Gingerbread Waffles with Apples and Pecans

It was 0 degrees the other night. That’s right ZERO. We got 6 inches of snow over the weekend and the temps have stayed under 25 degrees since. I guess that isn’t too unusual for some of you, but around here, it rarely ever happens.

Snow Days call for some serious eats, don’t you think?

I decided to make Gingerbread Waffles. I’d seen a recipe for them in some magazine, but I couldn’t remember which one it was. Besides, I didn’t want anything too sweet. Waffles call for maple syrup filling the holes and dripping over the top and I didn’t want anything competing with that (except butter, of course, but that’s a whole different competition!).

Enough talk. Here’s the recipe –

Makes about 12 waffles

• 3 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 t. ginger
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. allspice
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 lg. apple, diced
• 1/2 c. pecans, chopped
• 8 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 oil (I used olive, but you could use melted butter or coconut oil)
• 1/4 c. molasses
• water or milk

Lightly oil and preheat waffle iron(s). Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add apple and pecans.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, oil, and molasses. Whisk together. Pour into dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Add water or milk by the 1/2 cup, stirring to incorporate, until the batter is just a bit thicker than pancake batter. (I added about 2 cups, but it would vary slightly depending on your wheat, how thick your yogurt is, etc.)

Ladle batter into waffle iron and let bake. Top with melted butter, maple syrup, and whipped cream.

These would make great soaked wheat waffles as well. Just combine yogurt and flour the night before, add the remaining ingredients the next morning, and go easy on the water/milk.

Scarves and waffles…so cozy and warm!
My mom knit this shawl.

Happy Winter, everyone!

Sarah

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Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

Giant fluffy snowflakes are drifting out of a grey sky this afternoon. It’s one of my favorite kind of days really, when everything gets canceled because of the snow and all I have to do is do whatever I feel like doing.

But today I’m feeling that wanderlust itch. Today, I’d happily give up my beloved snowflakes to be transported to Gimmelwald in the Swiss Alps, Haarlem’s bicycle busy cobbled streets in the Netherlands, or the Cinque Terre along the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy.

On snow days I read blog posts like this and this and the gorgeous pictures of far away places make me smile and cry at the same time. Maybe it helps cure the travel bug bite… maybe it makes it worse.

It’s funny how the senses can take you back in time to a specific place. Pictures, food, music, and smells – they all do that to me. I love it. The smell of Torani Hazelnut syrup takes me right back to the counter of the Rocky Mountain Candy Factory in Georgetown, CO. Steven Curtis Chapman’s “Not Home Yet” finds me driving in the wee hours of the morning on lonely highways through Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. And the combination of kalamata olives, tomatoes and feta cheese? Well, you know where that’s headed…

I found these adorable mini eggplants at the market for 10 cents a piece, that’s right, 2 bucks for all 20 of them…

…And I thought to myself (Well, I don’t know, maybe I said it out loud right to the produce guy placing them in the bins), these would be perfect stuffed.

Slice in half and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle on the olive oil, salt and pepper and roast @ 375 for about 20 minutes.

Scoop out the insides with a spoon (I used my melon baller-dilly-wopper-thing.). Place the shells back on the pan.

Chop the flesh into small pieces and put in a bowl. Add some chopped tomatoes, green onions, kalamata olives, feta cheese and cooked quinoa.

How about some fresh oregano if you have some? Oregano is pretty tough stuff. Mine is living through it’s second winter.

Season with olive oil, pepper and more salt if needed.

Spoon into eggplant skins and top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted on top and it’s warm throughout – about 15 minutes.

May the flavors transport you to your favorite Mediterranean getaway!

And where would that be?