Gingerbread Waffles (GF, vegan)

Yum yum!

DELICIOUS GINGERBREAD BELGIANWAFFLES! Perfect for festive winter mornings. Not pictured: I also made these with a Disney Frozen snowflake-shaped Belgian waffle maker that I got for Christmas, and it was phenomenal.

WAFFLES:

1 cup teff flour (or use some all purpose GF)

¼ cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon clove

¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)

¼ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup coconut milk

1 large egg (or 1 flax egg, which is what I used)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoon agave nectar

3 tablespoon melted coconut oil

      ---> combine ingredients, waffle-ize in your favorite waffle maker (Belgian worked very well)

GLAZE: 

1 cup coconut sugar (powdered, if you want to be picky about consistency)

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

     ---> whisk together. You can also mix these ingredients by taste.

Enjoy!

Things that are Awesome: Wild Friends Vanilla Espresso Almond Butter

It's creamy almond butter, sweetened with agave, and enhanced with vanilla and tiny flecks of espresso powder.  If eating this isn't a brilliant start to any morning, I don't know what is.

Try it on everything from waffles to cookies to ice cream.  Or straight out of the jar.  Did I mention it has a WINKING SQUIRREL on its label? because that just makes it infinitely better.

Eat this now.

AWOL (still)

Yes, I've been AWOL for quite a while.

I was diagnosed with Lyme a year or so ago, and since then I haven't had much time, energy, or motivation to spare.

Call it what you want- Chronic Lyme, Lyme Disease Syndrome, Lyme-MSIDS... it's no party.

"It is estimated that there are up to 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year in the U.S. alone. Yet, only around 30,000 of them will properly diagnosed and reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC themselves admit that the actual cases of Lyme disease could be up to 10 times higher than those reported.

 By the time many Lyme patients are properly diagnosed their health has deteriorated far beyond what the IDSA’s two to four weeks of treatment can fix. Lyme opens the door to other opportunistic infections including additional tick borne illnesses that may have been contracted at the same time as Lyme. Viruses, parasites, candida and other bacterial infections not related to Lyme have taken control of the patients immune system.

Lyme Literate Medical Doctors (LLMDs), who are very hard to come by, tell the newly diagnosed it will be at least two to four years of treatment. There are no guarantees that they will get well though, some are past the point of no return. For many treatment is management, not cure"

- from http://lymelightfoundation.org/about-lyme/what-everyone-should-know/

 For more information, I highly recommend these videos:

Under Our Skin - http://www.underourskin.com/
      watch for free on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/268761

LymeLight - http://vimeo.com/65479794
       This is the story of Olympic halfpipe skier Angeli Vanlaanen living with Lyme Disease.

I am also happy to share my experiences with treatment (and life) with anyone seeking more information.

And now, a friendly infographic:

Mint Chocolate Cake

What I made for St. Patrick's day:

Leprechaun-friendly.  Will trade for pot of gold.

MmmMmm. I made 4 mini cakelets.

THE RECIPE:

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

4 ounces fine bittersweet chocolate -- I used a little under 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, plus ~ 4 tbs coconut sugar
1/2 cup ghee (or other butter substitute)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt

---> Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 inch round springform pan, or four 4-inch springform pans.  Line bottom of pan with a round of parchment paper, and grease the paper.
Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a microwave safe bowl, Melt the chocolate over low heat, and stir in butter substitute until they are melted together.
Add cocoa, then whip in eggs, vanilla, and salt.
Pour the batter into cake pan(s).
Bake for ~25 minutes.  Let cool in springform pan.

Mint Frosting:
1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled. --> scoop the thick coconut fat off the top of the can, after it has chilled. leave the watery stuff behind.
mint extract, to taste (i used ~1/8 tsp)
green food coloring (I usually don't use food coloring.... but i couldn't resist!!)
Add powdered xylitol and erythritol in 1:1 amounts until desired consistency
     Note: to make powdered xylitol/erythritol, add the granulated form to a magic bullet, with a dash of tapioca starch or potato starch.  The starch will help it to 'powder' easily. Bullet until powdered.

Topping:
Shaved mint chocolate bar.
    I used Endangered Species Chocolate, Mint Chocolate and shaved off curls using a vegetable peeler.

Assembly:
After cake has cooled in springform pan, pour frosting on top of cake. Chill until frosting is firm.  Then add chocolate shavings on top of frosting.  Garnish with mint leaves if desired.

To serve, gently remove sides of springform pan, then transfer cake onto serving platter.  Enjoy!