Valentine's Raspberry Waffles
Valentine’s can be a difficult time of year, whether you’re single or in a relationship it can be a time when we all don’t feel good enough. If you’re single it’s the feeling of being alone, while in a relationship the pressure of social media can make you feel inadequate in your celebrations. I mean was it even Valentine’s Day if you didn’t post a million couple’s selfies, a gushing facebook status and photos of the amazing gifts and surprises you were treated too? I know it can all be a bit draining, I’ve felt it. But this year I promoting celebrating love! Who cares if your single, practice self love, show love to your family, (probably those who many of us take for granted the most) or your friends. For me practising self love is about gifting myself time where I don't have to stress. Finding relaxation in cooking is a big part of that. So if you wanna follow my example put on some Whitney, and cook up these waffles and I bet you’ll have a love filled valentine’s!
Mine and Jamie's anniversary is actually on Valentine's (I know we are THAT soppy couple, soz). We don't have big plans for it, he's working and I'm on a DAFNE course. (DAFNE stands for dose adjustment for normal eating. It is basically to help me look after my diabetes better by counting carbohydrates. I'm hoping that once I'm a bit better at it, I can write the amount of carbs in my recipes, so fellow diabetics won't have to bother, they will just know what they are getting!) Anyway because we both have to get up quite early I reckon we will be eating late afternoon waffles, with a good ol' cuppa, followed by a special dinner I have plans for. And honestly I actually couldn't think of a better way to spend it. Let me know how you are planning to spend tomorrow, I love hearing about good ol' romance!
I recently brought the waffle machine to make this recipe, I'm excited to do more experimenting with it. Expect to potentially see some savoury versions coming up soon too. Gotta get my monies worth!
Of course being Valentine's I wanted to go for traditional valentine's colours. Raspberries give the waffles their speckled red appearance, they provide sharp sweetness to cut through all the doughy goodness of the waffle. To sweeten the waffle batter you can use any natural sweetener, I love the flavour and taste of maple syrup, but deary me is that stuff dear! I recently discovered this agave syrup flavoured with maple, and I'm a total convert it's cheaper and still provides that great taste.
While I created this recipe for the blog my beautiful friend Divya came around. We drank copious amounts of tea, and she photographed and sketched me as I cooked. She is planning to paint me cooking! And I'm so honoured, her work is beyond beautiful, I can't wait to see it, so keep yours eyes peeled, and if you want to follow her you can find her Instagram here.
Today of course is also pancake day, and if you came here looking for a pancake fix I still got you covered. This year I wrote a blood orange and chocolate pancake, with a gooey hazelnut and chocolate centre recipe for The Revival Collective. Find it here!
Finally going to end this with a truly deserved thank you to Jamie, who is my constant support, and the reason you get to see so many of my recipes. As I said earlier I love to cook to relax, but cooking for the blog can be super stressful, I put myself under far too much pressure and often collapse under the weight of it all (as I did this week after cooking, I had a melt down and spent a few hours crying before I got the photos). But Jamie is always there to ease the burden, to pick me back up and provide the confidence that I so often lack. So thank you! This is also a gentle reminder, that just because I post (what I hope) are pretty pictures of food on the internet does not mean my life is sorted, life is so much more than what we see on instagram. I struggle daily, and if you are struggling too know you are not alone! So with that said, it's time to crank up that Whitney and wish you a Happy VDay guys!
Makes 3-4 waffles (will vary depending on the dimensions of your waffle maker)
Ingredients
2 cups of plain white (or plain gluten free) flour
1 1/4 cups plant milk (I used unsweetened almond)
1/4 cup of natural sweetener eg. maple, agave, or fruit syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon cider vinegar Pinch of salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 75g Raspberries
Method
1) Place the flour, salt and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Create a well in the centre pf the bowl.
2) To the well add the vinegar, oil, and sweetener.
3) Pour the milk into the well slowly, all the while whisking with the other ingredients.You want to combine the milk and flour mixture slowly, start with the dry ingredients closest to the well and then work your way to the outsides of the bowl. Keep whisking until the batter is smooth.
4) Chop the raspberries into quarters into add stir into the batter.
5) Ladle the mixture into your waffle machine and cook. (Follow your own waffle machine's instructions).
6) Once the waffle is golden brown and delicious looking remove and serve with more fruit, and I topped mine with coyo.