Thankful: November 8

The waffle in Autumn, topped with butternut pudding, whipped cream, maple syrup and toasted pecans.

    Today I'm thankful for waffles. Shortly after Erik and I got married, we started making waffles for breakfast on Saturday mornings. We talked about how when we had kids it would be a fun tradition, a special breakfast to celebrate Daddy being home with us. The years passed, and we traded our little waffle maker for one that makes four Belgian waffles with big pockets to hold lots of yummy toppings. Our recipe has morphed over the years as well. What began as a standard recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook eventually became gluten free. As I began to learn about the importance of whole grains and neutralizing phytic acid I experimented more until we came up with this incarnation, which we've been happy with for a couple of years now. It uses whole, uncooked brown rice that is ground up in the blender and soaked overnight. While the recipe may appear to have a lot of steps these really go together easily. (Erik even makes them himself!) 

    Beyond waffles, I'm thankful for family gathered around our table enjoying wholesome and delicious food. I'm grateful for the rhythms that make up a good life; everyone knows that on Saturday mornings mama sleeps in and daddy hangs out with the kids and makes coffee. We eat waffles, and bacon and eggs, and listen to hokey old cowboys crooning on the Country Classics show. In the summer we top them with lemon curd and fresh berries; in the fall it's some sort of pumpkin spread. We save Grandma's canned peaches for gray winter mornings when we need a little taste of summer. There's often whipped cream, and always real butter and maple syrup and jam. Yes, it's decadent, but hey, Saturdays only come once a week, right? If you're ever in the neighborhood, come and join us, won't you? We have plenty of waffles to share. 

Saturday Morning Waffles

1 3/4 C Brown Rice

2 C Buttermilk, Sour Milk, or Kefir

2 Eggs, Separated

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/4 t Salt

3 T  Melted Butter or Coconut Oil

1 t Vanilla

In order to neutralize the phytic acid do the first step the night before you want to eat these!

1. In a blender combine whole, uncooked rice and buttermilk, sour milk or kefir. Blend on high speed until the rice is finely ground. If you find the mixture is too thick, you can add in the melted butter or oil and vanilla. Soak in blender overnight. 
2. The next morning, separate eggs. Place the whites in a large, clean mixing bowl and put the yolks in the blender with the rice/milk mixture. If you haven't previously added the oil or butter and vanilla, do so now. Blend until combined. 
3. Plug in your waffle maker so it will be nice and hot!
4. Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff. 
5. With blender on low to medium, add the baking soda to the rice mixture. As it mixes you will see the batter start to rise. Turn off the blender. Gently pour batter into the egg whites and fold in. (I do this with the whisk attachment of my mixer.) 
6. Follow instructions for your waffle maker. (We spray oil on ours, and set our timer for 4 1/2 minutes, but you'll need to figure out what works for you!
7. Enjoy!

This post is part of The Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter, Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday, and Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday.