Coconut Flour Waffles with Caramelized Banana and Toasted Pecans

I’m kind of struggling with this “season change” thing. As in, I don’t believe it’s ever going to happen. You know I’m a summer girl through and through but just like I refuse to turn the heat on until it gets really cold, I typically refuse to run the AC beyond mid-September. Things have changed. I’ve run the AC almost every night this week so I can sleep comfortably.

All complaints aside, this breakfast feels like the perfect transition from light summer breakfasts to heavier winter ones. And it uses one of my newest loves, coconut flour. I picked up a bag on sale at Whole Foods last week and as it turns out, it can be used to make a delightful waffle.

Coconut Flour Waffle with Caramelized Banana and Toasted Pecans

serves 1 or 2 for a lighter meal

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c coconut flour
• 4 eggs (I used 4 ‘eggs’ worth of Ener-g Egg Replacer)
• 1/3 unsweetened almond milk
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 2 packets Stevia (or you can use sugar… this is optional)
• 1/2 t coconut extract (optional)
• 1 very ripe banana
• 1 t coconut oil
• 1/8 c whole pecans
• 1 T shredded unsweetened coconut (optional – for topping)

In a bowl, blend all ingredients up to coconut extract.  I used a hand-mixer to ensure thorough mixing but I’m sure it can be done my hand with a whisk.

Preheat waffle iron.

Drop about 1/2 of the batter mixture in the center of the waffle maker and close lid. This batter is thicker than traditional waffle batter so don’t be alarmed that it won’t spread in the waffle maker like you’d expect.

Waffle is done when it can easily separate from the waffle iron. Mine took about 4 minutes in a Belgian waffle iron.

In another small pan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the banana (I just chunked mine up) and stir gently until they begin to caramelize. Add pecans and allow them to toast a bit and warm with the bananas.

Serve the banana-pecan mixture on top the waffles and garnish with shredded coconut if desired.

Don’t forget to serve your waffles alongside a big glass of Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee. When you’re done, push your plate aside, wipe the sweat from your brow and put on your bathing suit to go finish the chores.

Whole Grain Strawberry-Almond Cake

This weekend was perfect. Friday night we cooked out with friends. The man-friend made garlic bread on the grill and we enjoyed various meats and accompaniments. Saturday we went to the beach after enjoying delicious fresh-fruit smoothies. In the evening we went into town for dinner at one of our favorite places and after being encouraged to grab a drink by the Seaport, I was surprised with tickets to see Huey Lewis at the pavillion.

Like I said, perfect. Just like summer strawberries. I.can’t.get.enough.

{Whole Grain Strawberry-Almond Cake}

• 1/2 c spelt flour
• 1 c buckwheat flour
• 1/2 c steel cut oats (you could use old fashioned)
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 c strawberries, chopped
• 1/2 c soy milk (or any other milk of your choice)
• 1 c unsweetened applesauce
• 3 T coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 c agave-maple syrup (honey or maple syrup fine too)
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 t almond extract
• zest of one lemon
• 3 T sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375. Generously grease 8x8 baking dish (or line with parchment).

Whisk milk, applesauce, soy milk, agave-maple syrup and chia seeds together.

Combine all dry ingredients, except for the strawberries, and add to wet mixture.

Gently fold in strawberries. Pour batter into prepared dish. Sprinkle top with sliced almonds.

Bake for 30 minutes, cake is done when a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool completely before removing  from dish.

Store cake in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*Serves 8-12

I ate a second piece topped with reduced balsamic. Delicious. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

What are some great recipes using strawberries you’ve tried this season?

All The Colors

Summer is finally here, well at least that’s what the calendar says. It seems like the weather hasn’t quite decided yet but hopefully soon warm weather will be here to stay. With that said, I did take advantage of the warm weather earlier this week to make a delicious “summer themed” dinner.

First up, a delicious fruit salsa.

I used:

• 1/2 c mango chunks
• 1/2 c pineapple tidbits
• 1/4 c red pepper, diced
• 1/4 c red onion, diced
• 1 T lime juice
• 1/4 c Boston Olive Oil Company coconut balsamic vinegar, reduced over heat to 1/8 c

I mixed all of the ingredients and chilled salsa for about 30 minutes before serving.

On the side, I made a Chili-Lime Corn and Heirloom Tomato Salad.

I used:

• 2 c corn kernals
• 1 c baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1 T LeRoux Kitchen butter flavored olive oil
• 1 T lime juice

In a grill pan, I heated up the olive oil and then cooked the corn until it started to brown. I added cayenne and lime juice and finally the heirloom tomatoes.

I grilled up a few chicken tenders in my grill pan and then served the chilled fruit salsa on top and the corn and heirloom tomato salad on the side. It was not only quick to prepare, but it was full of delicious summer flavors.

Happy Summer!

Fresh Caprese Summer Rolls

Fresh, fragrant basil. Juicy tomatoes. Creamy mozzarella. Nothing says “summer” like a Caprese salad.

I ate them everyday when in Italy. Okay, not everyday. I was there for 3 months. But I would have. If I wasn’t drinking bottles of chianti and eating bread dipped in buttery olive oil.

These are simple. Spring roll (rice paper) wrappers. Fresh basil, tomato and mozzarella. 18 year old balsamic for dipping.

I have thought about these every day since I made them. Make them. You will think about them every day after too. Bring them to a party, your fellow partygoers will hug you. No promises, but they should.

Inspiration here.

Not your average potato salad

I've been meaning to post about the wonderful potato salad I made 4th of July weekend. As I'm not a huge fan of the traditional, mayonnaise laden kind, I was super thrilled to find a recipe that was completely different. The recipe also calls for red potatoes, which I absolutely love, so that was another major win.

Here's the recipe:
Dilled Potato Salad With Feta (adapted from Southern Living)

Ingredients:
2 lbs unpeeled small size red potatoes
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 tablespoons fresh or 1 tablespoon dried dill (I used dried because that's what I had on hand)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 large Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 (4 ounce) package of crumbled feta cheese
Optional: 1 cucumber, cut lengthwise & sliced (I omitted because I don't care for cucumber)

Making it:
Bring potatoes and water to boil. Reduce heat (to prevent overcooking and boil overs) and cover. Cook 25 minutes or just until they are tender. Check with a fork. Drain and cool the potatoes. When they are still slightly warm, you may go ahead and cut them into quarters.

While the potatoes are "cooling". Whisk together the vinegar, oil, dill and salt and pepper. Pour over the quartered potatoes while they are still slightly warm.

Stir in the chopped pepper and green onions, add the feta and toss of mix gently with a spoon to combine the flavors. Cover and let chill in the fridge for a few hours. Enjoy!

*Give it another gentle stir just before serving!

Hot Day, Cold Salad

Yes, again the heat influenced a meal choice. This time, a shrimp and red quinoa salad was on the menu. Quinoa is my new obsession. It really is a super-food, gluten-free, high in fiber, protein and low in fat. I've previously used it as a side-dish and this time thought it would be great as the base for a nice cold, summer salad packed with vegetables. The ingredients:
Vegetable broth, shrimp, organic red quinoa, black beans, sweet yellow corn, mushrooms, baby spinach and later on some added cherry tomatoes, lime juice, crushed red paper and cilantro. I started by cooking the quinoa in the vegetable broth and in a saute pan, began to cook the baby spinach and mushrooms. After the quinoa was cooked, I added it to the saute pan along with the rest of the ingredients and mixed in some chopped garlic. Finally, I put the entire salad in the refrigerator to cool for a few hours and enjoyed once thoroughly chilled. It was even tastier in the days to come!