Yeasted Banana Nut Waffles & Agave Coconut Cream - Gluten Free

Since the times of the ancient Greeks, people have been eating cakes flattened between two cooking plates. By the thirteenth century we began eating waffles after a craftsman had the idea to create honeycombed plate.

The Belgian waffle is thicker than the traditional American waffle, because it uses yeast rather than baking powder and soda. Brussels waffles became popular at the 1960 World's Fair in Brussels, when they were served by restauranteur Maurice Vermersch. His Brussels waffles were made from one of his wife's recipes. Maurice was so successful at the fair that he decided to go to the 1964 World's Fair in New York. Once in Queen's he renamed his pastry the Belgian waffle.

I was inspired by an article in The Daily Gullet, by Matthew Amster-Burton, titled "Desperate Measures: Waffles, Breakfast With the King." Like Matthew, I always forget that I would like to have waffles in the morning, actually make that my entire family. Light, crisp and filled with syrup, they are a soul satisfying way to start the say. So I took Matthew's advice and started up a batch of gluten free banana nut yeast waffles.

I couldn't wait to start cooking when I woke up. Armed with a hot cup of tea, I warmed up the waffle iron and gathered my kitchen tools. The aroma was so enticing, I quickly had company in the kitchen. Our Shetland sheepdog, came in and laid on my feet while I was cooking. This batch of waffles turned out beautifully. I served them with either warm maple syrup or Agave Coconut Cream. Either way, the waffles were delicious.
Recipes

Banana Nut Waffles

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup chestnut flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1 tsp Plantago seeds (psyllium seeds)*
1/4 tsp salt
1 package dry active yeast
1 cup water (110 to 115 deg Fahrenheit)
1 cup lite coconut milk
4 Tb butter, melted
4 Tb coconut oil, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tb agave syrup
2 mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Agave Coconut Cream

1/4 cup coconut milk
1 Tb agave syrup

Waffle Instructions

1. Pour the yeast into the warm water and set aside to proof for ten minutes.

2. In a large bowl, dump in the flours, plantago seeds and salt then stir. Then pour in the coconut milk, yeast and water, butter, coconut oil, eggs and agave syrup. Stir the mixture together.

3. Cover the batter and set aside in a warm location for about one hour, if you want to use the batter right away. If you want to use the batter the next day, cover the batter and place in the refrigerator. The next morning allow the batter to come to room temperature before using.

4. Preheat your waffle maker and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions. Makes 6 waffles.

Agave Coconut Cream Instructions

1. Pour the coconut cream into a small bowl. Whisk until the cream is slightly fluffy.

2. Dump in the agave syrup and whisk. Serve with Banana Nut Waffles.


What did my family think of the waffles? They were a hit. Everyone of us thought they were great. My children didn't care for the agave coconut cream on their waffle, they preferred the maple syrup. My husband and I enjoyed the coconut cream on the waffles. This recipe is a keeper.

* Note: I purchased my Plantago Seeds (Psyllium seeds) from Native Seeds/SEARCH.

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Muffins - Gluten Free

Summer is one of the most wonderful seasons of the year. The vegetable market abounds with brightly colored foods that are all wonderfully gluten free. We have been living off the fruits and vegetables from our local vegetable stand again this summer.

The produce has been delicious and abundant. They have everything from kohlrabi to blueberries. Oh my...the blueberries...they are my weakness. My daughter and I pick some up with a plan to make muffins. After we wash them, my daughter asks if we should taste them to make sure they will be good enough for muffins. Oh dear...it was our undoing...we devoured that pint of blueberries. We couldn't stop, each berry seemed bigger than the last and the quest for the largest, sweetest berry keep us searching, tasting until the carton was bare.

Saddened when she realized that we wouldn't be having blueberry muffins, my daughter asked me, "What are we going to make, Mom?" "Not to worry, we have some ripe bananas that we make into muffins," I told her. We started to work on our recipe, which was inspired by the Banana Coconut Muffin recipe from Epicurious.com.

The muffins turned out moist and flavorful. Each bite tasting of banana with a hint of coconut and the rich sweetness of macadamia nuts.

Recipe

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 large egg
1 tsp kudzu/kuzu powder*
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup flaked coconut, for tops

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin with with 8 paper liners or place 8 silicone muffin cups on a cookie sheet.

2. In a large bowl, dump in all the flours, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend the mixture together.

3. Crack the egg and place it into a small bowl. Pour in the kudzu/kuzu powder and stir together. Allow the kudzu/kuzu powder to dissolve into the egg. Break apart any bits that won't dissolve with the back of a spoon.

4. In a medium sized bowl, pour the coconut oil, agave syrup, egg & kudzu/kuzu mixture, and mashed bananas. Stir the mixture together.

5. Pour the banana mixture into the large mixing bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Take care not to over stir the mixture.

6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with flaked coconut.

7. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool and serve.

* You may substitute 1/2 tsp guar or xanthan gum for the kudzu/kuzu powder.

What did my family think of Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Muffins? The recipe received three thumbs up from my crew. I warmed up the muffins and served them for breakfast the next morning.

We went and picked up more blueberries from the vegetable stand...

3 more pints to be exact...

Simply...luscious...mmm...

Still nary a baked good in sight...

Ancient Harvest Quinoa - Gluten Free

I have a variety of gluten- free Quinoa in my pantry. I have Quinoa flakes and flour from Ancient Harvest and organic Quinoa grain from Trader Joe's. I have made exactly one food item from each and didn't explore further. I really enjoyed the Quinoa with garlic and vegetables that I made with the grains. Although, my kids... I've read that you have to offer new foods to kids at least seven times before they will like it, that leaves six times to go.

NASA is experimenting with different varieties of Quinoa for growing in space. The nutritional profile of quinoa is excellent as it contains protein, fiber, calcium, etc. You can see the nutritional profile of quinoa at Ancient Harvest's website. www.quinoa.net

I chose my box of Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes as my test subject. Ancient Harvest has several recipes on the back of the box that seemed like they had potential. One was for Quinoa peanut butter cookies and the other for Quinoa banana muffins. Since, I've never made these before I made sure to cut both recipes in half before starting to work.

Crispy Quinoa Peanut Butter Cookies - Gluten Free

1/4 cup honey
2 tsp + 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 stick butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown rice flour
6 Tb Quinoa Flakes
1/4 tsp Vanilla
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
Optional: 1/4 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the honey, sugar, butter, peanut butter and vanilla in a medium bowl until creamy. Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat until well blended. Drop by rounded teaspoons on the parchment paper. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool.

As a group the taste testers said these were too sweet. The taste of the honey over powered the other flavors and lingered in your mouth. I agreed with my family on this one. This recipe has potential, but it needs adjusting for sweetness. Also, I think almond butter might lend a better flavor than the peanut butter.

Banana Quinoa Muffins

1/4 cup Quinoa Flour
1/4 cup Quinoa Flakes
1 Tb Honey
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 banana
1 egg
1 tsp brown sugar (not called for in original recipe)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Blend all the dry ingredients together. In another bowl blend the banana, egg and honey. Then slowly add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Pour the mixture into the muffin cups. This 1/2 recipe will make 4 muffins. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until browned.

My kids didn't care for the muffins. They said they were a bit rubbery. I agreed they were rather unpleasantly rubbery. Although I thought the flavor of the muffin was pretty good. The rubbery texture could have been caused by my putting some water in the unused muffin cups. It was interesting to see how the quinoa was almost steamed by the little bit of water in the cups.

I had one for breakfast the next day and toasted it. It came out beautifully and wasn't rubbery at all. I put a little butter on it and shared it with my Sheltie. She thought it was scrumptious.

Banana Bread Gluten-Free

Cooler fall weather seems to create cravings for warm quick breads like pumpkin, sweet potato and banana. I had five pretty ripe bananas, so it seemed my kitchen mission was clear. It would be gluten-free banana bread.

I selected my family's favorite wheat based banana bread recipe, which is from a church we belonged to in the early 1960's, as the to modify to be gluten free.


Recipe

1 stick of salted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 mashed ripe bananas
1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup oat flour
1/4 cup + 1 Tb sweet rice flour
1 1/2 tsp kuzu starch
1 Tb water
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 sea salt

Dissolve the kuzu starch in the water. Cream butter and sugar then add the egg. Alternately add flour mixture and mashed bananas and kuzu liquid. Bake in a parchment paper lined loaf pan for approximately 1 hr 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Note: I covered the bread at 50 minutes so it wouldn't get too brown on the top.

How did this recipe go over with my tough food critics? My husband and the kids loved it and liked that the half slice held up in their hands. They said I could make this recipe again. I liked the way this bread turned out. It's moist and has an excellent banana flavor.