Today is the First Monday in February. That means it is time for Secret Recipe Club! Once a month we cook from our ‘assigned’ foodie blog and post out goodies. It is always the first Monday.

This month I was fortunate enough to meet STEPHANIE ofSustainable Cooking For One. She lives in Upstate New York and is gluten free and vegetarian. That made it interesting for me as I am not either and some kind of meat is always on our table. There are a lot of tasty recipes on her site made for gluten free so I picked a couple that I could easily adapt. Lots of good veggies, too.

For Breakfast we had…

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    …Pumpkin Waffles

{Yes, I know, there is no waffle. I know I took pics but they are not to be found – sorry!!}
Sunday is usually our day for pancakes or waffles so this was a good time to try out these pumpkin waffles. With all the spice in the waffles they were packed with flavor and didn’t need very much else, but we did use a little Maple Syrup on top. I added pecans to mine and loved the extra crunch they added (in addition to the flax seed)

This makes a lot, but they are well worth freezing. Expect 12-14 full sized waffles, fewer Belgian waffles.

    1 c pumpkin, mashed or canned
    6 eggs, separated
    2 T sugar or maple syrup
    3 c milk or your fake milk of choice
    1/4 c oil (use a light olive oil or canola oil)
    1 cup AP flour
    1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
    1/4 c ground flaxseed
    2 t baking powder
    1 TBL Pumpkin Pie Spice
    1 TBL chopped pecans

{RED is my subs}

Stir together the egg yolks, pumpkin, sugar, oil, and milk. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, spices, pecans,and flaxseed. Start whisking the egg whites. Whisk (or beat with a mixer) until they are stiff. Meanwhile, heat the waffles iron.

Stir the dry ingredient into the pumpkin mixture. When the dry ingredients are dampened, fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter. When mixed, gently fold the remaining egg white in.

Bake according to the directions of your waffle iron. Don’t try to remove them too soon! One key is to watch the steam coming from the iron. When it decreases significantly, that’s a sign they are close to done.

To freeze, cool completely on cooling racks and pack into freezer bags. Reheat in a hot oven (~400 F) for 5-10 minutes.

Here is Stephanie’s Original Recipe

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Dessert was simple. Simple doesn’t mean something not so good. In this case it was

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    Maple Crusted Baked Apples.

Stephanie said that baked apples are underappreciated. She’s right. But here they make fairly regular appearances. They are so easy to put together and so good to eat. Hers are ‘stuffed’ with raisins and pecans. I added a dried fruit mix of cranberries, dried cherries, pineapple, raisins, etc.

    1 medium apple
    Pinch of any or all: cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
    4 Tbl Dried Fruit Mix
    2 T chopped raw pecans
    1 T maple syrup (real, preferably grade B)

Peel one circle around the middle of the apple, and a little off the top of the apple. Remove the core. Peel all or part of the apple.{While Stephanie typically cuts deep circles into the apple from top and bottom with a paring knife I peeled most of the apple.} Place the apple in a small baking dish or oven-safe bowl. Mix together the spices and roll the apple in them. Mix any remaining spices with the raisins, and add about 1/3 of the pecans. Stuff that mixture into the center of the apple. Pour the maple syrup over the apple, and top with the remaining pecans. Bake until soft. Spoon the syrup/juice blend over the apple before serving.

Sorry to say that these two treats were all I had time for this month. It has been crazy around here lately. But I pinned a few other recipes of Stephanie’s I want to try – Corn Gratin, Spinach-Mushroom Quesidilla, not to mention a new recipe on a new post – Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Cookies. And if you visit with Stephanie be sure and read some of her articles which are very informative – like the one on Food Variety. Thanks, Stephanie, for the recipes and the wonderful articles. I will be visiting again!

And visit the other members of SRC

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