STILL NEW YORK-HUNGRY

7. Savory Pumpkin Waffle Premiere (Hi-Carb)

So I had this waffle iron, hidden in a drawer of my TARDIS, er, kitchen... until I started decluttering at the beginning of the year.

I think everyone who declutters knows how emotionally draining, upsetting and downright frustrating it is, when you dig through clutter nest after clutter nest, and stuff becomes more instead of less. Often, like in my case, it comes in union with mourning the person(s) (/ event(s)) that only caused building the clutter-stuff protection wall in the first place.

It looks like I digress now, but hear me out: on Saturday I went to the bakery in my neighborhood to buy bread. I came home with the bread and ... a rhubarb cake! I've always avoided rhubarb as it reminded me of my Mom, who has her part in all the trauma leading up to me building my clutter-stuff protection wall in the first place. She hated fruit and veg her whole life because in the after-war years, her family only lived on the fruit and veg they'd pickled during the war... except rhubarb. (Go figure yourselves.)

Buying – and eating – this cake was a milestone for me. She's losing her spell on me, as shows also in the mental-emotional "bricks" – equivalencing small numbers of real junk – vanishing every day, which is good since on April 12 she's gone for seven years. I mean it's time now to move on.

But the waffle maker was a reminder of the GOOD times Mom and I also had, when I was little as well as when I was adult. (I've also kept the heavy glass bell cover for my cakes that already belonged to my Großmama, Mom's mom, for the same reason).

I was still about to put the waffle iron on the Give Away stack, but I stopped. Sure, I'd forgotten it's there, and never missed it – so off with it! But then I phantom-smelled the waffles my Mom baked at the most surprising times, my stomach clenched and I started to salivate as my heart squeezed and my eyes watered. I wanted waffles!

And so waffles I made.

But with a twist...

I guess I wanna act on my threat– er, resolution! – to incorporate more vegs and fruit in superficially unhealthy food like burgers, pizza, cookies, cake or, well, waffles. Works well so far!

Why pumpkin? Or: You still get pumpkin - where do you live!? I hear you wonder.

First: why not? Second: lucky poop me, I guess. Oh, and Third: the combination of the vegs, fluffy waffles and savory sour cream... yummy & sating

But now let's stop babbling. I don't know about you, but I am hungry by now.

So off into the kitchen, kiddos, there's waffles!





Serves: 4 -shaped waffles

Prep Time: 1.5 - 2 hr(s) Including butchering/small cutting 1/2 pumpkin & baking time

Degree of Difficulty: Easy




WE NEED

1/2 / 1 lb Pumpkin I used Hokkaido-pumpkin... makes a brighter color
4 heaped tbsp flour Spelt here
3 / 2 M- OR L-sized eggs I used 2 L's
2 / 1 M- OR L-sized onion(s) I used 1 absurdly big red onion.
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove I used 2 so it could better compete with the onion.
Rosemary Fresh is best. How much? As you like it.. Yeah, I know.
Canola Oil For the Waffle Iron



WE DO

1. Halve the pumpkin. Chop the pumpkin & onion(s) and finely chop the garlic.


2. Finely grate pumpkin & onion(s) – I used a food processor. – put them into a kitchen towel and wring them dry. As best as you can!


3. Mix in eggs & flour.
The dough must be relatively firm in the end. So according to residual wetness of the pumpkin-onion-mix, add more / less flour to achieve that. I, for example, needed double the amount of the recipe to get the right dough texture


4. Press + add the garlic to the dough. As I mentioned already, I finely chopped it and added it to pumpkin/onions immediately. Then, add salt. Finely chop + add the rosemary – start slow as you season to taste; I used 4 large sprigs, but I really like the taste – and mix well.


5. Heat the waffle iron on low heat, brush it with the canola oil and put 2 heaped tbsp dough into it. Smooth the dough with the spoon until every nook & cranny of the waffle iron is filled before closing it and baking for 3-5 minutes.



Either, the lady heated the thing up after filling in the dough and closing the lid (without adding it!) OR she can't read the clock. My first 2 waffles took 10-15 minutes on low heat. I put the heat on 3/4 with the third, which resulted in about 8-10 minutes, and for the last one on full throttle, which resulted in less than 5 minutes. So always stick around, just in case.



6. Let them cool on a wire rack, or keep them warm in the oven until they're served Immediately after you



7. Make sour cream:

– whisk together:

500 (250) gr / 1.1 lb. (8.8 oz.) curd
200 (100) gr / 7 (3.5 oz.) natural (= unprocessed, unflavored) sour cream
3 (1.5) tbsp vinegar White Aceto Balsamico here.
1 (0.5) tbsp sugar
1 (0.5) tsp salt
0.5 (0.25) tsp pepper

– Finely chop onion + garlic and – if you use them – fresh herbs (Frozen here.), and whisk into the cream.


Since I had 2 left – as I'm alone – I googled and: you can store them in the fridge in aluminum foil for 2-3 days. You can warm them up in the toaster (not full throttle!, medium heat) and they taste like freshly baked again. It's also possible to store them in a metal cookie box for about a week and revive them by toasting. But I didn't try it. Just added it for the sake of completeness.


And new...


Guten Hunger, guys! = = =