Waffles and Pancakes (DF; SF; V)

People really seem to miss this when they first go gluten and (in some cases) dairy free. I know that when we first started our journey, it took me *weeks* of trial and error before I got a decent recipe together. And that was using dairy. Several years later I realized that my family needed to be dairy free and I felt like I was starting all over again... Well, no worries... I like to share... :)

Once that was accomplished, waffles became our staple bread for a long time. After about a year or so we added in store-bought corn tortilla chips which has really given me a big break which is nice... but the waffles and pancakes are still big sellers on the brunch list in our house.

One place that I learned a lot about how to properly deal with eggs was at Baking 911.com . It's still one of my favourite places to brush up or renew my food physics knowledge: The Science Behind the Best Egg Whites and Some Egg Safety Too
(my title not theirs)

And so we begin:

I put my pan or waffle on to heat up to the proper temperature while I get everything else together.

Then I whip up the egg whites until they're fairly stiff. After that I quickly add in the cream of tartar and honey give them another quick whip for the honey to help the whites set and stay.

6 eggs whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (not absolutely necessary)
1 tablespoon honey

While the whites are whipping up (before I put the honey in them) I start dumping everything else into my food processor:

1 cup rice flour (I use white because I react to brown.)
1 cup other flour (I alternate between buckwheat and quinoa .)
1 cup nuts (I alternate nuts too.)
1 carrot (Not necessary but a nice nutritional boost.)

Give a spin to get the nuts finely chopped here. (I go over to the egg whites and add the honey while this spins.)

Then I come back to my food processor and finish mixing my batter by adding to the flour:

2 cups water (sometimes I put in some coconut milk in place of the water to add fat and nutrition.)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Next, I pour the batter from the food processor over the fluffy, almost stiff, egg whites, and fold it into the egg whites as quickly as I feel I can.

Bake in on a medium hot skillet or your favourite waffle iron.

Toppings and Variances:

For breakfast:
honey
maple syrup
fruit syrup
poached eggs for those who don't care for sweet stuff in the morning
stewed fruit
strawberries

There's not enough honey in these to make them sweet so you can top them with almost anything. So try a savoury waffle for dinner:

spaghetti sauce
chicken stew
beef stew
shredded beef (like a hot beef sandwich)
and more

The only limitation is a lack of imagination.

Squashbread Tea Cake

This one will surprise you!

This is an excellent recipe that fills the tummy. It warms you up on cool days and cools you down on warm days. An especially good breakfast for those just starting a special diet and used to eating grain at breakfast time.

It also takes substitutions very well and is very forgiving that way.

The trick to making it easy to make, is to bake a whole tray of squash for an hour first, then scoop out flesh, put it in canning jars and then store it in the fridge or freezer. That way, whenever you need a cup or two for anything (bread, gravy thickener, smoothie thickener, custard/pudding flavouring), it's ready to go!

2 cups cooked squash (any orange or yellow squash will end up tasting pumpkin...ish)
1 cup nut butter (unsalted)
1/3 to 1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (if nut butter is salted you may not need this)

Puree for a smoother texture. Mash and mix with a fork for a chunkier texture.

Put into an ungreased glass baking dish (glass prevents the bottom from getting too dark). Don't spread it all the way to the sides so that it will remain easy to cut out of the pan later.

Bake for 1 hour at 300F.

Cheese Spread Replacement

I wanted to come up with a smart name for this 'spread' but decided it would serve others better to know how I use it.

We enjoy this on crackers and celery sticks. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to try it this weekend on pizza as I've recently given up all dairy for the sake of my youngest child who is still nursing and appears to spit up and get rashy on days that I consume dairy.

Honestly, I seem to be feeling a little more energetic myself but am missing cheese more than milk.

1 cup water
1 cup cashew nuts (I used salted because it was all I could find)
4 tablespoons arrowroot OR 8 tblspns baked, heavy/dry squash SCD
2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon green onion (the white part)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 clove garlic (finely chopped - if desired)
1 pinch dill weed (I used dried)

Put everything into the food processor and let really get all chopped up and mixed well.

Put into a pot and turn on low. Allow to cook for approximately 10 minutes, (until desired spreading consistency is achieved) stirring occassionally.

Place in a canning jar and keep in the fridge.