The Inadvertent Farmer

Whole Wheat Belgium Waffles with Blackberry Compote Recipe

I used to in my long ago past make Belgium waffles from a box mix.

Then I decided to try to give my family only (well mostly) real foods from scratch.

We have been without Belgium waffles for a few years now as I figured there could not be a good healthy recipe for those light sweet waffles we all loved so very much.

I was wrong!

I made these last Sunday and they were delectible!

Here is the Recipe (based on a recipe found here)

• 4 cups white whole wheat flour (I'm sure regular whole wheat would work too)
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used evaporated cane juice)
• 6 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups milk (I used coconut)
• 6 eggs (or egg replacer if vegan)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (next time I'm trying all applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Add milk, eggs and oil to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (don't overmix as you will develope the gluten and make for tough waffles)
3. Use approximately 2/3 cup of batter per waffle (depending on your iron size)
4. Bake on waffle iron as per manufacturers instructions.

Being careful not to overfill...ahem.

 

com·pote Noun/ˈkämpōt/

1. Fruit preserved or cooked in syrup.

2. A dish consisting of fruit salad or stewed fruit. 

Blackberry Compote Recipe

• 4 Cups fresh Blackberries (unsweetened, frozen could work too)
  
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Vanilla

Cook over low heat until very juicy and the berries are tender but no mushy.

I did not add any thickener to this as I wanted it to soak freely into the waffles, like this...

The combination of the sweet waffle with the tangy berries was divine...or so they all said!

 

At least I didn't have to scrape plates!

Next time you are wondering what to do for breakfast (lunch or dinner for that matter) give these yummy waffles a try...your family will adore you for it!

 

Banana Coconut Vanilla Oatmeal...oh yeah!

I seem obsessed with two things lately...

Coconut

and Breakfast!

There just seems to be endless uses for coconut milk, coconut oil...and of course coconut!

Today we're going to partake in a warm bowl of deliciousness which combines not only my beloved coconut but also bananas and yummy vanilla, oh yeah baby!

First bring 2 Cups Coconut Milk beverage to a boil with 1 Cup Water and a sprinkling of Salt.

Then add your old-fashioned Rolled Oats...about 2 Cups (this will depend on how thick you want it)

Boil until your personal tenderness is achieved, I like mine quite chewy so only cook a few minutes.

Then add shredded unsweetened coconut (a handful or more depending on how much you like it), one very mashed banana, and a touch of vanilla (about 1/2 tsp or so).

Cover and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Top with banana slices, or banana yogurt, or anything that looks good!

Enjoy!

*****

And if you are wondering how I found all those wonderful flavors to combine...

Yep my very well used Flavor Bible...one of my most prized kitchen possessions, it seriously rocks, seriously.

( I do not get any $ from mentioning the Flavor Bible over and over again...I just really like it that much!)

Whole Wheat Banana Oatmeal Coconut Pancakes Recipe vegan or not

We are eating yesterday's breakfast for today's lunch!

We always try to have pancakes on Sunday mornings and yesterday I had a hankering for something new.  I searched the internet and found a couple recipes for Banana/Oatmeal pancakes, I combined and made some changes and in the worlds of my 8 year old "rock...these rock!"

Hubby who does not usually like banana pancakes ate two plates full!  They are fluffy and tender and quite honestly some of the best pancakes we've had in a long while!

Here is the recipe as I made it...

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg (or egg replacer if going vegan)
• 2 cups coconut milk (or regular milk)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted and cooled (or vegetable oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 banana, mashed

Directions

1. Place the rolled oats into the jar of a blender and blend until the texture resembles coarse flour (I think you could use quick cooking oats and skip this step). Whisk together the blended oats, whole wheat pastry flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk together (or use your blender) the egg, coconut milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the well mashed banana. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Let the batter stand for 5 minutes. If it is too thick for you liking at this point add a tad more milk
3. Heat a lightly oiled (I use coconut oil) griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter. Be careful not to overcook these as they seemed to do rather easily for me and also be diligent to keep your pan oiled as the bananas tended to make them stick.

As a side note I think these would be delicious with cinnamon or nutmeg, and also could be made most wonderful with blueberries. You could also up the coconut factor by adding shredded coconut!

So if you, like me, ever feel the need to mix it up a little at breakfast, I would highly recommend these yummy pancakes...your family will thank you!

Or growl at you...which in three year old boy world is the highest form of flattery!

 

Green Super Food Smoothie and my New Flash!

What do you get when you combine a green super food smoothie, a three year old, and your new flash?

Without flash...Mr. Messy Face

With flash pointed up...still Mr. Messy Face

I've never had an external flash before and will have to do some playing around with it.

*****

And if you are interested here is my recipe for my  Green Super Food Smoothie.

I blend this all this organic goodness with Pomegranite Juice in my trusty Vita-Mix.

• Large handful baby spinach leaves

• 3 or 4 Kale leaves

• 1 apple cored and quartered but with skin

• 1/2 frozen banana

• 1 handful each frozen blueberries, raspberries, strawberries

• 1  heaping Tbsp raw cocoa powder

(optional powders, super nutritious)

Acai

Spirulina

Chlorella

Noni

Red Maca

Goji Berry

*****

My kids like the smoothie unless I add all the powders, then it gets a little weird for them.  I pour theirs first and then usually add the extras for mama!

Are smoothies part of your routine?  How about juicing?  If so what are your faves?

 

 

Yellow Plum Spiced Syrup Recipe Tutorial

Its Monday and here is another recipe that I've been using lately.  I just finished the final batch of plums from my sister's.  I've spent over a week canning nothing but plums for goodness sake!

This can work for purple plums, nectarines, peaches or any other stone fruit.

8 Cups of prepared fruit

4 Cups of Sugar

1 tsp of Cinnamon

1/4 tsp of ground cloves

1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg

Wash and chopped plums...

Put it in a large heavy bottomed pot.

Cook them until soft enough to do this...

Put them through a food mill over another pot.

You end up with this sunny yellow plum sauce!

Add sugar...

Look in you handy dandy Flavor Bible and see what spices you want to put in your syrup...

WHAT you don't have a Flavor Bible?  Well if you are even a slightly adventurous cook you will love this book.  I looked up 'plums' and it gave me a huge list of ingredients and spices that go well with them.

For my jam I chose vanilla, for this syrup I chose cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg...all on the list.

I do seriously recommend this book...hundreds of pages of delicious combinations for your tummy! I did a in depth review over at Not Dabbling in Normal if you want to read it.

You can either reduce you syrup by stirring it over low heat for a long time until it is the desired consistency.  Or you can bring it up to a full and rip roaring boil till it reaches the syrup point which is 230 degrees F. or 110 degrees C.  This is the route I chose since I had a lot of plums and not a lot of time to be standing around supervising a slow simmering pot of fruit all day.

After it is cooked whisk in your spices.

Put it into hot pint jars and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes

It is incredibly scrumptious.  The tart of the plums melded with the warm flavors of the spices makes for a rich syrup to use on pancakes, or oatmeal or even ice cream!

I love to see the itty bitty bits of spice floating so lazily around in the syrup.  If I can get a hols of some organic peaches I will certainly be using this recipe on them too!

So what is your favorite fruit flavor combinations?

Maybe raspberry with almond...or strawberry with cream...or maybe even peach with brown sugar.

Do tell and maybe I will can it!

*****

I'm also over at Not Dabbling in Normal today talking about bartering for goods and services...or how I got free applesauce this year with on little power tool!

Plum Berry Jam Recipe

Good Monday morning to you all.  For the next few Mondays I am going to be sharing a recipe with you to take advantage of all the delicious fruits that are in season right now.

The first of the series will be a jam made from plums and berries.

You can use yellow plums like I did or traditional purple plums.

I used Marionberries but any cane berry would work, raspberry or blackberry, loganberry, etc.

First start with the freshest ingredients you can find. I found them on my sister's plum tree!  Here is a little plum picking hint...

Wear a skirt!

On the way home I stopped at the farmers market and bought two flats of organic Marionberries...

I washed all the fruit and then chopped the plums.

And crushed the berries.

Now this is very, very important...

It is crucial that you take the time to play with your food a little.  One cannot let a good photo opportunity pass one by!

When done playing, measure out your fruit.  I chose to go with a ratio of 2:1 with the plums being the two since they were free!

For a batch of jam you will need 4 cups of chopped plums

And two cups of crushed berries.

Mix the together in a heavy bottom pot.

And try not to sneak a spoonful of two...which I would never ever do!

Add one box of regular pectin gradually.  Stir over high heat until it comes to a full rolling boil.

Add 8 cups of sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice)

Bring back to a full boil and boil for one minute.

Ladle it into hot sterilized jars (I used 1/2 pint jars).  Put on lids and rings which were also hot (don't boil lids).  Tighten, but not overly so.  Put in canner and process for 10 minutes.

Spread it on some homemade bread...

Enjoy...napkins not included.

Recipe

6 Cups Fruit (4 plum, 2 berry)

1 box regular pectin

8 Cups Sugar.

Process according to directions for Plum Jam in the pectin box.

And lets not forget the secret ingredient...

A little girlie sweetness makes your jam extra yummy!

Visit me over at Not Dabbling in Normal where I am ranting about the neighbor's well manicured lawn invading my wild blackberry pasture borders...oh the nerve of some people!

How to make Homemade Popsicles your Kids will LOVE!

Welcome to our little Tuesday get together here at the farm.

Its called Summer's Simple Things.

This is the day we share the simple things we have been doing for fun this summer.  Those things that require no batteries, remote controls, or electrical outlets. 

Just good old fashioned summer fun!

Today is one of my kids' favorite simple things of summer...

Yummy homemade popsicles...or fruit pops as we call them.  I made 40 of them at a time for the breast cancer fundraiser last week.  As the weather turned a little chilly not many were eaten.  The brownies and peanut butter cookies on the other hand were devoured!

That means my kids have had the difficult task of eating them for me....ahhh poor babies!

I need the freezer room for freezer jam so I have been pushing fruitpops for breakfast lunch and dinner...yep that's the kind of mom I am.

Now you can either make these in plastic popsicle forms or as I did in paper cups.  Even I don't have 40 forms on hand!

My first flavor (and my favorite) is Orange Mango Strawberry Banana.  Start with a small bottle of organic orange mango juice.  Put it in the blender with a peeled, cored mango.

Add strawberries...

And finally a banana.

Whir it up.  You can leave little chunks or make it perfectly smooth...which is what I did.

Pour it into little paper cups. Since I made these for a grownup party I used 5oz cups.  For kids you might want to go with a smaller cup.

Put them on a cookie sheet.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

Insert a craft/popsicle stick into the mixture. (if you have really tough plastic you will have to make a tiny slit first to start it, trust me this helps tremendously!)

Pop them in the freezer till solid. (ok, little disclaimer here...I realize that technically this requires an electric cord but at least we don't sit on our butts and watch the freezer)

Peel off the cup to eat.  If it is hard to peel let it sit for a few minutes to soften or if you are in a really big hurry run it under warm water.

Sweet Girl and I liked the Mangosicles!

Baby Boy preferred the Blueberry Pops.

Apple juice, blueberries, banana, and a touch of vanilla

Ya, its a tough job but somebody's got to eat all those leftover frozen treats!

*****

Sunday Supper...Vegan Pizza from the Garden

I have been asked both in person and via email how the whole 'vegan thing' is coming...

Well to be perfectly honest it has been much easier than I expected.

I have learned to make both cashew and almond milk.  Egg substitutes work great in baking.  Cheese isn't something we ate much of anyway.  Since we went from vegetarian to vegan giving up meat wasn't an issue.  So it really has been a smooth transition...really!

Tonight we are having my all time favorite dish...pizza!

Now how can you have pizza with no cheese I can hear you wondering...

Well the secret to vegan cooking I have found is using the freshest ingredients (the toppings for the pizza are all from my garden) and ramping up the the taste so you don't miss certain things like cheese!

 

Now before I lose you all let me explain...

 

First I start with homemade crust, an olive oil dough that I always have in my fridge thanks to my 5 Minute a Day Bread Book.  I make it according to the recipe but substitute 1/2 of the flour with white whole wheat flour.

 

Next instead of regular bell peppers I have used fire roasted peppers done on the BBQ, they are sweet and smokey.

 

I have also roasted onions and eggplant from the garden...drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

 

How does it stay on with no cheese?

 

 

Glad you asked...the trick is to put the sauce over the veggies!

Instead of a canned pizza sauce I am using a sauce that I made from slow roasting tomatoes and garlic with some olive oil and then pureeing.

 

 

Put in the oven and bake on a pizza stone...

This is an delicious and intensely flavored pizza

You won't even miss the cheese...

 

Really!

Baking Bread...part 2

Now to have a little fun!  As you remember yesterday we left our dough rising and our kids doing the dishes...

 

If you are adding raisins your little gems should be nice and plump by now and cooled off.

 

Your dough should have gone from this to...

 

This!  It has doubled...which by the way you will have to be careful not to do once you try this bread!

 

Choose your favorite child to get to do this fun part...punching down the dough.  What, you don't have a favorite child?  Well then I guess you could draw straws to see who gets to do it!

As you can see Sweet Girl would rather gently pat it down as to punch it,  I on the other hand give it a good punch in the gut to deflate it...then again I am not nearly as sweet and feminine as she.  How sweet can I be,  I own a camel for goodness sake...but I digress...

 

Here is where the artist in you will kick in...you get to mold, shape and otherwise form the dough into whatever form you wish it to take.  Above are dinner rolls...not your sweet flaky delicate dinner rolls , but hearty, big, you could make a sandwich out of them, dinner rolls.

 

Now the best part, remember those plump little raisins?  Yes it is time for them to jump in with the dough....bread dough and raisins just love each other!

Just in case you are a by the recipe type of baker and are wondering how many raisins I put in my bread...sorry I just don't know exactly.  We eat them as we make the bread, we purposely leave some in the post to eat after.  I just know that it is an obscene amount of raisins.  Seriously it is almost like a raisin party wrapped inside some bread dough.  Anyway throw in as many well drained raisins as your little raisin lovin' hear desires. 

Then get out your cinnamon and do a couple of big shakes, then twirl around and do a few more...that probably isn't quite enough so close your eyes and sprinkle some more!  Nothing is more annoying than raisins cinnamon bread that you can't taste the cinnamon...OK there are more annoying things but you get where I'm going with this.  So don't be stingy with either the raisins or cinnamon, stingy bakers are just not fun for anyone!

Mixing this is almost laughable it is so hard.  I've tried it in the machine, tried it with a spoon, but found the only way to incorporate that many raisins is by hand.  I put them in, fold the dough over, poke the stragglers back in and repeat.  I do this until all the raisins are hidden in the dough... or I get so annoyed I eat the ones on the outside that are poking out...problem solved.  Please don't leave any on the outside or they will become little charcoal raisins that your kids will make funny icky faces at and then proceed to spit out...yuck!

 

Oops!  I missed one, oh well, guess I'm gonna have to eat it! 

Here is what a loaf of my raisin cinnamon bread looks like at the beginning of the second rising. .. which is not to be confused with the second coming which is in far better hand than my own.  Do you know how many times bread is referenced in the Bible?   Over 400 according to my concordance...wow that is a lot of bread.  Anyway I digress...again,

 

Here is a loaf of plain old Whole Wheat bread, all nice and smooth...and boring!

 

Put it somewhere warm to rise again until doubled...

If I could make my blog smell for you I would cause darn it if this all doesn't just smell like heaven in a pan!

Fresh from the oven glistening in their mantel of butter hot dinner rolls...

and any one of you that notices my dirty kitchen windows will be banished for life! 

Just kidding,  instead you will be cordially invited over to help clean them, I'll provide the snacks!

 

I always put butter on the top of my hot from the oven bread, it makes it look all pretty and my folks always did it so, so I do too, guess that is reason enough!

Update: since becoming vegan this has changed to an organic vegan margarine but either is great!

 

The lumpy, bumpy full of yummy goodness raisin cinnamon bread!  Anyone notice that I play favorites with my bread?

 

I hope you all enjoyed making bread with me.  Although is is one of the more time consuming thing you can do in the kitchen it is also just about the most rewarding and certainly among the most delicious!

Oh yeah this recipe made all those dinner rolls,a loaf of plain bread and two loaves of raisin bread along with two itty bitty loaves that the kiddos made.  I know that is not exact but those of you who know me would not expect it to be!!!

To answer the ?'s from ang at St. Fairsted Farm...yes it freezes very well!   In fact I betcha my rolls would be way too yummy with her bean soup!

Baking Bread...a family tradition

I figured I would start the New Year off right by baking a batch of whole wheat bread.  I try to keep a supply of homemade  bread on hand for my family and decided to share my recipe with you.  It is one that has been handed down to me from my parents and has been tweaked and adjusted over the years till it is just how we love it!  My folks started making bread when I was a small child after they learned I was allergic to cottonseed oil which was present in almost all store bought baked goods in the 70's.  I fondly remember my parents in the kitchen on Sundays mixing up a batch of bread.  They would work together while laughing and visiting.  After the dough was mixed my dad would get down on his knees with a large bowl on the floor and would do the kneading by hand.  I always thought he looked so funny there on the floor pushing his big hands into that ball of dough.  Now as an adult I realize how much my folks loved and cared for me to take the time to make that bread.  Thanks!

Here is the step by step picture tutorial, part 1

For this recipe you will need:

• 5 1/2 Cups Warm Water
• 2/3 to 3/4  Cup Honey and/or Molasses
• 2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 3 TBSP Yeast
• 14 Cups (approx) Whole Wheat Flour mixture
• 2 TBSP Salt
• 1/2 Cup Vital Wheat Gluten
  

Optional

• 1/2 Cup Soy Flour

Buckle up, here we go!

 

I always begin with my trusty wheat grinder which my mother so kindly passed on to me...thanks mom!  I really like my bread to be as fresh as possible so I grind my flour just before I begin the bread.  You can certainly use store bought flour and still have delicious bread!

 

I start with organic wheat that I purchase in bulk from my food co-op

I will grind

5 Cups red whole wheat,

5 Cups white whole wheat,

1 1/2 Cups Oat Groats,

1 1/2 Cup Barley,

1 1/2 Cups Rye Berries

This is my go-to whole grain flour mixture that I use for most breads both quick and yeast.

 

Into the grinder it goes...

Fill it up and...

 

you get freshly ground flour!  Next you will need...

 

yeast (I store my bulk yeast in the freezer), honey (and/or molasses) and oil...

 

Put  oil and  honey in a large bowl or a mixer attached with a dough hook that can handle a large batch of bread dough.  You can also use molasses or some combination of honey and molasses.  Molasses gives the bread a  darker color and a slightly different taste.  I often do half honey and half molasses, today just honey.

 

Add your very warm...not hot....water and give it a quick stir.

 

Add yeast...

 

for proper rising make sure you talk to your yeast as you add it, lol!

 

This is what the yeast will look like when it is first added.  Now...

 

You're going to mix about 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour with your salt (this will keep the salt from killing the yeast as it tends to do if added directly), and vital wheat gluten.  This is where you can also add your soy flour if you are using it

 

Stir it all up...or have your assistant do it while you eat bonbons!

 

By now your yeast should look like this...

 

All puffy and foamy...

 

Turn on your mixer (if you are using one) and add flour, salt mixture (if you are mixing by hand mix this in thoroughly.

Next add your flour a cupful at a time.  You will add approximately 13 cups.  Now this will vary slightly due to humidity, flour moisture content and just plain fate.  So as you perfect your bread making skills you will learn to know the look and feel of dough that is the right consistency.  For me I quit adding flour when the dough starts to pull cleanly away from the mixer bowl

 

Knead for ten minutes in your mixer...knead for ten minutes if you are doing it by hand and revel in the knowledge that you are burning enough calories to justify an extra slice when you are done!

 

While your lovely assistant watches the dough you can be painting your nails or some equally productive activity or you could...

 

Plump some raisins for raisin cinnamon bread!  Just add some water to raisins in a pot and bring them to a boil, turn off heat and let the little gems absorb the water while you work on your bread!

 

After 10 minutes of kneading your dough should look like this, it will be very elasticky...that is the scientific term for it, just so you know!

 

Put you dough in a large oiled bowl.  Turn it over so the bottom is now the top, and the top is now the bottom.  That way the top which was the bottom will be covered with oil and the bottom which was the top can also get some too...don't want anyone to feel left out now do we?

 

Cover with the prettiest, or at least the cleanest kitchen towel you have and place it in a warm spot to rise, I either put mine next to the wood stove or on the kitchen windowsill if there is any sun out.  I know some people use the top of their frig.  I would do that but I would be afraid the dust bunnies would eat my bread dough before it was done!

Now what?  Hmmm

 

Yep its time to do the dishes.  Or you could make your kids do them while you went and read some blogs or took a nap...its totally up to you!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment...it's the fun part!!!