Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

My mental image of great blackberry waffles became reality with this inspiring recipe

The last time I visited a particular favorite "serve-breakfast-all-day" eatery, I emerged bummed because I'd not chosen to order the fresh blackberry waffles. I left with "diner's remorse" because the entree I picked turned out to be not nearly as great as my mental image of what those blackberry waffles might have tasted like.

To my great joy after I returned home, I found that my new issue of Southern Living magazine contained none other than a recipe for Lemon- Poppy Seed Belgian Waffles with Blackberry Maple Syrup. Now in my own kitchen I could create a version of what I had bypassed at the restaurant. The Southern Living feature was extolling the virtues of cooking with citrus, in honor of this being citrus season in many locales. We'll get to experience that soon with a future trip to see the Arizona grandpersons and then will enjoy the bucketloads of citrus grown fresh in residents’ back yards.

However, I could enjoy a hint of citrus now—and satisfy my blackberry waffles cravings—with this simple recipe. So last night we had breakfast for dinner. I fired up the Belgian waffle griddle and mixed up a batch of this terrific batter. Using sugar-free maple syrup, low-fat baking mix, and egg substitute healthened-up this recipe and made possible eating quite a few of those waffle wedges without guilt. We didn't pile on the fresh cream, but a couple of teaspoons of sugar-free whipped topping didn’t hurt anything one iota.

Southern Living, you saved the day. And, oh yes, we do have leftovers.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Belgian Waffles with Blackberry Maple Syrup

2 cups low-fat all-purpose baking mix
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/4 cups cold club soda
1 large egg, lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1/4 cup butter, melted
fresh whipped cream (or sugar-free whipped topping)

Stir together baking mix, poppy seeds, and lemon zest. Whisk together club soda, egg, and butter in a small bowl; gently whisk egg mixture into poppy-seed mixture. (Mixture will be lumpy.) Let stand 3 minutes. Cook batter (about 3/4 to 1 cup batter each) in a preheated, oiled Belgian-style waffle iron until golden. Serve with Blackberry Maple Syrup (below) and, if desired, fresh cream. Makes 4 servings.

Blackberry Maple Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar-free maple syrup
1 (12-ounce) package frozen blackberries, thawed (frozen mixed berries, thawed, may be subbed)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients. Warm in microwave if you desire to serve this warm.


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