okara waffles with blueberry sauce •

It’s Saturday morning and you know what that means. Yep, the little darlings are requesting that I fix a hot breakfast! I inherited my waffle iron from my sister seven years ago when she was packing up to move across several states. After 18 years, she was purging big time. We were in the kitchen going through cabinets when we ran across a classic retro chrome waffle iron. “I never use this thing, you want it?” she asked me. I whipped my hands out and took that waffle iron from her so fast I gave her arm a rope burn from the cord. “Oh, I guess I’ll take it” I replied coolly. Wonderfully seasoned, the waffle iron bakes waffles with a delightfully crunchy crust. The blueberry sauce is a nice change from maple syrup, and gives the darlings some added vitamins.

Okara Waffles with Blueberry Sauce •

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large mixing bowl sift:

2 cups unbleached white flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

In a small mixing bowl whisk together:

2 eggs, beaten until fluffy

1-1/3 cups vanilla soy milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine)

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Make waffles according to your waffle iron’s manual. I use a well-rounded 1/2 cup of batter. Bake until golden brown, about three to three and a half minutes. Hold the waffles in warm oven until all have been cooked. Serve with Blueberry Sauce if desired.

Blueberry Sauce •

4 cups blueberries (frozen is fine, if thawed add the juice)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture begins to heat up and break down (At this point I usually mash the berries to release more juice). Reduce heat and cook until almost boiling and sauce appears transparent. Serve immediately.

spicy okara ginger cookies •

I received the original recipe for these cookies from my good friend, Deb. And I will repeat her advice, “Don’t leave out the pepper!”  I was curious to see if I could adapt it by using okara and still retain their chewy consistency. Deb’s recipe called for more butter and an egg. You can try cutting back on the sugar...but when I want a cookie, I want it to be a treat!

Spicy Ginger Cookies •

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl cream together for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar,  tightly packed

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

Continuing to mix, beat in:

l cup wet okara, pressed as dry as possible in a sieve (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine)

1/3 cup molasses

In a medium mixing bowl combine:

2-1/4 cups white unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons ground ginger

Add dry ingredients to creamed okara mixture on low speed until incorporated. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes (If you are rolling the dough by hand, this is an important step. I, however, am inpatient when it comes to making cookies and can barely wait to eat them. I do not refrigerator my dough, and use my handy-dandy scoop from Pampered Chef® to shape my cookies. If you use the scoop, gently drop cookie in sugar, turn cookie over, then proceed to place on baking sheet). Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls; roll balls in granulated sugar. Place cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet; flatten with the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake about 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown and set around the edges but still soft inside. Cool 5 minutes, then remove to a rack to finish cooling. Makes approximately 3 dozen.