“You have to look….”

Six weeks ago, I was checking out Broadway shows for the trip I had planned almost a year ago for the family to celebrate my birthday in May. We were going to go to NYC before my my eldest moved to CA for a job, my middle child left for an internship, and my youngest busied himself with summer college classes. Six weeks later, our trip is cancelled, our oldest has no idea when she will be moving to CA, and our middle child is waiting to hear if her internship can occur virtually. Only my youngest remains undisturbed because his classes are still going to be online.

Add health issues for my husband, concern for relatives with the corona virus, and trying to adapt life and work in a virtual world, and the adage, “Count your blessings,” can become a bit difficult at times. I was recently reminded, though, by friends who live in other countries with limited access to water, shelter and food and who are struggling with disease and death in magnitude in addition to the pandemic that we must always be looking for blessings to count.

So, I listen to people talk about going for long nature walks and spending more time with their families and learning to bake bread and any number of other “didn’t have time for before” things people are now doing, and I am once again reminded that counting blessings is about looking for them in the first place. If we take the time to look for the positive, the silver lining, the pockets of sunshine, most often we will find them.

Recently our family was thankful that we have had more time for “special” breakfasts as a family. With no early morning rushes to get to school or work, breakfast has become a time for leisure together and for making pancakes or French toast or waffles.  The other day I made gluten, dairy free Belgian waffles which we topped with unsweetened dairy free vanilla yogurt and berries. It was a wonderful way to start the morning, so I share the recipe here for anyone with Belgian waffle makers. They can also be made as regular waffles in a normal waffle maker, too.

Cinnamon Spice Belgian Waffles

Ingredients:

2 cups whole grain gluten free flour blend, sifted (we used King Arthur whole grain blend)*

1/3 cup garbanzo bean gluten free flour, sifted (we used Bob’s Red Mill)*

1/3 cup ground flax seed

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups unsweetened dairy free milk (we used soy but oat or almond or flax will work, too; don’t use rice milk)

1/4 cup plant based oil (we used extra light olive oil but any plant based oil will work)

3 eggs (if you want to use a substitute, I would recommend whisking 3/4 cup chick pea liquid)

* Note: A reminder that if the word “sifted” is after, then you measure before you sift. If you see the word “sifted” before the flour, then you sift before measuring.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Prep your Belgian waffle maker according to instructions.
2. Measure out the gluten free and garbanzo bean flours and sift. If you don’t have a sifter, you can sift by pushing the flour through a wire mesh basket or taking a whisk and whisking the flour until it is no longer clumped and has some air incorporated into it.
3. To the flours, add the ground flax seed, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and baking powder. Mix until well blended.
4. Mix together the milk, oil and eggs.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend until completely smooth.
6. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
7. Use the batter to make waffles according to your waffle maker instructions.
8. If you need to keep waffles warm, put in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the oven on your lowest heat.
9. Serve with unsweetened yogurt and/or berries and/or maple syrup and/or jam, and enjoy!