fresh corn kernels first cooked in salted water)

1 1/2 cups rye flour

• 3 tsp baking powder
• 
  
• WHISK TOGETHER:
• 2 eggs beaten lightly
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 pinch salt
• 1-2 tsp Italian herb mix
• ADD WET TO DRY, MIX LIGHTLY, POUR INTO OILED CUPS
• TOP WITH 1/4 cup grated cheese (I only topped half of them)

BAKE 25-30 MIN 

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

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Vegan

I had this bookmarked for a loooooong time... well worth the wait! Thx again, Oh She Glows!
The only modification I would make is less black pepper. Also, my sweet potato coins burned to a crisp... so they really should be relatively thick and watch them like a hawk ;)

Served  with sautéed kale and carrot strips. Buns or rice work too, of course.

ROKing the espresso

Here is my Dad with the ROK coffee maker, hard at work... I don't know which of them is working harder, but the results were mighty tasty and the process quite entertaining. Great gift for a coffee-lover, as my Dad will attest!

Sweet Potato Falafels

Vegan

That's three falafel balls piled up on top of each other, with tahini sauce, green pepper and basmati rice.

More great recipes like the one above at My New Roots

I'll probably bake them a little longer next time to get them a little crispier

DIY Energy Bars - vol. 1

Vegan

This has been a revolution around here!

In short, if you have a food processor... go make yourself some energy bars. There's hardly any reason to buy them except convenience. You can customize them exactly as you like, keep only the good-for-you ingredients and save $$. And there are sooooo many recipes and types out there... Wild! So here begins my Energy Bar journey. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do all that whizzing and taste-testing...

Imperative for successful bars:
Most of them don't need any baking and are held together by the sticky combination of something like a nut butter and a liquid sweetener, or ground up dried fruit, or a combination thereof. Follow these steps to make sure they stick together:

1) If your dried fruit is not moist, briefly soak it in a little hot water to plump it up

2) Once your mix is in the pan it'll be setting in, PRESS, PRESS, PRESS it down. It will be sandwiched between plastic wrap or parchment paper, so use your hands, a rolling pin, the bottom of a glass- whatever it takes! It must be compact.

Here is the first round-up of recipes I've tried that I will make again.

1. Almond Coconut Energy Bars

based on Minimalist Baker's Healthy 5-Ingredient Granola Bars

These are the closest to a successful commercial granola bar that I've tried so far. They have a pleasant crunch, are sweet but get balanced out by the nuts and oats and are easy enough to make, though do require a bit of time with the toasting, assembly and all that dish-washing after.


2. Soft Banana Oat Bars

based on Adventures of Our Family's Banana Oat Bars

This is probably the healthiest recipe of the bunch and in some of my friends' words "tastes like it" haha... However, the health nuts loved them. They are soft and with the extra banana I put in held in no problem - these do require baking. If you want something sweeter, add more dried fruit or some sort of sweetener - a glug of maple syrup or maybe sprinkle on some brown sugar?


3. Lemony Oat Bars

based on The Vegan 8's No-Bake Lemon Tea Oat Bars

In the world of endless snakc bar recipes, these are really unique! I loved the fresh lemon flavor! My German lemon tea was kind of strong and a bit strange, so I only used 5 tea bags instead of the 12. Next: try with my fave lemon tea of all time: Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger and make into flat bars in a shallow pan (rather than thick ones in a loaf pan, as per recipe).


4. Green Tea and Goji Berry

based on Vegan Crunk's Matcha Green Tea Almond Bars

Also very unique, delicious and easy-peasy! My ingredients were:
- dates, prunes and (very soft) goji berries, adding up to 1.5 cups
- 1/2 cup ground flax
- 1/3 cup mix of nuts and pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup matcha powder (I think this can be reduced by as much as half the amount - it's quite strong, even for me who adores green tea flavor and will make the bars less crumbly)

Another take: dried figs and prunes, toasted almonds, ground flax and chia, reduced green tea


5. Carrot Cake Bites

based on My Whole Food Life's Carrot Cake Larabar Bites

My mixture was kinda dry and giving my food processor trouble, so I added coconut water... a little too liberally. I ended up with pumpkin-pie-filling texture and even ground up oats could not save the day. So, I rolled these into sticky balls and they are delicious, if not exactly portable ;)


6. Crumbly Granola 

before-baking-photo: based on Real Healthy's Granola Bars 

Haha... so, these did not stick together whatsoever! I mean, in clumps, yes, so Rich and I devoured the resulting granola with a spoon because it was so damn yummy! I think the problem was the mixture was too liquidy - next time try omitting the coconut oil or reducing to a bare minimum, especially since I find it burns very easily. These also require baking.


7. Gingery Pumpkin Seed Chews

oops forgot to take a photo! picture and recipe both from Florida Coastal Cooking's Gingery Pepita Energy Bars

This recipe wins hands-down for super-fast no-mess. I think I was done in ~10 minutes. Very yummy! Now I need to source some more crystallized ginger! - or make it ;)

Another take: walnuts and prunes and candied orange peel, coated in hemp nuts. YEAH!

Quinoa Salad

Vegan

This super-easy idea also works well with other grains like rice, barley, spelt and wheat berries and pseudo-grains like kasha, wild rice. Oh, and tiny pastas like couscous.

1. Cook quinoa (1:1 grain to water ratio). Skim off any funky scum you get. Apparently this is normal.
2. In the meantime, dice up any additions you want to stir in (eg. veggies, herbs, flavor bursts like olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc). Make a dressing (super-simple can be made from two ingredients: some yummy good oil of choice with something sour, like lemon juice or caper or olive liquid, etc).
3. Mix everything together. Sprinkle with seeds for a pleasant crunch and protein boost.

Seedy Protein Bread (GF)

Vegan, GF

Texture is dense and chewy. Delish with miso and yellow pepper slivers or avocado or hummus or nut butter or pesto or ...



Original Recipe: Oh-She-Glows

I didn't have enough chia seeds, so topped off the 1/2 cup measure with ground flax
Spices: oregano, marjoram, rosemary, cumin - smells amazing!
8x8 baking pan worked fine, same time.
If pumpkin seeds could stay crunchy, would be even better. Toast them first?