Recently, I ordered a bunch of different flours, grains ands beans from Bob’s Red Mill in order to expand my horizons and cut some of the white flour out of my diet. Though I am familiar with quinoa and have cooked with the grain, I’d never used the flour.

A few nights ago, I announced to the kids that I was serving waffles for dinner. The news was greeted with cheers and hand clapping. Unfortunately, the excitement came to a sudden halt when Mini Whipped took her first bite. Sadly, my 3-year old has been tonguewashed (like brainwashed but in your mouth) by the addicting, artificial flavor of Eggos.

Luckily, both Mr. Whipped and I enjoyed the quinoa waffles. They are fluffy with nice, crunchy edges and have a nutty flavor. Because the recipe made more than expected, I stored a few in the fridge and a half dozen in the freezer.

This morning, I popped a leftover waffle in the toaster oven. The nutty taste inspired my plan to lather peanut butter into the waffle divots and where I spread peanut butter, I almost always place bananas. Since we were rushing to get out the door to school, the waffle was folded in half and became a sandwich. I was so pleased with my new breakfast, I stopped to snap a quick photo so I could tell you all about it.

Truly, I noticed a positive difference in my energy all morning. It was mostly thanks to the protein-rich quinoa married with peanut butter and bananas but also in part due to my excitement in having discovered a new, favorite breakfast treat.

Quinoa Waffles
from Quinoa, The Everyday Superfood

Makes about eight 8-inch round waffles.

2 1/4 cups quinoa flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp white or cane sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine the quinoa flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat the eggs, milk, water, oil and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add the two mixtures together, mixing well. Grease a waffle iron and preheat it. Proceed with waffle cooking.

Waffles will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days and in the freezer in a sealed container for 4 weeks. Reheat in the microwave or toaster oven.

Oh great, it’s only Wednesday!

That is what I thought when I woke up today. It is another sign that the changes I put in motion are working! My weeks used to be so busy,  I would take a huge breath on Sunday night and hold it through the minute-by-minute craze. When the end of the week arrived and I realized I made it through another, I would exhale sharply, gasp for air and prepare to do it all again.

Thanks to a major shift in my gears, I am starting to see some positive change. I’m not scrambling through each day of the week. I am breathing.

Part of my shift has been a change in diet. I will NEVER be a purist but I have decreased sweets and meat and I have increased veggies, fruits and whole grains. Over the past few weeks, I have felt better and better and I am actually enjoying and even craving healthy foods! (I know, I know, you might be annoyed by this statement as I would have been in the past. This may not last but for now, I am on a roll. I have to ride this wave.)

The key to keeping the healthy diet going has been time to prepare foods ahead of time and have them in the fridge for quick lunches and dinners. This mango jicama salad was inspired by a similar dish I enjoyed at First Slice Cafe. I try to eat “in season,” and local as much as possible but sometimes during the Midwest winter, I need a little break from the root veggies and tough greens.  This salad is a like a tropical, mid winter break in your mouth.

When making up a recipe, I usually search ingredients and similar recipes online and then head to the kitchen and wing it, incorporating ideas that I have read about. During my mango jicama search, I learned a few things. Unfortunately, I don’t remember where I saw it to give proper credit but one website showed how easily you can peel a jicama with a spoon. It worked:

Until last week, I had also never heard the meaty sides of a mango referred to as the “mango cheeks.”  I guess I can see why:

This recipe is flexible and you can adjust it to your liking. My version has no fat added (see health kick above) and because I had some blueberries in the freezer, I tossed them in for color. If you are feeling creative, experiment with your own adjustments. And, make a big batch because it tasted even better the second day.

Mango Jicama Salad

1 mango, peeled and cut in slices
1 jicama, peeled and cut in 1/4 inch strips
1/2 cup of blueberries
Juice of 1/2 lime (3 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon chile powder (mild or spicy, whichever you prefer)
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
sea salt

Put the mango, jicama and blueberries in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine lime juice and chili powder. Drizzle the dressing over the fruit. Sprinkle the cilantro on top. Gently toss together and season with sea salt to taste.

As long as I can remember, I have loved vanilla puddings, custards and creams whether oozing out of doughnuts, inside crepes or layered between cake. As a child, we often ate packaged pudding for dessert, which I slurped off the spoon slowly, savoring every bite.

In the past years, I have learned that homemade, old-fashioned pudding does not take that much more time and when using high quality ingredients, you will notice a major difference in the outcome. Once you leave the box, you’ll never go back. This recipe uses whole milk, a few egg yolks and a touch of butter for extra richness, and fragrant Spice Islands vanilla extract.

Spice Islands makes its vanilla extract exclusively with beans from Madagascar. In case you didn’t know, that is a small island off the southeastern coast of Africa. I first learned about Madagascar during a primatology course in college because it is the only place on earth where a host of bouncing, cartoon-like lemurs exist. As my cooking and baking skills advanced, I came to appreciate the unique locale for producing the most plump, flavorful vanilla beans in the world.

As if traveling to a far-off, primate-laden island isn’t enough of a chore, vanilla beans are not easy to grow. The beans are actually a fruit and grow out of an orchid flower. Each flower must be pollinated by hand on the day that it blooms. Because the plants can bloom at slightly different times, the growers must carefully look for open flowers numerous times a day, taking advantage of the short window of opportunity. After nearly ten months of waiting, the vanilla pods are ready to be plucked by hand and made into vanilla extract.

Sounds like a fairytale, doesn’t it? You can see why it is so common for many to take a short cut and use artificial vanilla flavor. Perhaps you are asking yourself, does the quality of the small amount of vanilla extract used in most recipes REALLY make a difference? Well, as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

Find my recipe for Old Fashioned Vanilla Pudding HERE at the Spice Islands Flavor Explorer Blog.

This recipe is not for everyone. But, it is well suited for:

1. Those who like to drink their breakfast.
2. Those who love oatmeal.
3. Those who may have had a bit too much to drink the night before.

I am always a #2. I invented this recipe a few months ago when I was also a #3. Oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfasts and I usually like it in a bowl with varied toppings. This drinkable version was schemed up when (the morning after this wine tasting) I need a little something warm and soothing to sip.

A coffee shop in my neighborhood that has since closed used to feature an oatmeal latte. I never ordered one but I liked the idea. I saw the barista steaming the milk with oatmeal right in the pitcher resulting in a foamy, thick drink. Because we eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast, I usually have leftover cooked cereal in the fridge. I first blended the cold cereal and milk together, added flavorings and then microwaved it in a mug. What happened when it heated was a surprise.  A thick layer of foam formed on top of the mug. I adorned the oatmeal froth with a bit more cinnamon, grasped the warm mug and sipped away, filling my stomach with comfort.

This may seem obvious but because there is oatmeal inside, though blended, you can expect some chunkier sips. Play around and flavor your oatmeal cappuccino with the same things you stir into your bowl of oatmeal. Try making one for your kids – my toddler loves sipping oatmeal cappuccinos (without espresso, of course!).

If this concoction doesn’t sound good to you now, bookmark this page. There may be a Sunday morning in your future when it will come in handy.

Oatmeal Cappuccino

1/2 cup cooked oatmeal (I usually use cold, leftover oatmeal)
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 shot of espresso (optional)
sprinkle  of cinnamon

Blend all ingredients together in a blender for a minute or so. Pour into a mug but be sure it is not full a the mixture “grows” as it is heated. Warm in the microwave for a minute or until hot. If you are adding espresso, pour in a shot. Top with an extra sprinkling of cinnamon if you like.

For the coming months, I invite you to visit me here where I will be blogging as the new Spice Islands Flavor Explorer. I am honored, humbled and excited to be part of the team. I have some big shoes to fill. Past Flavor Explorers include David Lebovitz, Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites, Alice Currah of Savory Sweet Life and Pim Techamunavivit of Chez Pim.  I encourage you to click through the archives and drool over the recipes that these talented bloggers have shared thus far.

When I was first contacted by Spice Islands, they described their customers to me as people who are adventurous in the kitchen, enjoy traveling and consider themselves life long learners. Check, check and check – sounded like a perfect match. As I continued to learn about Spice Islands and their products, my ideas began flowing and my eagerness to get started grew.

Shortly after finalizing my plans to be a Flavor Explorer, a large box arrived in the mail. My in-laws were visiting and together, we gathered around the heavy, mysterious package. Inside, we discovered over 100 glass bottles individually protected with bubble wrap.  One by one, my Dutch mother-in-law, Greek father-in-law, my husband and kids and I unwrapped each bottle and excitedly announced what treasure we had discovered: Organic Sweet Basil, Red Thai Curry, Louisiana Style Cajun Seasoning, Pure Vanilla Extract, Snipped Chives…. like a mad scientist who had just received her ultimate chemistry set, I nearly threw back my head and let out a delighted, satisfied bellow as I imagined the concocting that was to come.

Through March, I will be doing a lot of baking (I’ve already been through nearly 3 bottles of Spice Islands Pure Vanilla Extract) and I will devise a number of recipes using other Spice Islands spices, herbs and blends. Keep your eye out for a few videos and find fun facts and conversation on their Facebook page here. If you have Spice Islands favorites or recipe ideas, send them my way.

Winter sometimes requires a little ingenuity to keep one from feeling cooped up. Though it is my daughter that inspires some of my crazy ideas, my spirit has also been benefiting from the fun. So far, this winter has been one of the mildest I can remember so I can’t complain. Perhaps it is because of the frequent sun and 40 degree spells that I still have the energy to make the major snow days a fun treat.

Last week, after a big snowfall, we played reindeer and pulled the girls about a half mile in their sleds to a local coffee shop where we wrapped our hands around warm drinks before heading home. It was a memorable winter adventure and a fantastic workout.

Today, we had another snow storm bringing about 7 inches in 8 hours. While retrieving Mini Whipped from school, Baby Whipped fell asleep in her car seat. Since the “transfer” to crib normally doesn’t work, I decided we needed to find a way to spend more time in the car. I announced that we were having a picnic for lunch.

Mini Whipped was curious and excited. We found a drive-thru, headed to lake Michigan and parked our car as close to the water as we could. Perhaps most exciting of all, Mini Whipped was allowed to sit in the front seat. We talked about how the marina water became frozen when the big lake was not, we watched the dozens of Canada geese sleeping on the ice and we wrote our names in the condensation that formed on the windows. It was fun. Really fun. Though today was our first winter car picnic, it will not be our last.

A note for my swimming pals – I’ll scare up some other books for you two to read :)

In the past year, I have had the fortune of reviewing a number of books. Most of them are cookbooks but every now and then, I receive books that are food related. For the record, I never agree to post about books if they aren’t my style. If I don’t care for a book or product, I usually choose to keep quiet as I prefer to live by the old adage, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” I prefer keeping my virtual table a positive, respectful place.

The two books I am giving away are not my usual choices. But, each surprised me and because of that, I have brought them into the limelight and will send them off by post to one of you.

As you can likely discern from the title,  Lobsters Scream When You Boil Them: And 100 Other Myths about Food and Cooking,is a fun book that debunks a bunch of food myths. Each myth or food warning (i.e Eating turkey makes you sleepy.) is stated at the top of a page in bold letters and is then followed by a page or two of history, explanation and sometimes a recipe. I was pleased to find out that chewing gum is NOT residing in my stomach for 7 years. There isn’t anything earth shattering in this paperback and I didn’t read it from cover to cover. But, I did find myself flipping it open repeatedly to a random page to glean a factoid or two in a free moment.

The second book, More than Words Can Say, is one that I can barely believe I finished. I was contacted on Twitter about reviewing the book because though it is a novel, there is a food theme throughout. When I skimmed the back cover, I found that the author, Robert Barlay, sold a successful upstate New York consulting business and moved to South Florida to become a novelist. His bio reports that he enjoys weightlifting, Shotokan karate and going to the beach to do absolutely nothing. I love big-business-to-artist stories so I eagerly dove into the book to see what Mr. Barclay wrote between his workouts and trips to the beach.

Immediately, I was turned off. I realized that I was reading a very light, romance novel with expected hooks to keep the pages turning. Before bed, I interrupted my husband a number of times to read sappy passages aloud. Though my critique was stern, I somehow found myself on page 100 after a few nights.

Just before Christmas, I went downtown on the train to shop for the day. I decided I would tuck the novel in my purse to bide time during the commute. (I can’t believe I am about to admit this.) On the way home, I was so busy reading the romantic tale that I missed my train stop! Because it was a transfer to a new train, I had to get off the train, cross over to the tracks going back the way I had come, ride the train back to the stop I had missed, wait at that transfer station for another train and finally reach home. I was irritated with myself but to be honest, I wasn’t overly disappointed because I spent an extra 40 minutes finishing the book.

Though I will count More Than Words Can Say as one of the most romantic, lightest reads I’ve ever finished, I have to give it some credit for luring me to the end and engrossing me enough to miss a train stop!

If you are interested in these books, just leave a comment on this post. On Thursday, I will randomly choose a winner and mail them both to the next reader. I would love to hear what you are currently reading or a favorite book you would suggest.

This is a recipe that you will want in your arsenal during the cold and flu season. Though it tastes especially good when you are sick, you’ll likely get hooked and add it to your regular soup repertoire.

What I find most interesting about avgholemono is how it looks and feels creamy, which is soothing, but it has no milk or cream in it, which can be unsettling on an upset stomach. The carefully added egg lemon sauce is the secret to the milky broth. The lemony aroma and flavor adds brightness that seems to perk me up a touch when under the weather.

Take your time when adding the egg mixture to the broth. Patience is not my strongest virtue and I have been known to hurry and as a result, find small scrambled egg bits in my soup.

There is no scientific proof that chicken soup helps cure what ails. Whether it is psychological or physical, I am quite sure that this soup has healing powers. Warm, hearty but not heavy, flavorful while being mild, citrus aroma to perk up the senses … it certainly can’t hurt.

Avgholemono – Greek Lemon, Chicken, Rice Soup

6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white rice
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
salt
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (optional)

Bring chicken stock to a boil and add rice. If you would like some chunks of chicken in your soup, also cut the chicken breast into a few large chunks and add it to the soup. Cook covered over low-medium heat until rice is tender. Remove chicken breast. Chop or shred the chicken and set aside.

In a separate bowl beat eggs and lemon juice with a whisk. Gradually by the spoonfuls, add at least 1/2 cup of the hot stock to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Be patient and add the warm liquid slowly to avoid cooking the eggs rapids.

Slowly add the warm egg and lemon mixture into the saucepan, stirring the soup constantly. If using chicken breast, return the meat to the pan. Stir over low heat to warm. Do not let it boil. Serve immediately.

Photography does not do this meal justice. I can’t possibly capture the amazing flavors that resulted after hours of diligent attention and slow cooking. If only I could make a poof of aroma emanate from your monitor right now – fresh minced garlic mingled with beef browned in olive oil, red wine and slow cooked tomato sauce.

This is the perfect meal to make on a cold winter day. All afternoon, your senses will be tantalized and teased with aromas, sounds and colors wafting from your kitchen. The foreplay is almost unbearable, making the satisfaction of your first bite climactic.

Things often taste better when someone else cooks them. After a few unwelcome (and overly controlling) interventions early in the process, I vacated my usual domain and let the man of the house have his way with our kitchen. Boy, was I rewarded.

Mr. Whipped chooses recipes I would likely not master as they require more time, precision or research than my patience will allow. His Liege Sugar Waffles continue to be one of the most popular posts on this blog. Though he stems from Dutch and Greek roots, he certainly has a knack for Italian. This Braciole was the best I have ever had.

Braciole Recipe – Italian Braised Beef

For the Beef:
2 pounds flank steak
1/2 cup pecorino cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the Sauce:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely grated carrot
1/4 cup celery minced
2 – 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. basil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups water
1 – 6 ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup pecorino cheese, finely grated
1 cup red wine

For serving:
Pasta of your choice

For the ragu (sauce), heat olive oil over medium heat at the bottom of a medium sauce pan. Add onion and cook a few minutes until translucent. Add carrot, celery and garlic and cook another minute. Add cans of crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, bay leaf, pepper and salt. Add 2 cups water and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add cheese to the sauce. Once the sauce bubbles, turn down the heat and let it simmer uncovered while you work on the meat.

Rinse the steak and pat it dry with paper towel. Use a meat tenderizer to pound the steak, reducing its thickness by a third. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the meat. Rub the garlic onto one side of the meat. Sprinkle both cheeses, parsley and breadcrumbs evenly over the steak. Roll the steak and secure the roll with either string or toothpicks.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil to brown the meat. Add the roll and brown on all sides. Remove the meat to a plate. Add 1 cup of red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping to remove the brown bits from the bottom. Cook until wine reduces by half. Return the meat to the pan.

Pour the ragu (sauce) over the meat into the large pan so that the meat is submerged. Let the meat and sauce simmer for 2-3 hours uncovered. When it is down the meat should be very tender but not completely fallen apart. To test it, put a fork into the meat and turn it. The meat should come apart and loosen easily.

Remove the meat, untie string or remove toothpicks. Slice the roll into individual portions and serve covered in sauce on a platter. For the pasta, cook it until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Ladle sauce over the pasta and heat over low flame for 2-3 minute so the pasta cooks a bit more and absorbs the sauce.

Serve the meat with the pasta and extra sauce and cheese on the side if desired.