Pumpkin Waffles - Gluten Free

I haven't told you about something.

I really should have shared this a lot earlier.

You know the waffle story a couple weeks back?

Turns out, HE was right.

Yeah, I know.....

Egg white waffles are far superior to anything else I have tasted. I have yet to try yeasted waffles, which seems like my perfect waffle, until then, I will stick to the egg white method of making waffles. Further more, I will adhere to this pumpkin waffle recipe until tulips are pushing up through the frozen ground next Spring.

Pumpkin because I love any vegetable that is orange. Give me something that is orange and I will eat or drink it. Well, anything but government cheese. I draw the line folks. I have a love hate with Cheetos. Love 'em but hate everything about them. Doritos? Don't even set a bag near me they will be gone. The orange that I do want to devour with reckless abandon include pumpkin, yam, every form of winter squash, anything candied with orange. That is the orange I am talking about - the real orange. Mother Nature's GOLD.

I put pumpkin in waffles and melted my own heart. Three weekends in a row. This recipe is large, large for a family of two. I try my hardest, I powered through 3 waffles in one morning but I do not recommend it and the stomach ache accompanied by complete and utter lack of motivation brought on by a full belly.

Unless..... you are with someone with the same intent.

And if you must know......

If we are going to eat ourselves into a waffle pile of worthlessness:

I do not like anything on my waffles. I use a fork to cut manageable pieces off so I can eat them with my hands. I dunk waffles if the mood strikes. I eat waffles like toast.

Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I used Bob Red Mills GF AP Flour and J didn't even notice )
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp.

Make more waffles in same manner.

Freeze excess waffles wrapped in plastic wrap and pop in the toaster to reheat.

Toasted Coconut Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I drove for about 10 hours yesterday. Crazy. I slept in this morning, I woke up to these damn cookies on the counter. Thank.good.ness. I am a little hungover from the road. Cookies helped.

Cookies always help.

I drove a bazillion miles, crossed the Cascades, plowed through thunderstorms all to have lunch.

Gas is four dollars a gallon. It was an expensive trip.

It was a totally worthwhile trip.

I saw one of my best friends, ate molten hot tofu soup, bought a spice organizer, talked about climbing and biking with one of my favorite gal play pals then talked our way out of a parking ticket and filled my car up with smelly Asian food. If I would have gotten pulled over (for the speeding that did not occur)  the trooper would of let me go for fear of the smell emanating from my car - kimchi, fresh herbs, seaweed make a car smell really awful.

That is what you do. You keep good friends. You do what it takes.

The next day you recover with toasted coconut - whole wheat - dark chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

It is so easy to let friends slip through your fingers with busy schedules, distance, time. Hold on to good friends, they are happiness, they are what makes us better people. Friends make you smile. Hold on to good friends. Be a great friend.

Thank you for being my friends.

I am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people.


Toasted Coconut Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
Adapted from Good to the Grain, by Kim Boyce
Yield: about 20 cookies

I like my cookies a bit thick rather than thin. I made half a batch straight from the mixer to the oven and they were nice and crisp, the second go around sat in the fridge for about a day and were baked cold producing a thicker cookie. I enjoyed the latter with a chewy interior and crisp edges.

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. molasses
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup toasted coconut
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into ¼- and ½-inch pieces, or bittersweet chips

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  On one baking sheet, spread out shredded coconut.  Toast coconut for about 6 minutes, until browned and fragrant.  Remove from the oven, place in a small bowl and let cool.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to blend.

Put the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and molasses. Add the flour mixture to the bowl, and blend on low speed until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate and coconut, mix on low speed until evenly combined. (If you have no stand mixer, you can do all of this with handheld electric beaters and/or a large, sturdy spoon.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then use your hands to turn and gently massage the dough, making sure all the flour is absorbed.

Scoop mounds of dough about 3 tablespoons in size onto the baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie.

Bake the cookies for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly browned. Transfer the cookies, still on parchment, to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

For the Love of French Onion Soup

If you really want to know and I think you must, caramelized onions cures countless woes. Some afflictions, the really serious ones that leave you curled up under the covers, hiding from the beams of sunlight peeking through the closed blinds or simply the blank stare of whats for dinner - what ever it is - the act of caramelizing onions will woe and suddenly be settled back into the swing of life.

Remember to remember - life is not that serious, you are not that big of a deal, never take yourself that seriously. This is what I tell myself, this is what J teaches me, this is what gets me through.

Start chopping the onions to caramelize at first hint of troubles, then chop more and thank yourself later. The simple task of slicing onions with a sharp knife will get your  mind off of anything except the natural burn that onions produce. Onions extract a brief physiological toll bound to distract, within a few moments of opening up an onion, the tangy scent wafts up to our noses, and our eyes begin to water.

I feared making french onion soup for years, saving the perfectly molten soup tucked under toasted bread and bubbly chewy cheese for a lunch date, trying to forget how I loved the soup. Homemade french onion soup was mystifying and out of reach.

French I thought, I am far from refined and skilled enough to make any recipe that eludes to French origins. I realized I have never really caramelized onions, yes sweat and sauteed but never brought them to the point of total surrender of caramelization. Caramlization takes time, turning over five cups of onions into a mere heap in the pan takes patience. Once the onions turn a deep chestnut color, your house will smell of sweet onions for days.  There is a point, the onion gives up the battle to the heat of the pan, releasing a gift of sweet and smooth caramelized onion.

Apparently it is not the French aspect of the soup, French onion soup is simple, the ingredients are staples and abundant. I was afraid of was penitence not the soup. Patience is a virtue and a challenge. Patience comes with time, will and practice. The simple act of caramelizing a couple pounds of onions is a simple rhythm of the act will have you focused and forgetting why the world seemed so heavy. 

Burnt garlic, we all have our faults and I am constantly learning. This bread is made out of the pizza dough from last week

Sunday nights at our house are very quiet and calm, the perfect time for me to belly up to the stove and make us a heart warming dinner, trying to comfort us from the looming week ahead.  Enter sweet, savory, caramelized onions. An omen for the week.

Onion Soup [Soupe à l’Oignon]
Source Smitten Kitchen who adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

When Deb adapts a recipe from Julia Child, I sigh and know that my troubles are over and I can indulge. This recipe is for my dear friend Nuisha, I hope you enjoy.

1 1/2 pounds (680 grams or 24 ounces or about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons (42 grams or 1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt, plus additional to taste
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) granulated sugar (helps the onions to brown)
3 tablespoons (24 grams or 7/8 ounce) all-purpose flour
2 quarts (8 cups or 1.9 liters) beef or other brown stock*
1/2 cup (118 ml) dry white wine or dry white vermouth
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) cognac or brandy (optional)
To finish [Gratinée] (Optional)
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss (I often use Gruyere) or a mixture of Swiss and Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
12 to 16 1-inch thick rounds French bread, toasted until hard

Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention; you can even go check your email.

After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. Don’t skimp on this step, as it will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup. Plus, from here on out, it will be a cinch.

After the onions are fully caramelized, sprinkle them with flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed but go easy on the salt as the cheese will add a bit more saltiness and I often accidentally overdo it. Stir in the cognac, if using. I think you should.

Set aside until needed. I find that homemade onion soup is so deeply fragrant and flavor-rich that it can stand alone, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the graitinéed top once in a while. Here’s how to pull it off:

Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Dab your croutons with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you.

Bake soups on tray for 20 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Grab pot holders, and serve immediately.

* Porcini or mushroom stock are a robust vegetarian substitution.

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So you want stand at the stove and caramelized onions. You are a saint. You should feel proud.  I am proud of you. Toss in an extra chopped onion so you pull out a half cup of caramelized onions to make a lovely rye bread with caramelized onions slipped in as featured in this month's Kitchen Play contest sponsored by the National Onion Association.

Whole Wheat Rye Bread with Caramelized Onions and Swiss Cheese
Adapted from: Cookistry

1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) medium rye flour
2 cups (9 ounces) whole wheat bread flour
1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup caramelized onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil
Extra flour, for dusting

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the water, yeast, sugar, and rye flour. Stir to combine and set aside for 10 minutes.

The mixture will be bubbly and foamy.

Add the bread flour, cheese, and onions. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is elastic. The dough will be sticky; that's fine. Add the salt and butter and continue kneading until both are fully incorporated.

Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and turn the dough out. Knead by hand, for a minute, adding just as much flour to keep the dough from sticking.  Form the dough into a ball.

Drizzle some olive oil into your stand mixer bowl (or another clean bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it over several times to make sure it's coated with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough has doubled, about an hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or sprinkle with cornmeal.

Flour your work surface again and turn the dough out. Knead it very briefly, and form it into a ball. Place it on your prepared baking sheet seam-side down. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about 30 minute.

Remove the plastic wrap, slash as desired, and bake at 350 degrees until browned, about 40 minutes.

Move the loaf to a rack to cool completely before slicing.

Sweet Surrender - Bread

Breakfast in bed.

A shell of sugar and cinnamon hides a soft and delicate crumb of steaming sweet soft bread. J has perfected cinnamon toast and this morning was ethereal brilliance.

Slowing sipping fresh ground hot coffee splashed with steamed milk and a touch of sweet from a spoon full of chocolate, our time free time together is deeply cherished and enjoyed slowly.

J sings as the peculator works its magic in the quit hours of the morning, stirring the coffee, milk and chocolate, quietly saying more decadence.

You need more decadence.

Breakfast in bed, total decadence.

Life is too short, sweet thoughts and memories should fill the air.

This bread will single handedly get you one step closer to sweet surrender.

Toasted with a smear of marmalade or slathered with butter then sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mixture then broiled making perfect pieces of cinnamon toast heaven.

Crumbs everywhere.

This bread should be ate in bed, right before you need to wash the sheets. It s about as messy as bread can get and as close as you can get to eating a cake but calling it bread as you can get away with.

Go all the way, eat it in bed, I dare you.

Not only will you have the urge to spoil yourself with breakfast in bed, the bread will make you eat numerous pieces of toast covered in sweet jellies or jams at obscure hours through out the day, you can pretend you are eating cake for breakfast on a Monday morning. Grand, just grand.

Not So Sally Lunn Bread

Adapted from SmittenKitchen; Maida Heatter’s Cakes


I urge you to make this bread with nothing but a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon. Give the mixer a break. Strong arms are sexy. There is no kneading - just stirring!

Makes 1 9×5x3-inch loaf of bread

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

In a large bowl, mix the 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast by hand.

In a saucepan, heat the buttermilk and butter together until the mixture is warm (105 to 110 degrees); don’t worry if this butter isn’t completely melted.

Gradually pour the warm ingredients into the dry mixture and stir vigorously by hand with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes.

Add the egg, yolk and another 1/2 cup flour and beat again for 3 by hand.

Add the last of the flour and beat or stir until smooth.

Scrape down bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap. Let rise for one hour or until doubled.

Meanwhile, butter and flour a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan.

Once the dough has doubled, scrape it into the prepared pan. Cover with buttered plastic wrap and let rise for a total of 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, however, remove the plastic and preheat your oven to 375°F.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out to a rack to cool.
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YeastSpotting

Bread Baking Day #38

Chocolate Covered Chocolate Cookies

So I made you some cookies.

Sometimes a girl needs chocolate - lots of chocolate. And cookies. This is the truth. I made the cookies for me but plan on sharing the simply brilliant recipe with you and sending the rest off to some of my favorite people.

Some times my brain hurts, it gets tired and needs fuel, I usually try to reach for some almonds or some green tea but today I reached for the cookies. First the batter, then an unfrosted cookie, some melted chocolate, then the final product. My brain needed chocolate cookie fuel, not health food.

It has been a long time since I have worked. Worked at a real job, one that gives you W-2's and that sort of thing. Time just seems to be slipping away. I have a sweet little life in which I do the things I love on a regular basis. I have my routines and it works, until it doesn't. At this point I usually make cookies for breakfast. Normal right?

Sometimes life throws sticks in my spokes and I crash. It is cool because I am learning how to properly crash, shake it off and get right back up, pedaling at full speed.

What do I have to show for all my time off? A new found love of writing, lots of time with the dog, bike rides, hikes, new recipes, books read.... good stuff. I haven't gone on any magnificent trips, learned how to salsa dance or took classes on photography or cooking or this self defense class that I have to take to fight back. Am I wasting my precious time or am I just truly being me? Am I getting soft?

It is one of those days, the point of rapture, I come up from my little bubble floating on a cloud and ask what it is exactly that I am doing. What do I have to show for myself?

Where is the line? At what point do we throw out our everything that we previously held to be true and try something totally different. Well, I am not a drastic person and this will never happen, so what do I change? I suddenly and slightly overwhelmingly feeling that I am going in the right direction but not at the right speed. The direction is nice, soft, pleasant and easy. I am one for things that make me feel good and satisfied, my life is wonderful right now but how could it be better?

Am I pushing myself to the fullest potential?

Do I just have the baby fever?

What do I do?

Here is the cookie recipe because now I probably made your brain hurt too.

It is Friday, have fun, eat a cookie or two, have a glass of champagne, be in love with something and someone, figure out my life, then lets talk.

Chocolate Covered Chocolate Cookies

Inspired by Joy the Baker

The dough needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours. This is science. It tastes better and is much easier to work with. I put mine in the fridge for 48 hours. The taste is spot on, between 2 and 48 hours will work. I formed the first batch into a log and sliced off disks. I would totally recommend rolling this dough out nice and thin (1/4 inch) and use a cutter of your choice.


1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 large egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, beat together butter, molasses and sugars until combined. Add the egg.  Beat on medium speed until mixture is fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Whip it, Whip it good!

Stop mixer and add the dry ingredients all at once.  Mix on low speed until all of the flour is incorporated, do not over mix.

Scrape the batter into a large Ziploc bag. Close the bag, leaving a, inch opening, smash the dough flat until it fills the bag. Seal the bag and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, cut the bag off the dough, forming two flat rectangles. Place one half on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place dough on prepared baking sheet. 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt chocolate in microwave until smooth, drizzle over cookies. Allow chocolate to harden before storing. Lick the chocolate spoon and cup clean.

Cookies will last, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to five days.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

According to Rodney Crowell "you can't stop a woman who is out of control." Let me tell you something, I may be a bit out of control but for heaven's sake, I am not going any where as the song eludes to. I have all a girl needs, including fresh baked bread and living in the heart of Washington's wine country. I am totally content.

Fresh bread is the one out of control and I know you get my drift. The smell is just too much for even the modest of people who think that they have everything under control. There is no control when hot bread when it is in within 100 yards.  Just try and resist, if you do, you are either gluten intolerant (sorry) or living with too much guilt.

It is was the bread. It was the hearty whole wheat, the sweet touch of molasses and vague hint of honey.

The bread was talking to the butter on the counter. Those two are the ones that are out of control. They plot against my tummy, and especially the duo: thighs.

You know something, if you have fresh bread, life is just a little sweeter. You can mark my words. One of my dear friends shared with me the most indulgent trick to tame my bread monster.  She whispered her newest obsession was taking fresh bread and smearing it with unsalted butter then sprinkling large flake salt over it. We are friends - of course we are friends. We tend to eat a lot of bread together while drinking a lot of wine. She is a keeper, just like my J. Good people.

This bread is more of a sandwich bread. Sprouts, cheese, mustard... well that is all I need with a smear of hummus but if somebody put some turkey on it I would eat it just without wincing. This bread might be the best with peanut butter and honey, smooshed and pulled out of my backpack while spending the day climbing in Squamish. Squished peanut butter an jelly sandwiches are the best, especially when they have sat for a good couple of hours while we play at recess or just be outside. Weird.

I have came across the perfect sandwich loaf that will get us by day to day. All I needed was in my cupboard and my trusty stand mixer that my in-laws so kindly gave to me and a little time. Welcome our newest member to the family: Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Please go to the White on Rice Couple for the recipe - They have beautiful photos and perfect directions.

Check out the bread queen, Wild Yeast, look for the Yeast Spotting round-up, I'll be there!



Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread: simple things

You are just going to have to trust me on this one or trust Joy because she is cool like that. You probably are going to want to make this bread. I am going to have to make a second batch. It is a cinch to mix up, it is easy on he tummy with a few simple ingredients, forms a sturdy loaf the can be sliced, smeared with butter without crumbling to the floor with the dog thinking that food apparently falls from the sky. I wish baked goods fell from the sky. Dogs are lucky that way.

 

The subtle flavor of the sweet molasses, the crunch of the cornmeal between the teeth and the nutty full bodied whole wheat flour all comes together with some buttermilk. No one else around me can vouch for me for the flavor factor or the superior texture of the loaf. Not a soul. The dog didn't even get a nibble, I ate even the crumbs.  The loaf lasted about two days... because I had restraint. By the second day, gone. Single handedly. Now I shared the dark secrets of my life, we can move on.

I ate the entire thing. All by my self, that never happens. But it was a flavor that reminds me of an old friend, easy, adaptable and knows how to make me feel good. Speaking of old friends, I spent the weekend with a dear friend, barging into her house, plopping on the couch and putting it into park. It has been years, times change, we both have grown older, but our relationship still holds a very close place in my heart.

Some things are easy, simple and satisfying. Some things are worth keeping, like this recipe, the loaf pan that the bread is made in which is one of the only things I have from my grandma, my old friend but if you happen to figure anything else out and send me a note, like where I can find a decent job.

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

makes one 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf

recipe from the Joy the Baker and New York Times

1 2/3 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup molasses

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour an 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt and baking soda.

In a small bowl stir together buttermilk or yogurt and molasses.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold to combine.  The batter will be slightly thick, but not dry.  Spoon batter into prepared pan and place in the oven.  

Bake loaf for 45 minutes to an hour.  Depending on how evenly your oven bakes, you might want to rotate the loaf in the middle of baking.  

When a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan.  Run a knife along the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto a wire rack.

Loaf will keep, well wrapped at room temperature for up to 4 days.