Buckwheat Waffles with Cinnamon Apples | Gluten Free

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Gina Marie

Buckwheat Waffle With Cinnamon Apples | Gluten Free // So...Let's Hang Out

Tomorrow is one of my favorite holidays.

It’s Steak and Lobster Day!

That’s right. Some people might refer to it as “Valentines Day,” but in this house we refer to it solely as Steak and Lobster Day. After a few years of going out to over-priced fixed menu dinners and suffering through people coming over to our tables and loudly serenading us with accordions or trying to sell us roses, we decided that we needed to go another route. One can only be serenaded by an accordion while eating overpriced lamb so many times. We started to notice that really good quality steak and lobsters were on sale at our local market during the Valentines madness. Jackpot. Thus was born Steak and Lobster day.

In this tradition we get to wear sweatpants or fancy pants (it doesn’t matter we are at home…we don’t even have to wear pants at all… although, I do not recommend cooking without pants, no matter how sexy you think it’s going to be. Stuff splatters. We all learn our lessons). We eat an indulgent meal, usually dipping the lobster in some sort of butter bath. We drink wine. We tell each other nice things. It’s a good tradition and one that I look forward to every year.

Although it is usually just referred to as Steak and Lobster day, that doesn’t have to be the only special treat on the menu. What is that old saying? The way to a mans heart is through his stomach? That is true. I am sure my husband would still love me if I couldn’t make a mean meatball or didn’t bake him a confetti cake every year on his birthday… but, it certainly sweetens the deal. It turns out that the most obvious way to my man’s heart is through his sweet tooth. He is Dutch. He grew up putting chocolate sprinkles on his toast. It all makes sense.

Waffles are always a good move for a man with a sweet set of teeth. I also added some cinnamon apples to sweeten things up a little more. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, but fruit totally turns into something magic when you heat it up. Apples basically turn into pie filling. Hello. Delicious. The waffles manage to taste totally indulgent while remaining both gluten and dairy free! The apples cook down in coconut oil and release their natural sugars. Cinnamon joins the party and spices things up nicely! It’s the perfect sweet treat for your Valentine… er… Lobster… er… I don’t know what to call my husband on Steak and Lobster day. Will you be my Lobster-tine? Does that work? It’s a work in progress. Give me your thoughts.

Real talk… I made these waffles that you see here while my husband was at work. I ate all of them. I know that I am acting like I made them for him, and I totally have… but this batch was for me. It’s okay to be your own Lobster-tine sometimes too. You are special. You deserve it. If you have no one to share your waffles with, be your own Waffle-tine. It is totally a thing. (okay…enough sticking “tine” on to the ends of words. I got the memo).

XOXOX, Love Bugs! Won’t you be my Waffle-tine? Okay. Really done now.

Buckwheat Waffles with Cinnamon Apples

Ingredients

For The Waffles:

I cup buckwheat flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs coconut sugar (can be replaced with regular sugar)
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
2 large eggs
3 tbs coconut oil
Maple syrup, to top

For The Cinnamon Apples:

3 pink lady apples, peeled and chopped
1 tbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Plug in your waffle iron and let it start heating up.
Peel you apples and give them a course chopping.
Heat your 1 tbs of coconut oil in a medium sized pan and then add in your apples. Add in your cinnamon and start to cook on low to medium heat. Keep stirring them occasionally so that they brown and caramelize on all sides.They are done when they become soft and have lightly browned.
While your apples are heating up, start to prepare your batter. In a large mixing bowl, add in your dry ingredients and stir together until they are all thoroughly combined.
In another bowl, whisk your eggs.
Add in your coconut oil, almond milk and coconut milk to the egg mixture and whisk together until everything is mixed well.
Add you wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and whisk. Whisk until a smooth batter forms. If your batter seems a little too thick, don't panic. Add in a little more almond milk. (I would add it in small increments, a tablespoon at a time.)
Once your batter is completely whisked together, you can start making your waffles. Spray your waffle iron with non-stick spray. (I use olive oil spray from Trader Joes) and then ladle a 1/4 cup or a little more of your batter into your waffle iron.
Cook your waffle until it is crispy on the outside.
After you are done cooking your waffles, top them with some of the Cinnamon Apples and some maple syrup and enjoy!

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Homemade Nutella | Gluten & Dairy Free

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Gina Marie

Dear Nutella,

I want to put you on everything ever. You make me think that midnight snacks are a good idea. I’ve eaten too much toast in the past couple of days, mostly because it’s a vehicle to get you in my mouth. You also really shine paired with apples. Is it too forward to tell you that I actually ate a straight spoonful of you one afternoon? Forget it, I don’t care who knows it. I love you. Let’s make-out.

Faithfully yours,

Gina

Do you think I am coming on too strong? Maybe.

Well, Friends…HAPPY WORLD NUTELLA DAY! Yes, that’s a thing. I only learned about it this morning. If you want we can just ignore that this is purely dumb luck and high-five instead.

Dumb luck or not, this recipe is a gem. I’ve been wanting to make a simple homemade Nutella recipe for some time. When I came across this recipe over at the Spunky Coconut, I knew I had to try it. It was made dairy-free by using coconut milk and the super sweet milk chocolate was subbed out for sexy dark chocolate. If you haven’t noticed I am a sucker for dark chocolate and coconut together. I’ve made a tart, some donuts and some totally loaded oatmeal cookies that all have this fancy pairing. Did I mention my chocolate chia pudding? Yup. I am a fan of this flavor marriage. As soon as I found this recipe I got to work and made some Nutella magic happen.

The ingredients are simple. A can of coconut milk, 10 ounces of dark chocolate, and salt. We use coconut sugar in this recipe which is much lower on the glycemic index than regular sugar and does not spike your blood sugar as easily. And, of course, let’s not forget our hazelnuts!

These beauties are put into the oven to roast and then after they are all nice and toasty, you taken them our and remove their skins. Take a clean kitchen towel and make it slightly damp. Place all of your hazelnuts into the cloth and gently rub until all of the skins start to come off. It takes a few minutes to remove all of the skins. If you are like me you will set this towel aside and forget that it contains lots and lots of hazelnut skins. When you pick it up all of those hazelnut skins will fall all over your kitchen floor and counters. Don’t be like me.

Coconut milk and coconut sugar become one when you heat them up together. Chocolate gets melted down in a double boiler. All of these ingredients go into a food processor. Magic happens. If you are like me you will miss the mark just a little bit while pouring your chocolate into the food processor. You will have a slick of chocolate on your counter tops You will let it dry a little bit so that it gets into your grout. When you go to clean if up it will get on your arms and somehow into your hair and on your face. This can all be avoided if you do not get distracted by episodes of MTV’s Catfish in the background while trying to expertly pour melted chocolate into a food processor. Once again, don’t be like me. However, can we all just talk about Catfish for a minute?! Are you obsessed with it? I am. I could really get carried away and talk about it for a long time…However, I will respect that you came here to hear about Nutella.

Once it’s all blended together you can bottle it up! My yield was approximately 1.5 pints! And yes, I did manage to make another unsightly mess as I was putting my Nutella into mason jars. If you are a coordinated person, you might be able to get your Nutella cleanly from the food processor and into a jar. If you are me, you got a lot of it on the counters, some of it on your sweater and a healthy blob of it on your cell phone. Why was my cell phone in the kitchen? Good question. I got carried away and tried to make a 6 second video of this whole Nutella process on Vine. The artistic value of that video (low) was not worth having to scrape chocolate and hazelnut spread off of my protective screen. Lesson learned. I am sure I will learn this lesson again. I tend to do that. So, here is an insider tip: if you get to this part of the Nutella process and you cannot be trusted to freely pour your Nutella from the food processor into a jar and you do not happen to have a wide mouth canning funnel on hand, make sure to transfer your Nutella into a large measuring cup or something with a spout that will pour cleanly into a jar. You are welcome.

Once it is done, I suggest that you eat it in large quantities with everything…or you know, in moderation. Whatever you’re into.

Wishing you the best darn World Nutella Day ever. Chocolate covered high fives all around!

Homemade Nutella | Gluten & Dairy Free

Yield: 1.5 Pints

Ingredients

2 cups of raw hazelnuts
1 can of light coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar (if you don't have coconut sugar you can sub regular sugar)
1/4 tsp sea salt
10 ounces dark chocolate (I used 70 % dark chocolate)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Put your raw hazelnuts on a baking sheet and spread them out evenly. Allow them to toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. They are done when the shells are lightly toasted and they become fragrant.
While your hazelnuts are toasting take out a medium sized pot and heat up the coconut milk, coconut sugar and salt. Stir over medium heat until the coconut sugar has fully dissolved into the coconut milk. Set aside.
In a double boiler melt your dark chocolate. If you do not have a double boiled you can make your own with two pots that fit cleanly into one another. Once your chocolate is totally melted, set aside.
After your hazelnuts are done, remove them from the oven.Dampen a clean dish towel and place your toasted hazelnuts inside.
Gently rub the hazelnuts to remove as much of the skin as possible. This may take a couple of minutes.
Once you have removed as much of the hazelnut skins as possible, add your hazelnuts to your food processor.
Process your hazelnuts until they become a very fine meal.
Add your melted chocolate and process again until it becomes smooth.
Once your chocolate is incorporated, add in your coconut milk and sugar mixture and process again until it is completely smooth and the texture of Nutella.
You can now bottle it up and keep it in the refrigerator!

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(Recipe Adapted from The Spunky Coconut)

Almond Spiced Donuts With Chocolate And Coconut | Gluten Free

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Gina Marie

I warned you this was coming.

I got a donut pan for Christmas and had to fulfill its donut-pan-destiny. It’s only fair.

Team Health has been in full effect in our house. I got my husband hooked on juice. We’ve been eating veggies like true professionals. Did I mention that my sweet-guzzling-cookie-butter-loving husband made me purchase chia seeds yesterday? I watched in amazement as he added a tablespoon to his green juice and knocked it back like a champ. Superfood-tastic. It’s getting serious.

Let’s be completely honest though, we keep things balanced…

This weekend, aside from the juice guzzling and salad eating we also managed to make a pretty hearty Shepherd’s Pie (which I plan to adapt and post here for you lovelies!) and try two new cocktails from our fancy new bar book! You can look forward to some fun cocktail adventures this year. We are learning some pretty cool tricks!

I digress.

Donuts.

They are delicious.

My husband and I used to walk to our local donut shop, load up on a dirty dozen, eat half of them and then take naps into the afternoon. Yes. That happened. This was years before I knew about my gluten-sensitivity and gained an adult metabolism.

What is it about donuts that you can’t eat just one? Perhaps it’s the intense rush of sugar and the total lack of nutrition. They leave you running on empty. Donut comas are totally real. I’ve had several.

These are not coma-inducing donuts. At all. Dare I say they are almost healthy? They are made with almond meal, and are minimally sweetened with maple syrup. The tops are covered in a chocolate and coconut ganache, thickened with coconut and almond milk. They are then dipped into some sweetened coconut flakes. Yum. We’re doing pretty good here.

Donut Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups almond meal

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 eggs

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate & Coconut Ganache Ingredients:

3 tbs coconut milk

2 tbs almond milk

4 ounces of chopped dark chocolate

Sweetened coconut flakes, to top the donuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add all of your dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse until they are combined.

Add in your wet ingredients and process on high until your mixture is thoroughly combined and smooth.

Grease your donut pan, and pour the batter evenly into each of the donut molds. This recipe should make six donuts.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, pop out your donuts and allow them to completely cool on a cooling rack or a separate plate.

When your donuts are cool, you can start to make your ganache.

Heat your coconut and almond milk in a small pot over low heat until it starts to boil.

Add in your chopped dark chocolate until it is completely melted.

Once the ganache is finished, you can begin to assemble your donuts.

Put some coconut flakes on a plate or in a shallow dish and set aside.

Dip your donuts one and a time into the chocolate ganache, and then immediately into the coconut flakes so that the coconut flakes adhere to the chocolate.

Enjoy with a lovely cup of coffee or tea!

Have an amazing week, Friends! xo

(Donuts Adapted From Roost)

So…Let's Hang Out

Tag Archives: sweets

Buckwheat Waffles with Cinnamon Apples | Gluten Free

Homemade Nutella | Gluten & Dairy Free

Almond Spiced Donuts With Chocolate And Coconut | Gluten Free