Spelt and Almond Waffles, being at home in the whole food kitchen . . .

My sister is always after me to eat healthier.  She's been into sprouting and fermenting and using whole grains for a long time now.   She really makes some interesting and delicious foods which I have enjoyed and which is why I was really excited when I was offered the opportunity to review a new cookery book  . . .  At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, celebrating the art of eating well, by Amy Chaplin.


 

Amy Chaplin has worked as a vegetarian chef for over twenty years.  She is the former executive chef of New York's renowned vegan restaurant Angelica Kitchen, a recipe developer, a teacher and a private chef, whose clients indluce Natalie Portman and Liv Tyler.   Amy’s delicious vegan and vegetarian cuisine has also appeared in numerous publications, including Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, the Guardian, the Vegetarian Times, Oprah magazine and the Washington Post. A native of Australia, over the last two decades Chaplin has worked as a chef in Amsterdam, London, Sydney, and New York City where she currently resides.

 

Published by jacquie small on the 15th June, it really is a beautiful book, containing a wealth of information and recipes, illustrated beautifully with the photography of Johnny Miller.   It contains over 150 vegetarian and vegan recipes and everything you need to know to stock your pantry and make the most of your ingredients.



It's divided into Two main sections.



Part One lays the foundation on how best to stock your cupboard. It is not simply a list of ingredients and equipment.  This lovely book  provides an in depth real working knowledge of how and why to use ingredients, plus an arsenal of simple recipes for daily nourishment.  (Pantry essentials, equipment, cooking from the pantry and pantry recipes.)



Part two is a collection of recipes celebrating vegetarian cooking at its brightest, whole and  most delectable, showcasing with such vibrant dishes as black rice breakfast pudding with coconut and banana; fragrant aubergine curry with cardamom basmati rice, apricot chutney and lime raita; and honey vanilla bean ice cream with roasted plums and coconut crunch. The recipes are inspirational, healthy, sustainable and delicious.  This is whole food cooking for everyone!

 

Interspersed throughout are beautiful full colour photographs.



One thing I like to do when reviewing a cookery book is to try out a couple of the recipes in the book, as I believe the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  It would be no good for me to recommend any cookery book to you without at least trying some of the recipes.

This book presented a real challenge in that way as some of the ingredients asked for are unsual, or require buying in speciality shops. I did manage to rise to the challenge however and cooked some delicious waffles for our breakfast one day.  (It is important to note however that you can easily substitute some of the harder to find ingredients with other things if need be.)

 

*Spelt and Almond Waffles*

Makes 8 medium waffles

Printable Recipe

From Amy - A trip back to Australia would not be complete without a long summer morning eating these tender, fragrant waffles on my mother's veranda.  She tops them with big, juicy blackberries from her garden, slivers of mango, thick biodynamic yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Most wholegrain waffles need to be cooked a minutes or two longer than the instructions on waffle irons suggest 

125g (1 1/4 cups) sprouted spelt flour or whole spelt flour

1/2 tsp aluminium free bakin gpowder

80g (3/4 cup) almond flour (almond meal or ground almonds)

2 eggs, yolks and white separated

60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil or melted extra virgin coconut oil

zest of one orange

10ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice

180ml (3/4 cup) homemade almond milk or plain soya milk

3 TBS brown rice syrup

Extra virgin coconut oil or melted butter for brushing the waffle iron 

To serve:

Thick, whole milk yogurt

fresh berries and seasonal fruit

maple syrup 

Preheat the waffle iron.  Sift the spelt flour and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl  Add almond flour and stir well to break up any lumps.  Set aside. 

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, olive oil, orange zest, orange juice and almond milk until combined.   Stir into dry mixture.  Drizzle rice syrup over batter and stir again.  In a clean bowl, beat egg whites into stiff peaks and gently fold into batter. 

Brush preheated waffle iron with oil or melted butter.  Ladle in about 120 ml (1/2 cup) batter per waffle, close lid and cook for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown.   Repeat with remaining batter. 

Serve warm, topped with yogurt, berries, fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Leftover waffles can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months, simply reheat in a toaster or oven.



Other than the challenge of sourcing out some difficult to find ingredients, this is truly a lovely book.  The recipes are well written and all sound delicious.  I have ear marked quite a few to try (which should make my sister very happy!)  The Kimchi looks really lovely and I am really keen to try the Simple Pressed Salad, amongst quite a few other things.

If you are interested in eating a bit healthier using natural ingredients I highly recommend this book.  Even if you are a vegetarian and are not afraid  of a challenge, this book will please I am sure on many levels.

At Home In The Whole Food Kitchen
celebrating the art of eating well
by Amy Chaplin
Photographs by Johnny Miller
Published by jacqui small  

ISBN - 978 1 910254 14 1
UK RRP £25
Hardback, colour photography, release date June 18, 2015
372 pages

Many thanks to jacqui small for sending me a copy for review.   Although I was sent a copy for review, do note that I was not required to write a positive review and any impressions and all opinions are quite simply my own.

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