Alison Stegert

I love waffles for breakfast. Unfortunately, waffles don’t love me. Traditional waffle ingredients include milk, wheat flour, butter, and eggs – all foods my belly doesn’t tolerate. What’s GF vegan to do?

Activate the imagination, of course!

Teff + cinnamon + warm pears + coconut flower nectar = Breakfast waffle bliss

This morning, I tapped into the spirit of Arcadia. What’s that, I hear you ask?

SAVING ARCADIA, my work-in-progress, is an action-adventure novel for middle grade readers (aged 8 – 13). It’s about a sister and brother and the adventure playground they create out of imagination and junk.

In Arcadia, imagination is freedom.

I celebrated finishing my second round of edits by creating the Breakfast of Arcadians. With imagination activated, I concocted the most delectable waffles ever! And the great news is these cinnamon waffles are far from junk food. Arcadian Cinnamon Waffles are protein-packed and full of nutrients.

If you love cinnamony treats and sumptuous warm fruit, you’ll love this dish. As an added bonus, your house will smell of spice and buttery pears.

Arcadian Cinnamon Waffles with Browned Pears are*:

• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Refined sugar-free
• Wheat-free
• Egg-free
• Vegan

Arcadian cinnamon waffles use teff flour, an ancient grain from Ethiopia. Highly nutritional teff is a good source of protein, iron and other minerals, B vitamins and fibre! And with no refined sugar, you can feel good about a little sweet indulgence.

Try topping your cinnamon waffles with a drizzle of coconut nectar instead of maple syrup. Deliciously malty and slightly caramely in flavour, it’s a whole food with a very low GI of 35. You only need a splash, as the cinnamon boosts the waffles’ sweetness.

An Adventure in Your Kitchen

Cooking can be an adventure or a chore. If it’s drudgery for you, spice it up with some new textures, flavours, and ingredients. For me, adopting a vegan diet for health reasons has had the added benefit of rekindling my passion for cooking.

Don’t let the unfamiliar ingredients put you off. Instead, use them as inspiration, and let your imagination soar. That’s the Arcadian way.

Shop at a bulk food store where you can sample small quantities of amazing ingredients. Try out a scoop or two of teff flour in a brown paper bag before committing to a larger quantity. Plus, bulk buying is a way to reduce waste and minimise plastic packaging. Look for a good bulk food store near you. I shop at The Source Bulk Foods whenever I can.)

Let’s take a leaf out of Arlo’s book. He’s my eleven-year-old boy protagonist, and he loves to invent vegan snacks. Growing up in an urban recycling centre means he’s also big on zero waste living.

So without further ado…

Chef Arlo’s Arcadian Cinnamon Waffles with Browned Pears

The texture of these waffles is a blissful combination of crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. The browned pears marry perfectly with the subtle nutty flavour of teff.

Makes two servings, 4 – 5 thick saucer-sized, crispy-chewy, scrummy waffles.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: varies, depending on your waffle iron.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup teff flour
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar

Wet Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup mylk of your choice (I used macadamia mylk.)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (Anything with a light flavour will do.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• oil for the waffle iron

Browned Pear Ingredients

• 1 – 2 tablespoons vegan butter alternative (I used Nuttelex.)
• 2 pears, not too ripe, cored and sliced (Packham pears were nice.)

Method

1. Heat up the waffle iron and preheat the oven to a low temperature to keep the waffles warm.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
3. Mix the first three wet ingredients in a large measuring jug and then pour into the dry ingredients. Whisk everything together.
4. Core and slice the pear (not too thin).
5. Spray the waffle iron top and bottom. Using a 1/3 cup measure, pour a heaping dollop of batter into the middle of the iron. Close and cook according to the waffle iron’s specifications. The waffles should be toasted so they’re crispy outside. Remove the waffle with a fork. Repeat, making sure to re-oil the waffle iron. Keep the waffles warm in the oven. Don’t stack, or they’ll sweat and may lose some of their crispiness.
6. Meanwhile, melt the vegan butter in a frying pan. Lay the pear slices in a single layer in the bubbling butter. Allow the pears to brown, then turn gently so the slices don’t break apart.
7. To serve, layer the browned pears on top of the waffles and lightly drizzle with coconut flower nectar.
8. Dig in.

Serving Suggestions

Drizzle with coconut flower nectar. Maple syrup or honey would be yummy too, but I think they high notes in honey might overpower the subtle flavours elsewhere. I used very little syrup, maybe 1 – 2 teaspoons, and it was perfect. There’s no need to drown the waffles in syrup as the cinnamon packs a lot of natural sweetness and flavour.

Coconut yoghurt would be a lovely addition for breakfast, but to turn it into a fabulous dessert, top with a scoop of coconut ice-cream.

If you want to be fancy, a sprinkle of edible flowers would look smashing on this dish. Enjoy!

Coming Soon: More Arcadian Recipes

As I mentioned above, I’m nearly ready to send SAVING ARCADIA out into the world. Wish me luck, send some positive vibes, and lift up some prayers that a fabulous publishing professional will fall in love with Arlo and Eleanor, their cheeky pets, and Arcadia.

While I’m waiting for news on the publishing front, I’ll be channeling Chef Arlo and the spirit of Arcadia to create more scrumdillyicious recipes and a few posts on a zero-waste lifestyle.

Leave a comment if you make Arcadian Cinnamon Waffles with Browned Pears. I’d love to hear your variations.

*Disclaimer: I’m not a nutritionist, just a home cook who’s having fun, so research the ingredients to satisfy yourself that they meet your dietary requirements.

Image Credit:

Pear Photo by Esther Wechsler on Unsplash