Pumpkin Porridge

Sometimes I struggle with breakfast.  I love big elaborate breakfasts but, just like everyone else in the world America, don't have time to make something new and exciting everyday. Still I do by best to switch it up from week to week so I don't get too bored or too burnt out on one thing (no more chia seed pudding, bla!).

Enter fall! All the allure of brilliant fruits and vegetables and the hustle and bustle of the weekly daily farmers markets has since passed - but the plethora of seasonable vegetables available is better than ever.  Maybe summer has the most freshness, but fall has the most flavor.  Spices are drying, citrus is turning, the squash are HUGE, the parsnips are finally done growing... and don't even get me going on my love affair with persimmons. It's all just lovely. Not even sure where I was going with that. Anyway.. this is what I've been eating for breakfast lately:

1 c cooked pumpkin, mashed
2 T almond meal
1 T flax seed, ground
1 t maple syrup
salt
1/4 c almond milk

Occasionally I throw in some cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg for kick.  It's been tasty. It's been real.

Soup.. Soup soup ba doop.

Hey - I wanna soup, baby. Here I go, here I go, here I go again.

Sorry. So after a handful of requests for this recipe recently I thought I'd share. They all be like, "Don't know how you do the voodoo that you do so well, its a spell, hell, makes me want soup soup soup."  Ok so nobody is rapping Salt n Pepa to me, but boy if they were I'd certainly make them soup. This recipe is really simple and easy to make and seems to get rave reviews everywhere it goes.  Here ya go:

1 butternut squash
1 apple
1 onion
1 tbsp coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp thyme
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup coconut milk

Chop squash, apples, and onions into cubes and coat with oil and roast until.. Roasted... Usually 30-45 minutes at 450F or so.

Put roasted goodies and everything else in a blending device and let her rip!  I recently made it sans nutmeg and vegetable broth and subbed in more coconut milk and I have to say it maybe even made it better.  Enjoy.

Waffle Monster

I recently acquired a cast iron waffle.. iron.. and I'm totally obsessed. Waffling things is so cool.. and you can just about waffle anything - eggs, burgers, falafels.. Waffalafels. I've been experimenting a bunch which has involved a lot of burnt crap and intense sticking.  Most interesting probably was these paleo waffles from coconut flour that ended up so pliable you could probably use it as a swim cap. This recipe written below is the secret to success for waffles with my specific iron. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.. doesn't stick. Amazing.

1 1/4 cup flour combo (garbanzo, rice, buckwheat, etc)
1/2 c starch (arrowroot, tapioca, potato)
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 T flaxseed, ground (or 1 egg)
1 T sweetener (sugar, maple syrup, etc)
1/4 c fat-like non-fat (applesauce, banana, sweet potato, pumpkin)
2 T real fat (coconut oil, avocado oil, etc)
1 c non-dairy milk + a few T more as needed for texture

For sweeter waffles you can up the sweetener to 2 T and for savory waffles it can be omitted altogether.  From this base recipe you can add goodies, like fruit or chocolate, or spices - dirty chai waffles anyone?  I typically like to make a boring-ish plain waffle then doctor it up with topping. Savory mushroom ragu was a favorite.

Get waffling!