Gluten-free Toasted Coconut Waffles with maple cream

I found this recipe on the blog www.joythebaker.com and have been looking for an excuse to make them ever since. So when I realized that last Wednesday was National Waffle Day I knew I had found my excuse :)

I am posting this as is from the web site. I did some modification because the batter looked so wrong and was still unhappy with what the batter looked like. Once we cooked them up though, we were pleasantly surprised. I suggest following the recipe the first time, then play around with it if you want to. Just don't be scared off by how runny the batter is.

We didn't have cream on hand so I didn't make up the maple cream, but I did make a fresh batch of coconut syrup (that recipe can be found on my blog as well) and drowned the waffles in that! YUMMY!

I'm going to play around with other ideas for coconut waffles, and if I find something better I'll let you know :)

Gluten-free Toasted Coconut Waffles with maple cream

makes 2 sheets of square waffles in a 8 1/2-inch waffle maker, serves about 3

For the waffles:

1/3 cup sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

4 tablespoons melted coconut oil, or unsalted butter

6 large eggs

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 tablespoon mashed bananas (i forgot to buy bananas and used peanut butter)

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted (if you don’t want to use flakes in addition to shredded coconut, just top your waffles with more shredded coconut)

For the maple cream:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Place coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 4 minutes. Keep an eye on the coconut, it browns and burns quickly.

Remove toasted coconut from the oven and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut oil, eggs, agave nectar, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas. Whisk until well incorporated.

In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. Work the mixture with your fingers to ensure that the coconut flour doesn’t have any lumps in to.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mixture will begin to thicken as you whisk. Add the toasted, shredded coconut and whisk to incorporate. Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes while you plug in and preheat the waffle iron.

I have an 8 1/2-inch square waffle iron, and this recipe made 2 waffle sheets. I divided the batter in two to bake them up.

To make the maple cream, whisk together heavy cream and maple syrup, in a medium bowl, until soft peaks form. Easy.

Bake up waffles, and serve warm with maple cream and toasted coconut flakes.

Quinoa Black Bean Mango Salad

I found this on one of my favorite blogs, http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/. I Took this one to potluck the other week and it was VERY well liked. My family really liked it too. :)

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup uncooked millet
1 ripe mango
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1/3 cup chopped scallions
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Place quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse under cool water for 2 to 3 minutes. Place quinoa in a medium saucepan with 1 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil. Add a bit of salt. Reduce to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing. Cool slightly.

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add millet and a bit of salt. Reduce to a simmer, cook uncovered until water has absorbed and millet is fluffy. If you don’t stir it too much during cooking, the millet will be fluffy.

Toss slightly cooled quinoa and millet with mango, black beans, scallions, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

This salad lasts 3 days in the refrigerator.

I used couscous instead of the millet and I also added some fresh basil.

Thai Iced Tea

This is a cool, refreshing drink on a nice hot day :)

Serves 2

• 4 cups boiling water
• 4 tea bags (such as Assam, Orange Pekoe, Ceylon, etc...) OR 4 tsp. loose black tea (I used Ceylon Tea - pictured above)
• Juice of 1 fresh lime or lemon
• 1 inch piece galangal or ginger, grated
• 1/4-1/3 cup white sugar (taste for sweetness, adding more sugar as desired), or equivalent of syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 1-2 drops of jasmine essence (optional)
• Ice cubes or crushed ice
• Garnish: slices of fresh lime or lemon and sprigs of fresh mint or basil

Boil the water and add to all the ingredients except Ice and Garnish and let seep for 5 minutes. Strain into a pitcher with ice and place in refrigerator until well chilled. Enjoy with garnish :)

I found this recipe at thaifood/about.com and enjoy it very much - and I'm not much of an iced tea drinker unless it's herbal. I haven't tried it with the jasmine essence yet (as I don't have any), but I will be on the look out for it the next time I go to my favorite indian market. That's also where I found the loose leaf Ceylon tea that I use.

Coconut Syrup

Well friends, I had a great curry recipe to share with you guys, but sadly dinner didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. It was still good, just not post worthy. Just means I get to keep practicing my curry making skills :) I will, however, share a yummy and easy goodie that was introduced to me by the lady that works at our local Asian grocery store.

Homemade Coconut Syrup

2 parts brown sugar (I used half brown sugar and half Demerar sugar)

1 part coconut milk

dash of salt

spice of your choice (ex. vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom)

Put first three ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Let simmer to between 200 and 225 degrees. Add your spice and remove from stove let cool. Store in a mason jar.

You can make as much or as little as you want. A full can of coconut milk will fill about 1 1/2 quart mason jars. You can also add as much spice as you want. I put in 1 cardamom pod about 10 min. before taking the syrup off the stove and then took the pod out before poring the syrup into my jar.

They actually make theirs into a jam, which just means that you cook it to a little higher temperature (probably to the soft candy stage on your candy thermometer) or you can cook it even longer and make it into a candy.

I have been enjoying the syrup on pancakes, waffles and as the sweetener in my coffee :) They also use the syrup in a rice cake. Don't know all the details on that one yet, but I plan on experimenting with that one too! :)

My Favorite, Rhubarb Pie!

My family loves Rhubarb Pie, so in honor of Ken being home I made this beautifully tasty pie. The filling recipe is a tried and true favorite from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, but the crust recipe is a new one that I found from watching Americas Cook Country Kitchen. Once I saw what the special ingredient was, I just had to try it! I'm so glad I did, the crust turned out very flakey and yummy.

I have to add, I am indebted to my mother-in-law for this pie.... She bought me The Complete American's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011 which has the crust recipe in it, and she has a beautiful rhubarb plant in her back yard that she doesn't use and I have free access to it (as long as I share some of the goodies I make from it!).

Crust recipe:

Foolproof Double-Crust Pie Dough

(Makes enough for One 9-inch pie)

Vodka is essential to the tender texture of this crust and imparts no flavor - do not substitute water. This dough is moister than most standard pie doughs and will require lots of flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup). The dough, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let the dough thaw completely on the counter before rolling it out.

2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon table salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces and chilled

1/4 cup vodka, chilled

1/4 cup ice water

1. Process 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, and salt together in a food processor until combined. Scatter the butter and shortening over the top and continue to process until incorporated and the mixture begins to form uneven clumps with no remaining floury bits, about 15 seconds.

2. Scrape down the workbowl and redistribute the dough evenly around the processor blade. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup flour over the dough and pulse until the mixture has broken up into pieces and is evenly distributed around the bowl, 4 to 6 pulses.

3. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Sprinkle the vodka and water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula, until the dough sticks together.

4. Divide the dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling the dough out, let it sit on the counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.

Pie Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

6 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened, sliced rhubarb (I usually use 7-8 cups of Fresh rhubarb)

1. In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, and, if desired, cinnamon. Add rhubarb. Gently toss until coated. (If using frozen fruit, let mixture stand for 45 minutes or until fruit is partially thawed but still icy.)

2. Transfer rhubarb mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate and add top crust.

3. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes (or 60 minutes for frozen fruit). Remove foil. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes more or until topping is golden and filling in center is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

This time around I made up the filling a day or so early (on accident) and it released a lot of juices, so I sprinkled about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch over the fruit and stirred it in to try and thicken it up. It baked up perfectly.

Promised Cheesecake Recipes

So Friday was Anthony's birthday, and he doesn't like a fuss made about it. Well, for those of you who know me know that I don't listen to others well, so I decided to make a fuss. I called up Liz (his wife) and asked for his favorite dessert.... Cheesecake! I love making cheesecake and so I was eager to find out what was his favorite type of cheesecake.

"I don't know, he likes plain cheesecake with fruit on top". Needless to say that was not the answer I was looking for.

Now I had to make a difficult decision, make a cheesecake that I knew Anthony would like or risk making a fabulous cheesecake... that he wouldn't like. I chose plan B (I also love making people try new things). So I went hunting through my list of cheesecakes that I've saved on Allrecipes looking for just the right one.

That's when I found this one.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Dessert

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sopapilla-Cheesecake-Dessert/Detail.aspx

We had just had homemade sopapillas the other night and Anthony ate more then his fair share, so I knew he liked sopapillas. I had to try it, and I'm so glad I did :) Everyone raved over it and went back for seconds and thirds.

There is only one change I will try with this recipe the next time time I make it. I'm going to cut the sugar that was added to the cream cheese mixture. I found it a really sweet dessert, but no one else seemed to mind.

The second recipe I made Friday is an old favorite...

Rhubarb Cheesecake

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rhubarb-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx

By: Barb

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 cups chopped rhubarb

1/2 cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese - softened

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheate oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Mix until crumbly and pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

2. In a medium bowl, toss together the chopped rhubarb, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon flour. Pour onto crust. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until creamy. Beat the eggs one at a time. Pour over hot rhubarb in the pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Cover with sour cream mixture while still hot.

4. To make the sour cream topping: In a small bowl, combine 1 cup sour cream, 2 Tablespoons white sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well and spread on top of the cheesecake.

Ok, so this is the original recipe, here are some of the changes I made.

I made a graham cracker crust instead of the flour crust. I mixed 1 1/2 cups of cinnamon/sugar graham crackers (finely ground) with 6 Tablespoons of melted butter and pressed it into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan and baked for about 7 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.

I also doubled the rhubarb mixure.... You can never have to much rhubarb :) And it all does fit into a 9 inch pan.

I tried to post a picture of this yumminess, but the blog page is giving me issues, so you'll just have to go to the site or make it to see it for yourself!

One last thing.... Because I am new to this blogging thing, I would really love your input about what I post and how I post it. I will try to post more pics in the future (meaning I have some trouble shooting to do), but I'd also like to know which formate for the recipes did you like? Just posting a pic with a link, or posting the whole recipe?

Your opinion will help me to make this into a very cool (and useful) blog :)

Day One

Well, I've finally decided to do something I never thought I would.... Write a blog!

I love to eat, but more importantly I love to cook. Especially new and, sometimes, exotic foods. However, I'm not patient enough, nor do I have the time, to create my own concoctions. So I rely on others to do the creative part for me. I currently have five food blogs I am following - the ones that I've actually tried their recipes are listed on the side bar over there ---> I am also a HUGE fan of Allrecipes. So this evening, while I was making a tried and true favorite, I came up with the brilliant idea of putting all my findings in one place and sharing them with you. I liked the idea so much that I started creating one right away (even though it is now past midnight). So now I sit here, enjoying a glass of wine, and am trying to stay awake and not make to many errors (I apologize now for any ramblings that have or will happen). Due to the late hour I will not be sharing the creations of today with you, except to tease you with the fact that my two master pieces are both cheesecakes (one of my favorite indulgences). And they are both sinfully delicious. I shall share them with you soon.

One final thing you should know... I will not be posting everyday (I doubt you would want to hear about the spaghetti I threw together for the kids this evening.), but I will try and share any and all fabulous findings :)