Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles w/ Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Oh wow. These are good. Like really good. And the whipped cream is a must. I'm kind of on a pumpkin craze right now, so watch out. I think the fact that I know pumpkin is seasonal makes me want to get as much as I can in. Seriously, I grab a can of pumpkin pretty much every time I'm at the store. Don't judge me.

In my quest for a pumpkin waffle recipe, I cam across this one at a blog named solely for the pumpkin waffle. They called it the ultimate, so I figured I'd better give it a try. Leave it to me to change it though. I really wanted some whole wheat goodness in there, so this is my variation. It's a bit of work, but is well worth it.

We start with lots of yummy spices mixed into a delicious batter.

And some glorious whipped cream

Put em together and you've got autumn heaven for breakfast.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles
{Makes 6-8 standard or 4 Belgian waffles}
Ingredients:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp.nutmeg
1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preparation:
Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, flours, baking powder, salt and spices in large bowl and whisk together well.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs yolks, milk, canned pumpkin and melted butter. Once well combined, add pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients. Mix lightly- lumps are ok.

In medium bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter.

Cook waffles on preheated waffle iron, set to desired temperature.Top with cinnamon whipped cream, recipe below.


Cinnamon Whipped Cream
{Makes about 2 cups}
Ingredients:
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:
Place medium bowl and mixer whisks in freezer for 5-10 minutes. This is especially important if your kitchen is rather warm.

Beat heavy cream on medium high speed until well-thickened. Don't beat too much though, or you'll end up with butter. Add in sugar and cinnamon and beat on low just until combined.
  
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Caprese Sandwich

I am in love with caprese. Seriously in love. Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil. So simple, yet so delicious. In a quest to make it in sandwich form, I created this:

Caprese Sandwich
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough bread
Prepared pesto
Mayonnaise
Fresh mozzarella, sliced into medallions
Red ripe, juicy tomatoes, sliced
salt & pepper, to taste.

Preparation
Lightly toast bread. Spread each slice with mayonnaise, then prepared pesto (I like the kind from Trader Joe's). Next, layer tomatoes, then mozzarella and a little salt and pepper on one of the slices of bread. Top it all off with the other slice and you're set for some caprese sandwich deliciousness. Because the bread is toasted, this will hold up pretty well until lunch time if you decide to make it in the a.m. and take it to go.
Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Poppy Seed Glaze

You're excited, aren't you? Oh. you're not? Well, you should be.

Because these muffins are going to make you some new friends.

Bring them to work. Bring them to church. Hand them out to strangers. It is scientifically proven that glaze makes muffins 24.8 times better.

Put a muffin on a pretty plate and give it to your husband who couldn't really care less that it's on a pretty plate. Hot coffee is also a plus. Also, feel free to rub it in his face that he thought lemon poppy seed glaze was not a good idea, when in fact it was a totally delicious idea. (Completely hypothetical situation here)

Ok. down to business. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
for muffins
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

for glaze
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 small lemons)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp poppy seeds

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease cups of standard muffin tin.

In large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl,  whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and fold together just until moistened. Lumps are ok! Overmixing will result in tough muffins. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let muffins cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together lemon juice, vanilla, powdered sugar and poppy seeds until smooth. Use butter knife to loosen edges of muffins and transfer to rack positioned over a cookie sheet. Spoon glaze over warm muffins. Let harden slightly, then add second layer of glaze. You're done!

{Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking}

Food & Friends

Isn't there something magical about food? I love how it brings people together like nothing else really can. This past Sunday, after an amazing day full of brunch, mimosas, jumping in the ocean and falling asleep on the beach,  I had the pleasure of having dinner at a friend's new apartment. Not just any new apartment though. Check out the view from their balcony!

Our friend's mom happened to be in town and laid out quite the spread for all of us: pastas, bruschettas, salads, olives, cheeses, these amazing jalapeño puffs, spinach frittata, risotto, pork tenderloin and, of course, wine.

Our friend and his mom happen to be Italian, and that, my friends, makes for one great meal.

We didn't eat it on fancy plates. We didn't even eat at a table. But it was amazing all the same. Why? Well, as I said, the food was excellent, but even better were the people. We had quite the international group; our friend's cousin was visiting from Switzerland to take an English course. He spoke Italian, French and some German. He brought along a couple of classmates- a girl from Rome and another friend from Spain. Then, a couple of neighbors joined in the mix. (Don't you just love having good neighbors? Trust me, they're hard to come by). Add my husband, another American friend, the roommate (who also happens to be our friend :) and myself and you've got quite the eclectic group.

I loved all the food and the conversation (in English, Italian and Spanish, of course). Sometimes when you mix that many different people together it can get awkward. Conversation can stall.  Awkward this was not.

I only wish I had taken more pictures. But sometimes, you're just enjoying yourself so much that you don't.
It was just one of those nights  I won't soon forget.