All is well here. I am hoping that this winter proves to be a very different winter than last year. Last year, the snow was unending. Even those who enjoy our New England weathers were finding that there was a bit too much snow for their liking. This year is already different. It’s been unseasonably warm, sunny and with a serious lack of snow. I am not complaining! With the addition of Little Miss Pickle to my life, I am enjoying the mobility of popping her into her stroller and rolling out to Davis Square to work (me) and sleep (her) at a local coffee place. Snow will make this more difficult so if it’s a snow-light winter, I will not be sad.
There has been a lot of cooking lately..some originals that I will post later but most frequently checking out some new-to-me cookbooks such as the Voluptuous Vegan (borrowed from a friend), The Vegan Junk Food Cookbook (a gift), and the Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook (courtesy of Google Books).
One of the biggest hits in our little household over the past year has been the banana blender waffle recipe from VegWeb. Have you tried it? I declare the creator of this recipe a genius! It resolves two issues..T hates oatmeal and I love it..but no compromise is needed with this gem. The second issue? What to do with those too brown bananas. I love banana bread but I can only eat so much. These dense, caramel scented waffles are made with oatmeal, banana, water, vanilla and a little maple syrup. And the best part? All mixed up in the blender!
I’m posting a link to the Google-cached version of the recipe as there appears to be a problem on the VegWeb site:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZXzyt4QRMdQJ:vegweb.com/index.php%3Ftopic%3D12753.0+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
A recent find is maple-flavored agave syrup from Wholesome Sweetners. I enjoy it for its low glycemic impact and its vegan-ness. Maple syrup is usually vegan but not always. The problem is that it is often hard to find out if animal byproducts are used in the clarification process (somewhat similar to how wine is produced). Here in maple syrup country, I can often talk to the sugar shack owners directly to find out but it’s not always that easy. However, now that I am more interested in limiting the sugar in my life, maple agave has pushed my Grade B maple to the back of the fridge. I will always love my maple and indulge on special occassions but for a sunday morning breakfast, maple agave and these oatmeal banana waffles leave me and my blood sugar feeling just fine. A quick sidebar: if you are a Trader Joe’s fan, their maple agave contains sugar and therefore negates some of the blood sugar friendly sweetness that pure agave offers.
As for Little Miss Pickle, she’s not ready for solid food just yet so waffles are a no-no for her. She reaches the four month mark this week and I am excited to talk to her doctor to find out when he thinks she’ll be ready to try her first food. Rice cereal is a typical first and maybe be hers but I am thrilled to consider what her other first might be. Avocado? Banana? Potato? So many yummy things to let her try. I can’t wait!