Wholesome Waffles

My Daughter had been asking for waffles for a few weeks and I had been putting it off because I don't like making them. Getting out the beaters to whip egg whites for breakfast never is appealing to me. Then one day I thought to myself why go to all that trouble just waffle iron the pancakes, its not She will know that I cheated. So that is what I did and they were pretty darn good.

1 cup rolled oats
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup flax seed

In a large bowl combine rolled oats and buttermilk and let soak for 15 minutes. Meanwhile stir together dry ingredients, add to oats and stir in egg and oil. cook in a waffle iron until golden on both sides. Serve with maple syrup or good jam.

Olive Tapenade Pasta in 12 Minutes

You can't really see the olive tapenade in the pictures but the flavor really came through and it was Delicious, the kids ate 3 helpings each and would have eaten more if there was any left.
A dish this fast and flavorful I will be making this recipe again!

1/2 a package of Pasta to your liking
1 cup (or more) tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 cup (a handful) of chopped basil
1/4 cup (a handful) of chopped parsley
1/3 cup of store bought mixed olive tapenade (I got mine at Trader Joe's)
Parmesan cheese
Pepper

Cook pasta according to package direction. Drain Pasta and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, serve and enjoy

I am sending this dish in for Presto Pasta Nights #33 at Once Upon a Feast.

Apple Cake

1½ Cups Flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. Cayenne
1/2 Cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 cups grated apples
1 cup bran (all-bran)1/2 cup pecans

preheat oven to 350F.

peel and grate the apples

In a bowl combine dry ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar until blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in apple, bran, pecans and flour mixtures

Spread batter into a 9" buttered baking pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

15 Bean Soup

Quick method

Place rinsed beans in a pot with 3 quarts water

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue to boiling for 60 - 70 minutes
After 60 Minutes, add ingredients. Simmer for 30-45 minutes

ok that is what the bag said, this is what I did

I rinsed the beans and placed them in a pot with 2 quarts water and 1 quart chicken stock, bay leaf and boiled for an hour. I then added a smoked turkey wing, pepper and soup seasoning, turned to heat down to simmer for a half an hour. I then turned off the heat for an hour while I went to the school to pick up my daughter. When I got home I turned the soup on to simmer again. sauteed some carrots, celery, and leeks and then added them to the soup and let it cook while the corn bread baked, about 20 minutes.

I find that cooking beans always takes longer then the 2 hours that it says on the bag, I have found that it takes a good 3 hours and at the end of the 3 hours the beans still hold their shape but are tender.

I have used a nice smoked ham before but the soup tends to get a little greasy. Smoked turkey wing adds a lot of smoke flavor without the grease; however, if you want ham in your soup buy a ham steak and cube that up and add it to the soup with the vegetables.

Seafood Pesto Pasta

This dish is so easy and Delicious. I first made it from Ingredients only purchased from Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's has a seafood medley with shrimp, scallops and calamari in their frozen food section (about $6.00 for the bag) that is so easy to use and I also purchase a bag of Trottole, zucchini, garlic and olive oil and this time I added some home made pesto and WOW was it great.

Start a pot of water to boil. season with salt. Once boiling add pasta

Mince garlic and place in a large cold pan with 2 or 3 T of Olive oil

Slice zucchini and add to garlic and saute for about 3 -4 minutes. Add the seafood and cook until it is opaque.

drain pasta (follow package directions for cookign time)

Mix cooked pasta, seafood and about 1/3 of a cup of pesto, squeeze of lemon (lemon is a must) and serve.

Post #100 and a Soup Terrine

I just noticed that this will be post number 100. I can't believe that I started this blog to figure out why people do it, I had no intention of being such an admit blogger and falling in love with it. I HATE writing, it is work for me, it is not something that comes naturally and yet I love to food blog. My LOVE of food, recipes, cooking, eating, and cookbooks is that much stronger than my hate for writing. I know that sometime you can't call what I do writing, but you get the idea.

~Soup Terrine~

I have wanted a soup terrine for a few years but I could never find the right one. either it cost a lot more then what I wanted to spend or it was so ugly that I just didn't want it. The other day I found the perfect terrine. It was only $20.00 and it looks good too. I am so happy with it and have been making soup just so I can use it.