Cleaning Out The Fridge Calzones

You may have noticed that my recent cooking photos were not taken in my kitchen--or maybe you haven't, I don't know.  But anyway, they weren't taken in my kitchen, because I am still pet sitting, this time for a border collie and 2 cats, my oldest "clients."  What started out as a favor for one friend is now my winter time "business"--I've been booked solid for the past 2 months, with the exception of February 19th, the only day I've been between jobs.  But anyway, back to my point, which is that I've been cooking elsewhere these days.  The best part about this current gig is that the owner has basically every kitchen gadget under the sun, and then some, so Erik and I always have fun experimenting with the things we find.  (I'm pretty sure the only time their pasta maker has ever been used is when we're staying here!)  The latest gadget that I wanted to try was a little calzone mold, available from Williams Sonoma, if you feel so inclined.  

While this little thing is hardly essential for making calzones, it was fun to try.  It's best attribute is that it helps with portion control--when I'm making calzones free form I get so carried away that each calzone is like an entire pizza, just folded in half.  I liked this tool because it makes a nicely sized calzone that left me full but not sick to my stomach because I just don't know when to stop eating.

But enough about a piece of plastic--let's get to the good stuff: the filling.  Since our time at this particular house is winding down, and we will be out every night until we head back to our own cottage, I was trying to figure out how to use up as many odds and ends as possible.  Surprisingly, and luckily, I had just the right amount of this and that to make the perfect amount of delicious filling--a cup of spicy homemade tomato sauce, about a 1/3 of a box of frozen spinach, the butt of a small onion, half a red bell pepper and some kalamata olives.  Tangy feta cheese and melty grated mozzarella rounded out this Greek-inspired combination, which I have to say was amazingly delicious, despite its ad-hoc nature.  In fact, part of the reason I'm posting about it is so that I remember to make it again, even when I'm not just trying to use up leftovers.

Usually when I make calzones I just toss everything on the dough, as if I were making a pizza, before folding it.  This time, however, I tried mixing all the ingredients together before making the calzones, mostly in the interest of saving counter space so I wouldn't have lots of piles of vegetables and whatnot while I was waiting for Erik to get back from the store with the cheese.  I actually really liked this approach, and will use it again in the future, since it helped all the flavors come together, and made the calzones quicker to fill.

The dough I used for these calzones is the exact same pizza dough featured in the flatbread post.  It made 4 individually sized calzones.  It is quite a soft dough, which made it a bit hard to remove from the calzone shaper gadget, although spraying it with Pam helped.  

Greek-Inspired "Cleaning Out The Fridge" Calzones

Serves 4

* 1 batch of this pizza dough, or the dough of your choice, either homemade or store-bought

* About 1 cup of tomato sauce, either homemade or jarred

* About 1/3 of a box of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid

* 1/4 of a small onion, diced

* 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* A shake of red pepper flakes, if desired

* About 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, quartered

* Fresh or dried thyme and oregano, a few sprinkles of each

* Feta cheese, crumbled

* Mozzarella cheese, grated

* Cornmeal, for sprinkling, or nonstick spray

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  In a bowl, combine the tomato sauce, spinach, onion, pepper, garlic, olives, red pepper flakes, and herbs.

 

If you filling is this liquidy, just spoon off the excess so the insides of your calzones aren't runny

2.  Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll or stretch out into a circle.  If you are using a calzone gadget, place the dough on the gadget, if not, just leave the rounds on your work surface.  Place a quarter of the filling and a sprinkle of the crumbled feta and the mozzarella on half of each dough round.  Fold the other half over and pinch firmly with your fingers to seal the calzone.

3. Transfer the calzones to a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal or sprayed with nonstick spray.  If you want an easy cleanup, cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil first.  Arrange the calzones so they aren't touching, and have a couple of inches of space between them.  

4.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.  A big leafy salad is a great accompaniment for these calzones.  Enjoy!

A bad example of giving the calzones enough space.  Better to use two sheets if one is this crowded.

Roasted Broccoli

   

Broccoli happens to be my favorite vegetable, but sadly Erik does not share my appreciation for this wonderful veg, so I've had to do without for quite a while now.  However, a few weeks ago my sister and her boyfriend came to visit, and we made Mongolian Beef with Broccoli (another recipe for another post), and we had an extra head of broccoli kicking around the fridge.  I don't know where I initially saw the recipe, but rumor had it that Ina Garten's Roasted Broccoli was to die for, so I figured I had nothing to lose.  

What I love about this recipe is that it's so fast and easy, and it truly does make broccoli irresistible.  Upon serving it to Erik for the first time I was practically apologetic, because I knew he wasn't too excited, but I kid you not, his exact word were "Did you do something special to this broccoli?  It tastes like french fries."  And there you have it: even a broccoli un-enthusiast thinks this is one tasty recipe!  Plus it's so quick to prepare, adaptable for any amount of people, and can go along side just about anything (as long as you don't mind letting it steal the show!)  Ina has you toss the roasted broccoli with lemon juice, cheese and pine nuts, but so far I've only tried it with lemon juice, which does add something special, so I wouldn't skip that step.  I'm sure the cheese and pine nuts taste great, too, but the broccoli is so good on its own that they're hardly essential.

Roasted Broccoli (Adapted from Ina Garten's Back To Basics cookbook)

* Enough broccoli

* A few cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

* Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

* Kosher salt and pepper, a sprinkle of each

* Wedge of lemon for squeezing, and zest from the lemon

* Toasted pine nuts (optional)

* Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and adjust rack to the middle of the oven.  Cut the broccoli into florets and trim off any long stems.

2.  Put the broccoli and the garlic on a sheet pan (lined with tin foil for easy clean up, if you want), and drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss the broccoli and garlic around on the sheet pan to coat everything lightly with oil.

                              

3. Roast the broccoli for 20-25 minutes.  It's okay if the tips start to look a little charred--trust me, they will taste delicious!  

4. After the broccoli is done cooking, toss it with lemon juice and zest.  Add toasted pine nuts and a few shavings of parmesan if you so desire.

French Onion Soup, According to Cook's Illustrated

   
French onion soup has been on Erik's "to cook" list for a while now, and last night we finally got around to it.  There are so many recipes out there to choose from, but essentially they all start with caramelizing onions, adding  some sort of booze, a variety of broths, some herbs, and letting it simmer all together.  Then of course the thing that makes it French onion soup, not just any old onion soup, is the melting of copious amounts of cheese all over the top.  But which recipe to choose?  One of my fave blogs, Brown Eyed Baker, had recently featured a French Onion Soup, following a recipe from Cook's Illustrated, which might as well be the Bible, so I figured, might as well start with the best.  


What made the Cook's Illustrated version so appealing was that they took about four times longer to caramelize the onions, so I figured those would end up being some damn delicious onions.  And oh boy, were they ever.  Instead of doing everything stove-top, CO has you cook the onions down for 2 1/2 hours in the oven before even starting the stovetop caramelizing, which made those onions so sweet it was hard to believe I wasn't eating candy.  Not even hyperbole, I swear.  Then a mixture of beef and chicken broths, and water, thyme and a bay leaf, and we were simmering.   

Now, it might be sacrilege to admit this, but actually the only thing I don't like about French onion soup is that excessively cheesy crust.  Maybe it's my inner moderately-health-conscious person talking here, but just seeing all that oozy cheese all over the place just doesn't do it for me, plus it always makes a mess and inevitably you burn your tongue on it.  And in fact, Cook's Illustrated agrees with me!  So as a variation, we toasted slices of french bread on both sides under the broiler, then topped one side with grated Gruyere, and melted that for a minute, and floated those big cheese croutons atop the soup.  The soup quickly saturated the crouton and helped melt the cheese, making it, for me, the perfect topping for an exceptional soup.  But no matter how you like to finish it, either drenched with cheese or delicately topped with a modest amount this soup is a winner.  It takes a bit of time, but it's a fun project for a Sunday afternoon (or whenever you have time).  From start to finish the soup took about 4 hours, but the first 2 1/2 is just oven time, and your patience will certainly be rewarded.


French Onion Soup (from Cook's Illustrated)
Serves 6


* 3 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
* 4 pounds of yellow onions, peeled, halved, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

* Salt
* 3 cups water, divided
* 1/2 cup dry sherry (we used a dry white wine)
* 4 cups of chicken broth
* 2 cups of beef broth
* 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, tied in a bundle with kitchen twine
* 1 bay leaf
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices
* About 2 cups of shredded Gruyere cheese


1.  Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Generously spray the inside of a heavy bottomed large (7 quarts, at least) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray.  In the Dutch oven combine sliced onions, butter, and 1 teaspoon salt.  Cover and cook in oven for 1 hour.  After an hour, remove from oven and stir, being sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot.  At this point the onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume.  Return the Dutch oven to the oven with the lid ajar and continue to cook for an additional 1 1/2 hours until the onions are very soft and turning golden brown, stirring onions and scraping down Dutch oven again after 1 hour.

2.  After a total of 2 1/2 hours in the oven, transfer pot to stove top over medium-high heat.  Cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of the pot, until accumulated liquid has evaporated and onions start to brown more, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the bottom of the pot is coated with a dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes.  Scrape any crust that sticks to the spoon back into the onions.

3.  Deglaze pan by stirring in 1/4 cup of water, and scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen crust.  Cook until water evaporates and the pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes.  Repeat process of deglazing an additional 2 or 3 times (3-4 times total), until onions are very dark brown.  (Taste them now, they are like candy!).  Perform a final deglazing with the sherry, stirring frequently until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

  
4.  Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, and bay leaf, scraping up any final bits of browned crust.  Increase heat until broth begins to simmer (a few bubbles breaking the surface every few seconds), then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.  Remove and discard herbs, then season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
  

5.  While soup is simmering, prepare the croutons.  Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes until the bread is dry and lightly browned.


6.  Time to put it all together: If you have individually sized broiler-safe crocks to serve the soup in, proceed thusly:  Adjust oven rack 6 inches below broiler element then preheat broiler.  Set crocks on a cookie sheet and fill each with soup, but not all the way to the top.  Top each crock with a single layer of baguette, 1 or 2 slices of baguette, and sprinkle evenly with cheese.  Carefully transfer the cookie sheet to the oven and broil for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.


If you do not have broiler safe crocks (we didn't), just arrange the baguette slices on the cookie sheet, sprinkle evenly with cheese, and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Remove from the oven and place 1 or 2 croutons atop each bowl and serve.  Enjoy!!! 

Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup

  

Last night I tried my hand at Indian cooking for the second time; the first time was about three years ago, when I attempted an Indian take on tomato soup and grilled cheese after a trip to the emergency room. The meal turned out terribly: the soup was like water and I forgot the toasts under the broiler and they came out charred.  Erik and I still laugh about it, as it was one of about three meals that I've ever made that neither of us liked. However, last night I had my game face, and was armed with the right ingredients, arguably a better cook book (Best-Ever Indian Cookbook--how could I go wrong?), and I was ready to focus and get it right.

While I am a great appreciator of Indian food (it's basically my only must-have any time I'm off-island), I hardly know enough about the actual cooking of Indian food and planning of a menu to formulate a proper meal, so I just chose the first 2 easy recipes I came across in the first chapter (Soups and Appetizers), and went from there. The Spiced Cauliflower Soup was easy and delicious, and packed with healthy ingredients like vegetables, calcium- and protein-rich yogurt, superspice turmeric, and low-fat to boot. The Samosas, though healthier than some restaurant ones because they were baked, not fried, presented problems for me because of the old phyllo dough that I had on hand, which in retrospect would have been better off tossed in the garbage... So I will tell you about the soup, since I was made it with ease, but I will hold off of the samosas until I have a chance to try them again, and won't have to preface the recipe by saying "make sure you phyllo dough isn't total crap, flaking apart on one side and a soggy gelatinous blob on the other...."

My only warning about this soup is that turmeric STAINS. Everything.  I splashed some on the counter, which is now covered with yellow spots, the (formerly) white ladle is now bright yellow, and the lid of the blender looks like someone took a neon yellow highlighter to it. Did I mention that none of this stuff is mine, rather, it belongs to the couple for whom I'm currently pet sitting? At least I still have 2 weeks to work with the bleach... When you are blending this soup, be careful, and don't put down anything that has the soup on it on a porus surface, unless you want the exploding highlighter look in your kitchen as well...

Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup (From Best-Ever Indian Cookbook)

4-6 Servings

* 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florettes

* 1 large potato, such as a russet or yukon gold, peeled and diced

* 1 large onion, diced

* 1 tablespoon oil

* 1 clove of garlic, smashed

* 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely diced or grated

* 2 teaspoons of turmeric

* 2 teaspoons of ground coriander

* 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds (or ground cumin, if that's what you have)

* 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds

* 4 cups of vegetable stock

* 1 1/2 cups low fat plain yogurt (I'm a fan of Greek yogurt, such as Fage or Chobani brands)

* Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

* Chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish

 1. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, combine cauliflower, potato, onion, oil, and about 3 tablespoons of water. Put over medium heat, and when the liquids become hot and bubbly, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add garlic, ginger, and spices, stir around, and cook for another 2 minutes. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

 3. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender. (Careful here--you don't want any yellow soup explosions! If the soup is still hot, remove the middle part of the blender lid, and cover with a dishcloth or paper towel while you're blending to allow steam to escape.) 

 4. Return pureed soup to the pot, and stir in yogurt. Do this either off the heat or over very low heat to prevent the yogurt from curdling or separating. If you think of it, bring the yogurt to room temperature while you are preparing the soup; this will make incorporating the soup easy.  Seaon with salt and black pepper to taste, and serve up and top with fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy!

Grilled Flat Bread & Greek Style Salad

  

Grilled flat bread is an easy, customizable accompaniment to any dish, but I particularly like it along side a hearty salad, such as my Greek-inspired salad.  By mixing in any flavorings you like to homemade or store-bought pizza dough, you match the flavors of your bread to the flavors of your dish, for a cohesive, balanced meal.  The following is just a simple onion and herb flat bread, but your imagination is the limit on the types of spices or herbs that you add.  Brushing the finished bread with garlic butter or a flavored oil can even intensify the flavors and add an extra layer of decadence. 

Onion and Herb Flat Bread

* 16 oz of pizza dough--homemade, (recipe follows) or purchased from the grocery store

* 1/4 cup finely diced red onion

* 2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary, or chopped fresh rosemary

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Roll out pizza dough so it's about 1 inch thick.  Sprinkle the dough with the onion, rosemary, and salt, and fold in half and half again.  Knead the dough a few times, until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.  Set aside in a bowl for 20 minutes to allow the dough to rest.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and brush with olive oil.  Roll out the dough until it's about 1/2 inch thick (depending on the size of your pan, you may have to do this in 2 batches).  Place the dough on the oiled pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the bottom is golden and firm enough to hold its shape when flip the dough.  Brush the top of the dough with oil, then flip and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes.  Remove from the pan, and using a knife or a pizza wheel, slice into wedges and serve.

Easy Pizza  Dough (From the new Gourmet cookbook)

This pizza dough can be used for grilled flat bread, or any other pizza you'd like.

* 1 1/4 oz package (or 2 1/4 teaspoons if it's from a jar) of active dry yeast

* About 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, divided, plus more for kneading

* 3/4 cups warm water, divided. (105-115 degrees F)--if you don't have a thermometer, this is quite warm to the touch, just slightly cooler than shower water

* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Mix 1/4 cup of the warm water, the yeast and 1 tablespoon of flour in a cup and let sit for 5 minutes. The yeast mixture should look creamy

2. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups flour and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture, the rest of the water, and the olive oil, and stir until smooth.

3. Mix in the enough of the remaining flour (about 1/2 a cup) until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

4. Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and knead with lightly floured hands, adding more flour if the dough starts to stick to your hands. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Here is a good YouTube video that demonstrates kneading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0

5. Form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Dust with flour and cover with saran wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place for about an hour and a quarter, until doubled in size.

At this point you can roll out the dough, add the fillings, and proceed as described above. 

Greek-Inspired Salad

A trip to Greece three years ago taught me that a true Greek salad is little more than large slabs of feta cheese with a few slices of cucumber, tomato, thick red onion rings, and olives along side, all drizzled with olive oil.  Because of the saltiness of feta, I found the cheese to vegetable ratio too skewed for my palate.  I like to add crunchy romaine lettuce to my Greek-inspired salad and dice my vegetables and feta cheese a little bit smaller for an even distribution of flavor and texture.  I wouldn't exactly say I follow a recipe for my salad, so let this list of ingredients be a guide, but alter the amounts of each component to please your own palate.

For the salad:

* Romaine hearts, sliced crosswise into 1 inch pieces

* Grape tomatoes, halved

* English cucumber, cut lengthwise into quarters, and then sliced about 1/4 inch thick

* Red bell peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces

* Red onion, thinly sliced

* Kalamata olives, halved

* Feta cheese, cut into 1/3 inch cubes

For the Dressing:

* 1 part fresh lemon juice

* 2 parts extra virgin olive oil

* A hearty sprinkle of dried oregano

* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients in desired ratios in a large salad bowl.  Squeeze lemon juice in a separate bowl, and slowly add EVOO, whisking as you go.  Whisk in oregano, salt, and pepper, and adjust seasonings, if necessary.  Dress the salad, tossing gently to coat all the greens and veg, but not breaking up the feta cubes.  Serve with grilled flat bread, and enjoy!

Poached Pears in Raspberry Sauce

  

Poached pears are one of my favorite light desserts, and a perfect make-ahead dessert when you are having people over for dinner.  Everything can be done ahead of time and just sit in the fridge until you are ready to serve up a sweet yet light ending to any dinner.  My mother used to make spiced poached pears when I was younger, although I had forgotten about them until I discovered this recipe in one of my favorite cook books, (and one that I've mentioned before), In The Kennedy Kitchen.  Neil's recipe is a a cinch to follow, but I simplify it even more by using the poaching liquid to make the sauce.  The following recipe is for 4 pears, but the recipe can easily be increased, as long as you have enough sauce pans!  Also, by using good quality frozen raspberries you can make this dish year round!

Wine Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce (Adapted from In The Kennedy Kitchen)

Serves 4

For the pears:

* 4 Bartlett or Anjou pears, firm but ripe

* 1 bottle of Chardonnay or any white wine that you like--sweet or dry

* 1 1/4 cups white sugar

For the sauce:

* A 12 oz bag of frozen raspberries, (organic, if you can find them), thawed, or 1 1/2 pints of fresh raspberries

* 1/2 cup of the poaching liquid

* Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, to garnish (optional)

1. Peel the pears and cut out the bottom 1/2 inch of the core using a paring knife.  Leave the stem on top, for an elegant presentation.  Slice just enough off the bottom of the pears so that they will stand upright.

2. In a saucepan, dissolve the bottle of wine and the sugar over medium heat.  Add the pears, lower the heat, and cover.  Simmer the pears until they are tender--if you started with ripe pears, this should take about 20 minutes.  If your pears are quite hard to start, this may take up to 45 minutes.  Check on them periodically--they are done when they can be poked with the tip of a knife easily, but not yet falling apart. 

3. Meanwhile, puree the raspberries in a mini food processor or blender.  Transfer the puree to a large meshed sieve and press the puree through, straining out the seeds.  I have found that you really need to take a rubber spatula or a spoon and mush the puree around to press the liquid through, and periodically take your spatula and wipe off all the puree that sticks to the underside of the sieve.  If you feel like a lot of the puree is still sticking to the seeds, add a few tablespoons of water to the puree, mix it around, and this should help. 

4.  When the pears are soft, remove from heat.  Take out a 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the raspberry puree.  Taste the sauce and add more poaching liquid if it is still too tart.  When desired sweetness is achieved, transfer the pears, still in the the remainder of their liquid, to the fridge to cool--at least 2 hours but up to 24.  Cover the raspberry sauce and refrigerate until it is time to serve.

5. To serve, place each pear in a shallow bowl and pour a pool of sauce around each pear.  Add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream, if desired.  For even more pizazz, a sprig of mint is a nice garnish, or light sprinkle of grated dark chocolate, but these will taste divine as is.

Enjoy!

Fresh Whipped Cream

* 1/2 cup of heavy or whipping cream

* 2 tablespoons white sugar

* 1 teaspoon of real vanilla extract

Combine ingredients in a bowl and whip with an electric beater until cream is thick and holds its shape.

Easy Waffles From Scratch

 

From time to time any experimental cook will find herself stuck with half a bag of this or that, some leftover ingredient from some dish that they tried. A few weeks ago I tried my hand at Ethiopian cooking, and every recipe I found for injera, the traditional pancake-like Ethiopian bread, uses self-rising flour. Not wanting to alter the recipe on my first effort, I bought self-rising flour, which is just all purpose flour with a certain proportion of baking powder and salt mixed in. I won't buy it again now that I know what it is, (I can make it myself), but still I am saddled with about 7/8ths of a bag of flour taking up precious real estate in my tiny pantry. The challenge when you have these extra odds and ends is to find recipes that use the right amount so you can use them up. (Heck, I'm still trying to finish off that chili in adobo that I bought last summer!) What to do with this flour...? Well, the cat house has a waffle maker, and I haven't had a waffle in years (college, maybe?) so the answer is obvious!

It was a challenge to find a fast waffle recipe; many use either yeast or whipped egg whites as leavening agents and require rest time before cooking. Let me tell you, I am a hungry girl in the morning. Sometimes my hunger even wakes me up. Don't know why, but that's just the way I am. So I didn't have the patience to let some batter sit around for an hour. The easiest recipe I found on AllRecipes.com uses baking powder instead of yeast or whipped egg whites to get a nice light texture, while the vegetable oil--marginally healthier than melted butter because of the lower saturated fat numbers--gives them a lightly crispy exterior, and overall the taste was far superior to the waffles from the just-add-water mix we tried last weekend. Best of all for me, the flour & baking powder measurements made substituting the self-rising flour a cinch. I served them with a simple strawberry sauce made from frozen berries and warm maple syrup. Nothing better on a Sunday morning.


Easy Waffles
Makes 6 7-inch waffles

This basic waffle recipe is quick and simple, whether you are trying to use up self-rising flour, or want to stick to basic. You could also substitute in some whole wheat flour to improve the health-factor :)
 

* 2 eggs 

* 2 cups all-purpose flour and 4 teaspoons or baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt  

OR 2 cups of self-rising flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder 

* 1 3/4 cups milk
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil 

* 1 tablespoon white sugar 

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1. Preheat an electric waffle iron.

2. Beat eggs in large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in milk, vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt (if needed) just until smooth.

3. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour approximately 2/3 cup of waffle batter onto hot waffle iron . You will know they are done when the waffle iron lid lifts easily and the waffle is golden brown. Serve hot. 

Simple Strawberry Sauce

You can make this sauce all year long with frozen strawberries. Buy the plain strawberries, not those packed in sugar sauce--although you will be adding sugar to the berries, it's better to control that amount.  

* 1 bag of frozen strawberries 

* 1/4 cup of water
* Sugar, to taste--I used about 1/4 cup
* Juice of 1/4 of a fresh lemon

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine strawberries and water over medium-low heat. Cover, and cook until strawberries have thawed, stirring occasionally.  

2. Using the back of a fork, crush some of the strawberries to thicken the mixture. Add about half of the sugar and lemon juice, and cook for a few minutes until sugar has completely dissolved. Taste, and add more sugar as needed, and cook until it's all dissolved. If you are going to be serving this sauce alongside maple syrup, be sure not to over-sweeten the sauce, since the maple syrup will take care of that!  Serve immediately, or keep in the fridge and reheat gently before serving.

Enjoy!