Here We Come A Waffle-ing!

A friend of mine came by today to help me with some computer issues, with some programs that stopped working....last year. Since I have a few projects on my wings I needed to finally take those programs to task and get some help. Adam to the rescue! Just like Ina Garten, I rose beautifully to the occasion, making vegan (except for the honey) gluten free waffles. Adam is neither vegan nor gluten free. We do have a history of waffles, though, dating back to 2009 or so, when I told him a story about my grandmother's waffle iron that was stolen from me, and he got a bunch of our friends to pitch in for a replacement. Making him waffles brings to memory every previous waffle breakfast we've shared, and the friendship that's covers us like sweet syrup (awwh!). Also, my neighbor is a bee keeper and someone else gave us some honey they didn't want, so we are in major abundance here at the Hornet's Nest (what E. and I call our home). If you are apolitical about honey or local honey, I implore you (yeah I went there) to find a local bee keeper in your area to support. Raw local honey is great for fighting seasonal/outdoor allergies because they contain a small amount of the pollens that make us sneezy and glassy-eyed, working like a natural vaccine.  It also helps with digestive issues, is good as a topical salve, and is full of vitamins and nutrients. Like, jam packed. Plus, bees are in a pretty rough state, which you probably figured out from Dr. Who, due to all the pesticides and genetically engineered foods.

ANYWAY, I found this recipe online at Minimalist Baker, because I can never keep my recipes straight, and I think they came out wonderfully for being so basic. Just 7 (or so) ingredients, with a great texture. I will say that some of the edges cooked better than others, and the coconut oil started to firm again immediately upon pouring into the milk mixture, so add it last and stir right away, then combine wet and dry ingredients immediately. I would also cut the oil a bit next time, because these were a bit greasy. Of course, coconut oil has a number of health benefits and tastes great, so I'm not complaining, but it's an easy edit on the recipe. I'll do 3 tablespoons next time, as opposed to 1/4 cup. Below is my edited recipe. Also, I thawed some frozen berries and included them as well. 

• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla coconut milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (to make buttermilk) (white vinegar works as well, but Braggs apple cider vinegar has more health benefits)
• 3 Tbs coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey (if you are vegan, any liquid sweetener will do)
• heaping 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1 3/4 cups almond flour blend
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 cup berries (if frozen, thaw first)

Mix milk and vinegar together in small bowl and let sit. Meanwhile, mix together dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Melt coconut oil. Add honey or other liquid sweetener to milk, then coconut oil, whisking while adding. Quickly mix into dry ingredients until it's all wet. Gently stir in berries. Let sit for a moment while waffle iron heats up, then cook per iron's instructions.

I was planning on running the stairs tonight, but my knee suddenly gave out on me. Not really sure what's going on with it, but it's unlike any sensation I've had before. It felt like the cartilage or a tendon, though who can really tell that sort of thing I suppose. I did a yoga ab workout DVD, and topped it with some ab exercises I found in a Huffington Post article. Of course, these are pretty rudimentary if you've done HIIT workouts or have gone through a training regimen in the past few years, but seeing them all at once was a refreshing break away from the go-to exercises that sometimes upset my back. I'll probably put in another set of reps before I go to bed. Or I might just eat another spoonful of peanut butter and honey and call it a night.

Here's a SUPER SIMPLE juice recipe, for good measure. Just in case you're not satisfied with waffles and peanut-butter-and-honey spoonfuls. Also, did you know you can now purchase bags of "juicing greens" with spinach and baby kale? The bag has a picture of a blender on it, so you may be confused at the store. But they do juice well.

• Greens (baby kale and spinach is what I used)
• 2 apples
• 3 carrots
• (I wanted to add ginger but didn't have any, but theoretically it would have been awesome)

Juice carrots, then greens, then apples. Serves 2, so invite a friend over (I didn't give any to Adam, he already went home).

**As an aside, I'm not ashamed to say I'm watching the second Christmas movie of the day. First was Scrooged, and now Ernest Saves Christmas. If you haven't seen Ernest Saves Christmas since you were eight, I highly, highly suggest doing yourself the great favor of spending a rainy day relaxing with this lighthearted romp.

Can't win 'em all: oatmeal edition

I don't think this story is exactly what that xoJane column is looking for, but: it happened to me. I subscribe to Vega's various e-newsletters, one of which has recipes for different vegan power meals, usually breakfasts. A lot of them are just interesting takes on a smoothie, many of which I already "sort of" do, but last week was a recipe for slow cooker pumpkin oatmeal, and it turned out that I had all the ingredients already in house. Since it didn't quite work out as intended, I won't post the recipe, but you can certainly see it here if you'd like to give it a shot.

I'm thinking now that maybe there was a typo. I certainly should have used my common sense in thinking to modify the 1:4 ratio of oats to water. But I was making them at 1 a.m., as I am oft to do, and wasn't really at my prime. As you may have seen from the photo, these oats look INCREDIBLE. They are in adorable cups, and topped with walnuts, and the lighting is beautiful.

The night I made them, I had an awkward dream that amounted to sitting at my friends' house, who'd just broken up, staring at them as they sat on opposite sides of their couch, and watched the sun set between them out the window. Very long, dull, awkward dream segment. But when I woke up, I immediately remembered the breakfast waiting for me -- put your kitchen to work while you sleep! The Vega post cajoled -- though I was a little confused by the specific lack of warm pumpkiny smell coming from down stairs.

I won't post pictures, because they would make you want to just drive to McDonald's and purchase the least food-like substance available, so safe. The edges of the crock pot were burnt, and there was scummy looking brown water capped with what could have been a kombucha mother, had science failed me. The burnt edges were surprising, considering there was so much water still in the pot. The bottom was also burnt, and there was an oat paste about an inch thick.

I didn't even know what to do with it, it was such a mess. So I did what comes most naturally to me, I let it sit on the counter all day and occasionally looked at it and frowned, and maybe gave it a stir or two. Then a miracle occurred: It became food again. Just like Jesus rising from the dead and exiting the cave, so too were my oats. They were pretty bland for how much flavoring I put in, and a little gooey, but they had absorbed the water and looked edible!

I did what any disgusting human who really didn't want to throw about about $5 worth of oats, pumpkin, and spices would do, I heated some up in the microwave, poured some Vega  all-in-one powder on it, and topped it with a ton of almond milk, some roasted flax seeds, and some chia seeds.

And, I'm not gonna lie. It was pretty decent. I won't make this recipe again, at least not without some serious modification (though I'll post the modified recipe if it works out better).