Best. Waffles. Ever.

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Sift:

2 cups flour

1 TBS sugar

3 TBS malt powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

Whisk:

1 stick butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean paste

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons whole yogurt

Add wet to dry and mix well. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight or at least 6 hours. Use a large bowl...the batter will rise significantly.

Whisk in 2 egg yolks. Gently fold in 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten.

Custard-Filled Cornbread

Recipe credit to Molly Wizenberg - A Homemade Life

Preheat to 350. Grease a 9" round pan.

Sift together:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together and add to the dry, mixing well:

2 TBS melted butter

2 eggs

3 TBS sugar

1 1/2 TBS vinegar

2 cups whole milk

Pour into prepared pan. Pour 1 cup heavy cream gently into the middle. Do not stir. Transfer carefully to the oven taking care not to slosh. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown.

Delicious served with maple syrup.

Potato Soup to Swoon Over

In a crockpot, toss:

1 quart chicken stock

1 TBS dried onion

hefty dash red pepper flakes

heftier grind black pepper

liberal dash Lawry's

2 minced garlic cloves

2.5 pounds red potatoes, quartered, skin-on

Cook on high for 2-ish hours. Add half a head worth of broccoli florets. Cook 2 more hours. Add 4 ounces cream cheese. Let it simmer 30 minutes. Add 2 green onions, sliced. Stick your beaters into the crock and beat it till semi-smooth. Or a stick blender would be swell as well. Stir in 1.5 cups minced fresh-outta-the-oven ham. Top with shredded extra-sharp cheddar and sour cream. Win over your friends and family. Compliment yourself with every bite.

Corn and Quinoa Salad with Chicken Sausage

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

12 oz red pepper asiago chicken sausages, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

2 1/2 cups corn kernels (about 4 ears)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt & pepper

6 oz feta, crumbled

parsley, chopped

Bring quinoa and chicken broth to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Fluff it. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet and brown the sausages. Set them aside and add another drizzle of oil along with the onion and bell pepper. Saute until softened. Add the zucchini and corn and fry 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the sausages and quinoa to the veggies. Whisk together a tablespoon olive oil, the lemon juice, cumin and salt & pepper. Drizzle over the top and stir well. Pop into the fridge to chill. Before serving, stir in the feta and a handful of parsley.

Adapted from Fitness Magazine July/August 2011

Kimchi Fried Rice

The Rice:

5 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced into bite sized chunks

1 16-ounce jar kimchi

5 cups cooked rice - a day or two old*

butter

sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds

scallions

fresh eggs

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Add a knob of butter, a drizzle or two of sesame oil, kimchi and fry until it's nicely browned in a few spots. Dump in the rice and stir and scrape your heart out until it's all heated through. Fry up some eggs. Spoon the rice onto a plate, top with some sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Plop the egg on top. Mmmmmmm.

*Or, if you're like me and too impatient to wait, cook it and spread it out on a piece of parchment and let sit at room temp a few hours.

Larb - Thai Chicken Salad

3 teaspoons grated lime peel

1.5 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1.5 tablespoons fish sauce

3 teaspoons brown sugar

1 -2 teaspoons finely chopped serrano

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

coconut oil

16 oz ground chicken

1 chopped shalllot

handful chopped mint

Toppings:

lettuce leaves

chopped peanuts

cilantro

dried shrimp

toasted coconut

chopped ginger

thinly sliced and diced lime

Whisk together first 8. Set aside. Brown the ground chicken and shallot in a bit of coconut oil. Dump on the sauce and mint. Stir it up and let it meld while preparing the toppings.

Spoon the chicken mixture onto a lettuce leaf and pile high with fixin's. Shove in mouth. Lick the juice that runs down your arm. Sigh with contentment. My kids couldn't get enough of these. I even videoed it. Except, I didn't. There was a mishap and I ended up with an eight minute audio of our dinner conversation. I talk insanely fast. If I hadn't known what I'd said...I'd never have understood. Please make these. With all the fixin's. Especially the shrimp. My kid eats them for snack...plain. Honest. Oh, and use bottled lemon/lime juice and I'll hunt you down and slap your face.

Cardammmmm!

*very slightly adapted from Gesine at Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker

3 cups flour
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

powdered sugar and cardamom for dusting

Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla extract and honey and beat until well combined.
Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture. Don't overbeat.
Chill while preheating oven to 350*.

Bake 10-12 minutes.

Cool completely and coat with powered sugar/cardamom. I used maybe 1/2 teaspoon for 1 cup of powdered sugar. Whisk well.