Sourdough Discard Waffles

 

I have been using my sourdough a lot lately, but last week my starter got tired. I fed it twice and it didn't really rise at all. Troubleshooting, I fed it a more hearty flour, some oat flour I had on hand, and it just took off. I had a lot of starter that needed to be used, so we tried a sourdough waffle recipe. It is a keeper!

If you want your waffles to be more "sour" and fermented you can make the batter the night before (leaving out the baking soda and eggs) and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Juat add the eggs and baking soda in the morning and cook them up.

Sourdough Discard Waffles

Makes 8 waffles

Ingredients:

1 cup starter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk*

1/2 cup butter melted

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat your waffle iron.

2. Combine all ingredients (unless you are using the overnight ferment method). Cook in waffle iron until golden. 

*To create your own buttermilk: combine 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.

Grandmother Alice's Carrot Cake

 

Many years ago I was gifted the Coppley Family cookbook. It is a priceless collection of family recipes from Keith's grandmother's family. Some of them are family classics that have made it on the blog already, like sausage balls. This carrot cake recipe is Keith's mom's favorite. For her 70th birthday we had a cake party, and this recipe was her only request. Joseph and Grandmother made it together.

This year Aaron (who's middle name is Coppley, so this is very fitting), requested Grandmother Alice's carrot cake for his birthday.

Joseph and Grandmother baking Mom's 70th birthday cake

It has become a favorie for us all, and it is a gem of a recipe to have on hand. It bakes beautifully, and the icing is perfect. I was skeptical about putting the nuts in the icing, and didn't think it would be enough to cover the cake. Grandmother assured me it was just the right amount, and she was right. Every time it is exactly enough. That's the thing I am finding with these tried and true recipes....they really have been tried, and they are kept and passed down for a reason. Grandmother's notes in the cookbook are: "This cake is always a hit wherever I take it. I selcom bring any back home with me. Truly a family favorite, especially for my daddy and brother John Sr and John Jr." So here is our little family secret recipe for the best carrot cake. 

Grandmother Alice's Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups oil

4 eggs

2 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oil and sugar, cream together well.

2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. 

3. Mix in dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Fold in grated carrots. 

5. Bake in 3, 8" round layers for 20-25 minutes. Cake will spring back when done. Cool and ice with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing:

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

1/2 stick butter

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: 

1. Soften butter and cream cheese to room temperature then cream together well. 

2. Add the sugar and beat thoroughly, then fold in the nuts.

3. This recipe will cover a 3-layer cake. On the carrot cake, it seems better to make icing thick between the layers and leae just enough to make a thinner layer for the outside of the cake. 

Candied Carrots:

Directions:

1. Using a potato peeler, peel a carrot into thin ribbons. 

2. Create a smiple syrup with 1 cup water & 1 cup sugar. Bring the syrup up to a rolling boil then reduce to a simmer. Add carrot ribbons and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are slightly opaque and soft. Cool the carrot ribbons on a cookie drying rack then decorate your cake. 

Scarpaccia (Greek Zucchini Tart)

 

One of our garden staples is trombonchino, an Italian zucchini variety. It grows great on trellises and is a prolific producer. My favorite feature of trombonchino is that there are no seeds in the long skinny part of the fruit, only seeds in the bulb. (just like a butternut squash) So trombonchino is great for any recipe you would use zucchini; easy to grate, excellent for slicing, roasting and sautes. This Greek preparation of zucchini was a fantastic choise for trombonchino. It is easy to prepare, bakes in one big pan and a good variation to mix up the vegetable routine. We tried this with some feta cheese sprinkled on top which was also really tasty. This variation calls for rosemerry, but you can also use dill, basil, chives or any fresh herbs you have on hand. 

This was our biggest trombonchino we grew last year. 😲

Scarpaccia (Greek Zucchini Tart)

Ingredients:

3 zucchinis (or trombonchino 😁) thinly sliced (4-5 cups)

1/2 onion thinly sliced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp rosemerry, finely chopped

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

2. Press the mix thinly out onto a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake about 35 minutes or until the endges are lightly crisped and browned. Cut and serve with tzatziki sauce.

Grating, chopping and freezing the giant trombonchino.