gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies

Oatmeal cookies are my ultimate comfort food: crisp on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside, generously-spiced, and perfect for dunking in a strong cup of coffee. I don't even like raisins that much, but for some reason they are unbeatable with cinnamon and walnuts in oatmeal cookies. One of the main drawbacks of these cookies being vegan is that they don't have raw eggs in the batter, which means I usually end up eating half the cookie dough.

Whoever had the genius of putting raisins in oatmeal cookies is unknown, but we do know oatmeal cookies are a descendent of oat cakes, baked in Scotland as far back as 1000 BC. The cakes were more like a staple food, and didn't evolve into a cookie until the 1800s, when oatmeal had become more popular throughout the world. They then gained popularity as a health food, which is unfortunately misleading.

Notes:

• The dough stays well in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for much longer.
• While I like to make most pastries as small as possible, these are better large because the outside can be crispy while the interior remains soft.
• The cookies freeze very well and make phenomenal ice cream sandwiches. I bet you can also heat them up and crumble on top of an ice cream sundae, although they've never lasted in the freezer long enough for me to try this. 

Substitutions:

• If you don't need wheat-free cookies and you don't have arrowroot, brown rice flour, or xantham gum, omit these ingredients and add 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour. The cookies will be a bit chewier.
• Can't find affordable maple syrup? No problem--just replace with 1-1/3 cups vegan brown sugar or Sucanat and 1/2 cup non-dairy milk. 
• If coconut oil is also a splurge, you can replace up to half with another oil. I usually use 1/4 cup coconut oil, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil, such as sunflower or canola (don't be afraid to use olive oil in sweets--it gives a subtle savory backdrop). The coconut oil definitely gives the cookies a buttery richness, so I wouldn't omit entirely. 
• If you don't have almond flour, grind 1/2 cup almonds or hazelnuts in a food processor or sturdy coffee grinder until the ground nuts just begin to clump.
• VARIATION: Chocolate Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
  Omit the nutmeg and raisins, double or triple the cinnamon, and add 4 oz (115g) chopped dark chocolate bar and 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes.
  
  

Makes 2 dozen smallish or 1 dozen huge cookies

Total time: 1.5 hours

1 cup (320g) maple syrup

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed 

1/2 cup (110g) melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup (100g) brown rice flour

1/3 cup (40g) almond flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon xantham gum

2 cups (200g) gluten-free oats

1 cup (150g) raisins

2/3 cup (70g) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

With a fork, whisk together the maple syrup, arrowroot, and flax for several minutes. Whisk in the coconut oil, vanilla, and spices and stir until hardened. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda, and xantham gum. Stir the mixtures together vigorously for 1-2 minutes, then add the oats, raisins, and walnuts. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Roll dough into 1.5" balls, flatten with your palms slightly, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook the sheets one at a time for the most even baking. Halfway through baking, tap a spatula lightly on each cookie to flatten the tops of the domes, rotate baking sheet, and continue cooking. Remove the cookies after 12-14 minutes, when browned around the edges but still soft and slightly wet in the center, and let cool. However, if you're like me, you'll dive into the cookies while they're still hot and get a fistful of crumbly oat goodness. These also taste ridiculously good dunked in coffee.

hazelnut scones with raspberry jam

If you want a scone you can split and slather with jam, these are the way to go. Note that the raspberry jam is the key part of this recipe; while the scones are okay without it, the subtle tartness of the raspberries truly brings out the orange and hazelnut flavors, making the scones heavenly.

Follow the blueberry lemon scone recipe, but replace the blueberries with 3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted 6-8 minutes, rubbed together to remove most of the skins, and coarsely chopped. Replace the lemon flavor with orange flavor and the lemon zest for the zest of 1 orange. Instead of making the icing, serve with raspberry jam.

lemon blueberry scones

Scones are possibly my favorite pastry: unfussy, flaky wedges that always remind me of downtown cafes and sunny mornings. I get requests for these particular scones more than almost anything else, and the last time I made them, someone remarked, "Wow, I could be vegan." As much as I like to brag, I can't take all the credit; the delicate flavors of lemon and blueberry enriched with coconut oil do all the work here. If you don't have fresh blueberries, hazelnut scones with raspberry jam are equally delicious.

I like to make these small—just big enough for a few rich bites—but if you want larger scones just cut the dough into 10 or 12 larger triangles instead. For making scones, it also helps to have all ingredients cold ahead of time.

Makes 18 small scones

Total time: 1.5 hours

3/4 cup coconut milk, plus another 2-3 tablespoons for brushing

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or substitute olive oil)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/3 cup maple syrup (or sub 1/2 cup brown sugar and increase the coconut milk to 1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon lemon flavor

zest of 1-2 lemons

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Measure out 3/4 cup coconut milk. With a fork, whisk together about 3 tablespoons of the coconut milk with the coconut oil until the mixture solidifies. Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the chilled coconut mixture into the flour mixture with a fork or hands (just like cutting in butter), then chill.
4. Stir together what remains of the 3/4 cup coconut milk with the maple syrup, lemon flavor, zest, and blueberries. Pour into the flour mixture. Gently mix together until batter just comes together in clumps, then gather the clumps to form a soft dough. If the dough is too sticky to work with, cover and refrigerate.
5. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a square about 1 inch high. With a sharp knife, cut into nine smaller squares, then cut each square in half diagonally to make 18 small triangles. If you want wedge-shaped scones instead, form two circles and cut each into eighths.
6. Place the scones on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little coconut milk, which helps the browning during baking.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. While scones are cooling, prepare the icing.

Icing:

1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1/8 teaspoon lemon flavor

Stir together the sugar and milk, and microwave for 20-30 seconds. Stir until smooth, and mix in the oil and flavor. Microwave for another 15 seconds and stir again. Repeat until the icing is runny, and drizzle over the tops of the scones, letting it drip down the sides. The icing will set once it’s cooled.

sesame tofu scramble

Tofu scrambles have become my staple food in the last year--I can make them with pretty much whatever ingredients I have and they come out good as long as I add coconut milk and salt of some sort. This asian-cuisine-inspired version is probably my favorite; I always double the batch and store leftovers in the fridge for breakfast or lunch the next couple days. 

Serves 2 very hungry people

1 tablespoon sesame, peanut, or coconut oil

1-2 onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-2” piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)

1 (around 14 oz) package firm or extra-firm tofu

¼-1/3 cup coconut milk

¼ cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons soy sauce/tamari/Bragg’s Aminos, or to taste

2 teaspoons cumin, ground or whole

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

pinch of ground hot pepper, such as cayenne or chipotle, to taste

½ bunch greens (kale, collards, chard), stems removed and coarsely chopped OR several handfuls of baby spinach

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds (at least)

black pepper

In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, and bell pepper about 10 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms, if using. Squeeze the excess water out of the tofu with your hands and crumble into pan. Saute another 10 minutes, until tofu is slightly browned. Stir in coconut milk, yeast, soy sauce, cumin, turmeric, and pepper. Add greens and cook another 5 minutes, until they’re wilted. Stir in sesame oil and black pepper, and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Remove from heat, and serve hot. 

gluten-free cornmeal pancakes

Cornmeal, ground from dried maize, comes in more than a few varieties; to start with, there's fine, medium and coarse consistencies. Medium grinds are fine in most baked goods, though finely ground is best for delicate pastries such as cakes. Finely ground cornmeal is also called cornflour in the States, though in the UK cornflour refers to cornstarch. Coarsely ground cornmeal gives baked goods more texture and crunch, which may or may not be desirable.

You may also see cornmeal labeled "steel ground" or "stone ground," or "old fashioned." Steel ground cornmeal, particularly common in the US, has the hull and germ of the maize kernel mostly removed, and stays good almost indefinitely if stored in a cool, dry location. Meanwhile, stone ground (aka "old fashioned") cornmeal retains some of the hull and germ, giving it more nutrition and flavor. However, it also has a shorter shelf life, which can be extended by refrigerating or even freezing the cornmeal.

To top it off, cornmeal comes in three different colors: yellow, white, and blue. Yellow cornmeal is standard in baked goods and polenta for most of the world. African dishes and many cornbread and pancake recipes from the Southern US use white cornmeal. Blue cornmeal can be used for a more exiting color, nutritional benefits, and a stronger flavor.

Yellow cornmeal in this recipe gives these pancakes an appealing golden hue, but feel free to experiment with different types of cornmeal. In place of eggs, I grind golden flaxseed— normal flaxseed would make healthfood-looking brown flecks in the pancakes—and whisk with water.

The cornmeal in these fluffy, delicious pancakes pairs especially well with blueberries, blackberries, or orange. When I made these pancakes today for a Saturday-morning brunch I heated some maple syrup with frozen blackberries for an instant, delicious blackberry compote. Adding some orange zest wouldn't have hurt anything either. If you want to keep the pancakes warm, preheat the oven to 200F, and stack them on a plate until ready.

VARIATIONS:

• If you don't have brown rice flour or arrowroot, substitute both with 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour.
• Classic Pancakes (gluten-free): Instead of the cornmeal, add 1 cup of brown rice flour (so the total quantity is 1.5 cups) and add 1 cup of of millet or sorghum flour. Omit the lemon zest.
• These pancake recipes also work for making waffles.

Serves 4-6

Total time: 20 minutes

2 cups non-dairy milk

1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice and zest of 1-2 lemons

2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

2 cups finely ground yellow cornmeal or corn flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut or sunflower oil, plus more for greasing the griddle

Whisk together the milk, lemon juice, ground flax, and arrowroot for a few minutes, until slightly thickened, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla, syrup, and oil to the wet ingredients.

Oil a large frying pan or griddle and heat to medium-high (350-375F). Add the wet ingredients to the cornmeal mixture and mix until lumps are eliminated (in most pancake recipes you barely stir the batter for fear of tough pancakes caused by gluten formation, but this isn't a problem in gluten-free recipes for obvious reasons).

Once the griddle is hot, scoop or pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook for a couple minutes, until browned, then flip and cook another minute. Serve immediately. Top with fresh berries, maple syrup, blueberry jam, and/or a compote.

grandma's rhubarb bars with orange and cardamom

Most of us know and love rhubarb (aka "pie plant") for its sweet-tart flavor found most often in pies, tarts, and sauces. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are toxic, but the beautiful red stalks are edible. Raw, the celery-like rhubarb stalks have a very strong tart flavor, so they're usually cooked and sweetened (such as in strawberry-rhubarb pie) to soften them and counteract the tartness. Though used as a fruit in cooking, rhubarb technically falls into the vegetable category. Its season varies from April to September with location, but in our yard ripens in July or August. Besides the classic rhubarb and strawberry, rhubarb also pairs nicely with caramel, mint, or orange and cardamom (hence this recipe).

These bars come from a veganized version of my grandma's recipe. I also added cardamom and orange to her rhubarb filling because I had them sitting around and it sounded good. The crust/crumble part is very versatile, so you could try any filling you want, with whatever fruit or spices you have on hand. (For example, raspberry bars sound good, and so do orange-chocolate bars or blackberry-ginger-peach bars.) These bars can be made ahead of time and frozen. I think they actually taste better when they're very cold.

Total time: 45 minutes

Makes 10-15 bars

2 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb (4-6 stalks)

2 zested, peeled, segmented, and sliced orange

1 tablespoon ground cardamom (if you want more traditional rhubarb bars, omit the orange and cardamom but use 1.5 cups of rhubarb)

1/2 cup agave

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 cup sliced almonds

2 cups oats

1 cup Florida Crystals (or another vegan sugar)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Grease a 9"x13" baking pan. Preheat the oven to 375F.

For the filing, combine the rhubarb, orange segments and zest, cardamom, and agave in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Add in the arrowroot and stir in over medium-low heat for another minute or so, until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a coffee grinder or food processor, coarsely grind the almonds (there should still be large pieces) and then coarsely grind the oats. Whisk together the almonds, oats, sugar, salt, and soda in a small bowl. Blend in the melted coconut oil with your hands. Remove 1 cup of the crumb mixture for topping, and place in the freezer to set the crumbs.

Press the remaining crumb mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Evenly spread the rhubarb mixture on top, and sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool in pan and place in the freezer. Once completely cooled, cut into bars, and store in a sealed container in the freezer (if you don't store them in the freezer, the crust can get slightly soggy). Take them out several minutes before serving to thaw slightly. They will get less tart the longer they thaw.

biscuits

1 cup unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
2 tbs coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix dry ingredients, cut in oil, add milks, and mix to form slightly sticky dough. Place on a floured surface and pat into a mound 3/4" to 1" thick. Cut biscuits out, pressing straight down.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

gluten-free cornbread muffins

Many think of cornbread as a classic Southern food, but the first to make cornbread were Native Americans living in the what is now the Southwestern United States and Central America, who relied heavily on corn as a food source. The European settlers seemed to catch on; corn became a staple food in the New World before wheat made its way across the pond, and on the frontier cornbread grew widely recognized as a versatile bread that kept well and didn't need to rise.

Traditionally, in the northern United States recipes use sweeteners and produce a lighter cornbread more or less exchangeable with corn muffins, while southern cornbreads often use lard and are usually served as a savory item, such as a complement to chili or bean soups.

I use coarse cornmeal and whole corn kernels for texture. The maple syrup adds a very slight sweetness and flavor, but it's still on the border between sweet and savory. I like to make the cornbread in mini-muffin tins for a bite-sized snack, but they could also be made in normal muffin tins.

Prep time: about 5-10 minutes

Bake time: about 15-20 minutes

Makes about 2 dozen mini-muffins or about 1 dozen standard muffins

1+3/4 cups non-dairy milk

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

4 teaspoons lemon juice (adding the zest is optional)

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 cup corn flour

1/2 cup coarse or medium-grind cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup olive oil (which makes it more savory) or coconut oil (which is more buttery)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup fresh or frozen (and thawed) corn kernels

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease the muffin tins or line with paper cups. Whisk together the milk with flaxseed and lemon juice, then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and oil to the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until nearly all the lumps are gone. Stir in the corn. Pour batter into the muffin tins until about 1/2 cm (or 1/4") away from the top.

Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 15-16 minutes in the mini-muffin tins or about 20-22 minutes in regular muffin tins, or until starting to brown around the edges and the sides are just barely starting to pull away from the pan. Let cool in the tins for several minutes and eat warm or at room temperature.

gluten-free banana pecan bread

1/4 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

1 tablespoon arrowroot

2/3 cup (100 g) brown rice flour

1/2 cup (60g) millet flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup (300g) very ripe, mashed banana (2-3 bananas)

2/3 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup sunflower oil or coconut oil, melted

2/3 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a bread pan with coconut oil.

Vigorously whisk together the milk, flax, and arrowroot, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

Add the mashed banana, maple syrup, vanilla, and oil to the wet ingredients, then stir well.

Bake for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs stuck to it. Let it sit about 30 minutes, then turn out of the pan. Let cool.

soda bread

Tips: The more seeds the better, both mixed in the dough and sprinkled on top before the loaf goes into the oven. Currants and raisins give the bread a lot of flavor and sweetness, but if you want a very savory bread for making sandwiches or something, I would omit the dried fruit. I think currants are perfectly sized for bread because you get their subtle tart sweetness dispersed throughout every bite, but raisins also work for more texture and larger bursts of flavor.

1 1/2 cups almond milk

2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

2 tablespoons maple syrup

3.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sunflower, pumpkin, and/or flax seeds

2 teaspoons caraway seeds, crushed (optional)

2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus more for greasing the loaf pan

3/4 cup currants and/or raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan, then sprinkle with flour or cornmeal.

Whisk together the milk, vinegar, flax, and syrup with a fork, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, salt, and seeds.

Bake 50-55 minutes, or until well browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs.

oats and oatmeal

Oats are a healthy comfort food, rich in protein, B-vitamins, calcium, iron, and beta-glucan, an especially healthy form of fiber. Raw, unprocessed oats are gluten-free, although many oat products are cross-contaminated with gluten. Some oats are labelled gluten-free, indicating the oats were processed in facilities where there is no chance of contamination with wheat or wheat products.

From left: steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and quick oats

Oats come in many forms. Steel-cut oats, also called pinhead, Irish, or Scottish oats, are toasted oat groats that have been cut into several pieces. Every cup of steel-cut oats takes about 4 cups of water, and must be cooked on the stovetop for 35-40 minutes, resulting in a distinctive chewy texture and nutty flavor. Due to their long cooking time, they cannot be used in baked goods or cooked in the microwave. Rolled oats, or old-fashioned oats, are groats that are steamed and rolled flat for quicker cooking. They work the best in baked goods and are my personal preference for oatmeal. Quick-cooking oats are oat groats that have been chopped into smaller pieces and rolled thinner so they will cook even faster. Instant oats look much like quick oats but are precooked and need to only be rehydrated with a hot water.

I've read that all these different types of oats have about the same amount of fiber and nutrients (except instant oats, which are ultra-processed), but I've also read that because steel-cut oats are slightly less processed, they retain more fiber and take more time to digest so keep you fuller longer. Who knows how big the difference really is, but I don't have time to make steel-cut oats in the morning so I'm happy with rolled oats.

For the winter months when hardly any fruits are in season, frozen blueberries become one of my staples at breakfast. I try to avoid frozen foods whenever possible because of the excess packaging and energy, but lots of recent studies show that frozen produce retains more of its nutrients than produce that has been shipped long distances. So when the options at the farmers' market are sparse, I eat oatmeal with frozen blueberries everyday, for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. It's so satisfying that I never get tired of it, and I like to think it meets some of my daily nutrition needs, as blueberries are supposedly rich in antioxidants, and flaxseed and walnuts provide omega-3s.

blueberry walnut oatmeal:

Makes 1 small bowl

Prep Time: 1 minute

Cook Time: 2 minutes

1/3 cup rolled or quick oats (see above)

scant 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

dairy-free milk or yogurt (I use almond milk)

2-3 teaspoons ground flaxseeds

Put oats in a small bowl and pour in a little less than 1/2 cup of water, or until the water just barely covers the oats. Sprinkle on cinnamon and blueberries, and microwave on high for about 2 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the berries are thawed. If desired, top with nuts, milk or yogurt, and flaxseed.

pancakes

These fluffy, lightly spiced pancakes are an easy morning treat. The spices, however, can be omitted to make traditional, plain American pancakes. For something beyond plain pancakes, I also recommend adding chopped bananas, pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips. It is best to leave these out of the batter until after the pancakes are poured on the griddle, when they are sprinkled on the uncooked pancake.

Different forms of the pancake can be seen throughout the world: France has crepes and galettes, South Asia makes poori, China has the boa bing, and Scotland has the drop-scone. One of the earliest known version of the pancake was made in the 4th century BCE in China, where they were popular due to their short preparation time. Pancakes later spread through the Middle East and made their way to Europe, where they evolved into the variety we see today. Now a classic American breakfast, the American pancake is most likely an alteration of the French crepe suzette, imported to America in the early 20th century. American pancakes, also called griddle cakes and flapjacks, were originally eaten with a sauce of butter, sugar, citrus juice, and liqueur, but this was superseded by the tradition of maple syrup.

Makes 8 4-5" (10-13cm) pancakes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and/or ground clove

zest of 1 orange

1 cup almond milk

2 teaspoons ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup

2 tablespoons sunflower or olive oil

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl and stir in (careful not to over-stir or there will be too much gluten development; a few clumps are okay). If the batter is not runny enough to pour easily, add more milk one tablespoon at a time. The more liquid is added, the thinner the pancakes will be.

Heat a lightly greased griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat (about 375F). You can tell if it's hot enough if you flick water on the pan and it immediately evaporates. Pour the batter onto the pan or scoop using a 1/4 measuring cup. Wait a few minutes until the edges start to look dry and the top is bubbly, then flip and cook for another few minutes, until browned. Serve immediately with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or sauteed bananas.

coconut-rum sautéed bananas

When bananas are cooked they caramelize, quickly turning from a practical fruit to an incredible dessert-worthy confection. Dipping them in a coconut-rum batter before sautéing adds extra texture and interest. These can be served for desert over coconut sorbet and drizzled with a caramel-rum sauce, or for breakfast over pancakes with syrup. If short on time or ingredients, the batter can be skipped entirely and the sliced bananas just thrown on the griddle and sautéed until browned and caramelized.

Makes about 4 small servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

2-3 ripe bananas

2 tablespoons flour (any kind works)

2-3 tablespoons coconut milk

1 tablespoon rum

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

a dash each of nutmeg and allspice

1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave nectar

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Whisk together all ingredients besides the banana and coconut. Mix in the coconut and transfer to a long, shallow bowl. Slice the bananas lengthwise into about 3 pieces and coat in the batter. Sauté on medium heat on an oiled griddle for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned and slightly soft.

blueberry orange compote

While maple syrup complements waffles and pancakes wonderfully, this flexible and easy compote is much more flavorful and not overpoweringly sweet. If you wish, you can substitute blackberries for the blueberries—the recipe just requires a change of name.

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

3-4 cups frozen blueberries

1 chopped orange (or if not available, 1/2 cup orange juice)

1/2 cup applesauce (optional)

1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar

zest of 1/2 orange

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Serve warm over fresh waffles, pancakes, or french toast.