Sourdough Discard Waffles

Hello again, readers! I know you just finished reading my recipe for Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches and just couldn't get enough of me! Like most other people stuck in quarantine, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and try my hand at making a sourdough starter. Now when you make a starter, every day you have to discard a portion of the starter and feed it with flour and water. But doesn't it seem wasteful to just throw out what you spent the last week or more growing and nurturing like a little baby?!

Thankfully my husband recently got a copy of Backwoods Home Magazine in the mail, which featured recipes using sourdough starter! So after looking through it, I settled on making Nate and myself a delicious batch of Sourdough Discard Waffles with toasted nuts.

Sourdough Discard Waffles

Sourdough Discard Waffles in the golden morning light

1 Egg, beaten
1 C Sourdough Discard
1 Lemon, zest only
1/4 C Vegetable or Canola Oil
1/4-1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Flour
1/8 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Sugar
3 Tbsp Mixed Nuts (I used hazelnuts, almonds and pecans)
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

In a small bowl, combine egg, sourdough discard, lemon zest, vegetable oil and milk. Set Aside.

In another bowl, combine all other ingredients.

Slowly sift dry ingredients into wet and whisk together until batter forms. If the batter is too thick, slowly add in up to 1/4 C of milk. Allow the batter to sit for 5 minutes before use.

While your batter is resting, heat your waffle iron until ready for use.

In a dry skillet, heat whole nuts on low until fragrant and toasted. Be careful! These can burn very quickly! After your nuts are toasty and warm, roughly chop.

When your iron is ready for use, spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray and pour 1/4-1/3 C of batter in each well of your waffle iron. Top each well with 1-2 Tsp of chopped nuts. Close and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the waffles release from the waffle iron.

Repeat until all batter and nuts are used.

These waffles are not your everyday waffles for sure. The sourdough flavor is present but in more of an aromatic element than the funky acidic taste that's typically in the bread. It's difficult to describe but it was utterly delicious when topped with butter and Grade A Maple Syrup.

If you happen to have some sourdough starter laying around, or for some reason want to make your own, I highly recommend trying out this recipe!

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

Happy Saturday, readers! I don't know about you, but this week has been difficult for me. I was unfortunately let go from my job at the Brewery due to a backtrack in COVID-19 health orders. I don't want to make a thing about it but I will say, before you call out restaurants for wanting to stay open during this time, think of the people like me who now lost their jobs. Additionally, I am still waiting for the governor to give my gym the go-ahead to allow for group fitness classes to start. So, it's been a week to say the least.

I've been distracting myself with daily workouts, preparing for when I can teach group fitness and cooking, of course! So enough of my pity party, I'll get on with the recipe! About a month ago I won an Instagram contest from Lightlife, one of my favorite plant-based food companies! I was lucky enough to be shipped 6 packages of their products which included sausage links, sausage patties, burgers, ground protein, bratwurst and Italian sausages. So far everything has been incredible! 

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

Lightlife Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwich

4 Tbsp Butter, divided
1/2 Onion, sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and sliced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced and divided
1 C Water
1 C Vegetable Broth
1 C Pale Ale Beer (I used the Oskar Blues Dale Pale Ale)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4 Italian Sausages (I used Lightlife, obviously)
1 C Italian Parsley, chopped
4 Hoagie Rolls
4 Slices Cheddar Cheese, halved

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a deep skillet over medium-low heat and saute onion until softened. Add pepper and 2 cloves of garlic to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a pot over medium heat, bring water, vegetable broth and beer to a boil. Season the broth with salt and pepper. Add sausages to the pot and boil for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the sausages from the liquid and move to the skillet with the vegetables making sure the sausages make direct contact with the pan. Increase the heat to medium. Fry the sausages for 3-5 minutes per side for color, for a total of 15 minutes.

Lightlife Italian Sausages frying with onion and red bell pepper in boiling liquid

Remove the pot with the boiling liquid from heat and ladle 1/2 C at a time of the liquid on the veggies in the skillet every 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and toast the hoagie rolls for 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, melt remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and stir in parsley and garlic. Set aside.

After the rolls are toasted and the sausage and veggies are cooked, divide evenly between the 4 rolls. Divide remaining boiling liquid among the rolls. Top the veggies and sausage with prepared parsley and garlic butter and layer on 1 slice of cheese per sandwich.

Bake the sandwiches for 15 minutes.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

These sandwiches were hearty, the sausages were meaty and the boiling liquid was so full of flavor I could die! I was definitely not left wanting after eating this incredible meal and it will definitely be put into my regular dinner rotation from now on! A big thank you to Lightlife for gifting me so many delicious goodies!

Thank you for stopping by my little blog and stay tuned for more great recipes!

International Cuisine - Brazil

Good morning, readers! Happy Friday! This morning began with a loud bang, an announcement from the Santa Fe SWAT team, and police sirens. Thankfully it was across the river from us so not too nearby but I am certainly curious as to what was happening. Will update!

Anyway, you may or may not recall (since it's been roughly 2 years now) that Nate and I previously would randomly choose a country, cook a traditional dish and teach each other about the history and culture of the country chosen. My last country was Nigeria. Unfortunately this practice fell by the wayside but I figured while in COVID-induced Hell, why not bring it back!?

Last night I made Brazilian Fish Stew and Brazilian Limeade - both dishes that can be found around the country.

Brazilian Fish Stew

Brazilian Fish Stew with Cilantro Lime Rice and Brazilian Lemonade

2  Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Lime, juiced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 lb Tilapia, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Broth:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and sliced
2 Serrano Peppers, cut into half moons
14 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
14 oz Can Full Fat Coconut Milk
1 C Vegetable Stock
1 1/2 Tsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Lime, juiced
3 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Marinate tilapia cubes with 1 Tbsp olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Cover marinating fish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, heat a skillet over medium heat and cook fish in 1 Tbsp olive oil for 3 minutes. Remove fish from skillet and set aside.

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add peppers to stockpot and cook for 5 minutes.

Add liquids to the pot and bring to a simmer. Season with sugar, cumin, paprika and salt. Cover the broth with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened.

Once the broth has thickened, add tilapia back to the pot and cook for an additional 2 minutes to heat the fish through.

Add fresh lime juice and cilantro to the pot right before serving.

Serve the stew over a scoop of Cilantro Lime Rice (recipe to follow).

The stew is definitely not lacking in flavor! It is very fresh, slightly spicy, smoky and not at all fishy! Great for a hot summer day or could be equally delicious in fall or winter!

Cilantro Lime Rice

4 C Water
2 C Jasmine Rice
2 Tsp Salt
2 Limes, juiced
1/2 C Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Bring water to a boil over high heat and add dry rice to the pot. Cover with a lid, drop heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

Once the rice is fully cooked and fluffy, add salt, lime juice and cilantro and stir to combine. Taste check and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Since no dinner is complete without a beverage, I made Brazilian Lemonade!

Brazilian Lemonade

4 Limes, skins scrubbed and cut into 1/8ths
6 C Water
1 C Sugar
6 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk

In the cup of a blender, combine 1/2 the limes, water and sugar and blend for 2 minutes. Repeat until all ingredients have been blended. I had to do 2 batches of blending.

Using a sieve, strain the blender contents over a pitcher and push with a spoon to get all the juice out of the limes. Discard excess pulp and skins. Repeat this step until all ingredients have been strained.

Stir sweetened condensed milk into pitcher and taste. Add more condensed milk if too tart.

Now you may be thinking, why is this called "lemonade" if there are no lemons involved? After research, I really can't figure out why it's not called limeade?

The addition of the sweetened condensed milk makes this drink frothy and almost smoothie-like. It tastes like summer in a glass and was the perfect pairing to cool down the spicy and (temperature) hot stew!

Nate picked his country after we finished eating dinner - Armenia. I can't wait to see what he decides to make for us and to learn more about the country.

To finish us off, find an oldie but goodie link to Mushroom Philly Cheesesteaks! This is probably one of my favorite dinners to make on a time crunch, it's filling and absolutely delectable. 

Mushroom Philly Cheesesteaks with frozen seasoned fries

Vegan Thai Green Curry

Hello again, readers! I hope you're doing well on this Wednesday afternoon! I apologize for the lapse in posts lately - things have been busy here at Casa de Hart. I have been working at the brewery 3-4 days a week and eagerly prepping to begin teaching cycling and strength training classes whenever the governor gives my gym the ok to do so. Additionally, my best friend from high school (a good 12 years ago) came to visit us for the long holiday weekend! It was wonderful to get to see her again and she even bravely agreed to participate in a resistance band workout led by me (she has reported still sore 3 days later).

After a weekend of all-around over indulgence (beer, wine, food) I was craving something light, fresh and filling and this Thai-Style Green Curry was just the ticket, plus it's vegan!

Vegan Thai Green Curry

Veggie-Packed Vegan Thai Green Curry, served with white rice

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Inch Ginger, minced
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and diced
2 Medium Carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
1 Small Head Broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets
1 C Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 Serrano Peppers, cut into half moons (seeded if you're not a spice fan)
 4 Tbsp Green Curry Paste
13.5 oz Can Full-Fat Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Sugar
Salt, to taste
2 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce (omit if you're not a spice person)
Lime Wedges, for serving
White Rice, for serving

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and saute ginger and garlic until fragrant and golden, roughly 3 minutes.

Add all other vegetables to the pot and allow to soften for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the vegetables are soft, stir in curry paste to coat the veggies and cook another 3-4 minutes. Pour in coconut milk and increase the heat slightly to bring the liquid to a simmer.

Season with soy sauce, sugar, salt and sriracha. Cover and allow to simmer and get delicious for another 10 minutes.

Taste the curry and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve over rice to soak up all the tasty liquid (because you'll want to drink the broth, trust me) and squeeze a lime wedge over the top just before devouring.

This curry is light enough to be eaten during the *gasp* 90+ degree weather here in Santa Fe but with the fiber-packed veggies you will not be left hungry or wanting.

Stay tuned for more delicious recipes and Lindsey life-factoids and of course, as always, thank you for stopping by.