Whole Wheat Coconut Waffles

I got a Belgian waffle maker for Christmas, with the idea that we could save money on frozen waffles while increasing our variety of flavors as well.  By doubling a batch of waffles, I can easily warm frozen waffles up in the toaster oven for a quick breakfast.  Ada loves waffles--actually, anything that can be dipped in syrup. 

To freeze waffles, place cooled waffles on a sheet pan or cooling rack in the freezer until for a couple hours or until they are thoroughly frozen, so they don't stick together in the freezer bag you will store them in. 

These waffles smell awesome!  And the fact that they are wheat 1) gives them more fiber and 2) gives them more structure (they're not floppy, soggy waffles).  This recipe is for 7-8 waffles, assuming you want to freeze some (might as well make it worth your while to get the waffle iron out and clean it afterwards). 

I adapted this from www.cookieandkate.com. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 1.5 c AP flour + 1.5 regular whole wheat flour)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs (you could probably sub 2 flax eggs: 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp warm water)
• 3 cups room temperature light coconut milk
• 1/3 cup melted virgin coconut oil
• 1/3 cup canola oil (you could do 1/3 more coconut oil but it's an expensive oil and you still get a great coconut flavor by using half of each)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardomom

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron.  Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then together.  Spray waffle iron with non-stick spray or brush on a little canola oil.  One waffle was about 3/4 c batter for our iron.  Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Cabbage

Our favorite Indian restaurant, The Curry Pot, occasionally features this dish on their noonday buffet.  I love both cabbage AND coconut, and was truly surprised to find that they go so well together!  I found several recipes when I searched online, some of which had a very lengthy ingredient list, but this is a truly easy and satisfying one.  It's a bit intimidating to venture into the world of Indian cooking - I have always been a little stymied by it (my food tends to turn out all heat and no spice).  But this one is a winner!  I serve it with some type of dal (I especially like palak dal and naan (which I can get pre-packaged at my local grocery).

Ingredients

• 3 cups green cabbage (finely chopped or shredded using food processor) 
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt – to taste
• 1/4 tsp mustard seed
• 1/4 tsp cumin seed
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder 
• 1 Curry leaf (I substituted with 1/4 tsp curry powder or to taste)
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut   
• Green Chilles – sliced, to taste (I left these out since my daughter is not a fan of spicy)

In a pan heat the oil over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they start popping add cumin seeds, curry leaves or powder, and turmeric powder. Add the shredded cabbage into the pan with a generous pinch of salt.  Reduce heat, cover and cook till cabbage is nice and soft, but not mushy.  Add green chilies, shredded coconut, and check for seasoning.  Cover and cook over low heat till the cabbage absorbs all the flavor from coconut.