My friend Krissy (of Ponyboy Press & Plain Language Marketing) came over last week for a lovely spring brunch date.  She has recently went gluten-free, so I wanted to challenge myself to create something special for her.

I picked up some gf coconut flour from the bulk section of Winco and I was really excited to work with it for the first time!  It is very different than traditional flour, it absorbs liquid much quicker and needs a bit of help to get to the right consistency, but it ended up making some absolutely delicious pancakes!  I also made some mini quiches (because everything is better in miniature!)  that took advantage of asparagus season and also allowed me to make them up ahead of time.

Krissy brought these beautiful strawberries filled with lavender & black pepper cream cheese!  They were amazing and elegant and you should definitely go to her site and get the recipe!


Gluten-Free Coconut Pancakes

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup finely shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

This morning, I was lucky enough to have the most adorable friend date a girl could ask for.  I went to my friend Annie's house for brunch and a good heart to heart.  It was a perfect way to spend the morning.  Annie made a really yummy egg scramble with zucchini and mushrooms and  I made a pair of cute little stuffed french toast casseroles & roasted sweet potato hashbrowns!

i had a few of my favorite people over for a sunday brunch. breakfast food is some of my favorite foods to make because they are so simple, but i don't often have time to cook any real breakfast during the week (i live on frozen waffles and veggie sausage at work).

here is what i made:



apple cinnamon waffles

start by dicing up 3 apples (i like ambrosia, honey crisp, or gala...but any variety you like is fine!) and adding them to a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon or so of cinnamon. cook on medium for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. set aside.

make the waffle batter:
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of your apple mixture

heat waffle iron. combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices. set aside. combine milk, egg, butter, apple and vanilla. add dry ingredients. stir until well moistened, but still lumpy. pour about 1/2 cup onto greased, hot waffle iron. bake until brown and crisp. serve with syrup and apple mixture as topping.



veggie & gouda mini quiches

you can make these with or without a crust. i used a bit of homemade pie crust that i froze after mini pie making, but you can also use frozen store bought crust. i rolled the crust to about 1/4" and laid into greased muffin tins. i pre-baked the crusts for about 10 minutes @ 400 degrees. then, follow the instructions below...

4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
vegetables! you can really use anything you have on hand (i used 3 stalks of asparagus, 2 mushrooms, a bit of chopped spinach, broccoli, and some diced onion)
1 clove pressed or chopped garlic
large handful of grated cheese (i used smoked gouda, but you can use just about any cheese)
about a tablespoon of flour
salt & pepper
preheat oven to 350ºf. saute your veggies together just a bit until they soften, then set aside. in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, herbs of your choice, grated cheddar, and flour. grease a muffin tin with butter...like really, grease it really well or they will be a mess to get out. add a small layer of sauteed vegetables to the bottom of each cup and then drizzle egg mixture over each muffin cup, fill almost to the edge. bake for about 20-30 minutes. this will make about 5-6 mini quiche.


simple biscuits with vegan mushroom gravy

basic biscuits
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup milk
mix dry ingredients. put oil in measuring cup and add milk. do not stir. add to dry ingredients.mix lightly to moisten ingredients and knead one or two times to form ball. roll out to about 1/2" thick. cut into 2" biscuits. bake on an ungreased pan at 475F for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. note: these were pretty dry, i wouldn't make this for a stand alone biscuit, but they were just fine as an quick and easy mate to gravy!
& top with...

vegan mushroom gravy
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (any kind of mushroom will do)
1/4 C sliced onions
1-1/2 tablespoons oil
1/2 C white flour
2 tablespoons oil
4 cups stock or soy milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
lightly sauté the sliced mushrooms and onions in the 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. in another pan, combine and bubble the flour and 2 tablespoons oil over low heat for one minute. whisk in the stock or soy milk, along with the soy sauce and black pepper. cook until thickened, whisk out any lumps. stir in the mushrooms and onions. you can serve it up just like that, but i like to get the emulsion blender out and blend the mushrooms down a bit for a better flavor and consistency.