It’s no secret how much I love Kathy Hester. Not only is she a fantastically prolific vegan cookbook author, but if you talk amongst the bloggers that know her, she’s sort of like the mother hen who looks after us all, talks us through our dilemmas and helps us ultimately to succeed. She’s simply a wonderful person and today I’m happy to present to you a review of Kathy’s Book, OATrageous Oatmeals.

Leave it to Kathy to tackle a full book on oats and use them in more ways then you ever imagined possible! She has recipes to show you oats in a whole new light. Think Italian Veggie and Oat Sausage, Veggie Oat Tacos and Oat Pizza Crust Topped with vegan sausage crumbles made from Steel-cut oats. But don’t worry she includes new takes on traditional favorites like Banana Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes and Strawberries and Cream Overnight Refrigerator Oats too. From now on it’s Exciting Oats for Every Meal!

Curry Cashew Savory Granola

Kathy asked me to share a recipe for her book! Here it is! My Pepita Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars! The very first recipe I have in a print cookbook!

Steel-Cut Oat Bean Chili

Veggie Oat Taco Mince

And now for this awesome recipe:

 Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Belgian Waffles

by Kathy Hester From OATrageous Oatmeals by Kathy Hester printed with permission of Page Street Publishing 

gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free option* I can’t help but add some lemon wherever I have blueberries! If you aren’t fond of the combination, use vanilla or almond extract instead. It’s very important to cook these waffles at least 5 minutes, if not more. If the waffle is not ready, it will make a mess.

Makes 4 waffles

Dry Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (69 g) finely ground rolled oats
• or oat flour
• 1/2 cup (48 g) rolled oats
• 1/4 cup (39.5 g) rice flour
• 1/4 cup (37.5 g) almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup (148 g) blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3/4 cup (180 g) nondairy milk
• 1/2 cup (127.5 g) applesauce
• 2 tablespoons (14 g) ground flax mixed with 4 tablespoons (59 g) warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil)

For Serving: maple syrup, nondairy butter, optional

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. In a different bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Then pour the wet into the dry and mix thoroughly. Set the batter aside for 10 minutes to let the rolled oats soften. Please note that this batter is very thick. Preheat your waffle iron at medium-high temperature if you have that option. The waffle iron should be hot once the batter is ready.

I suggest spraying the top and bottom plates with some spray oil, but you can make it oil-free* by just relying on the nonstick coating. If you choose to use no additional oil, make sure the waffle is completely cooked. If any of the outside is not crispy, the waffle will tear, stick and generally make a mess.

Place about 1⁄3 cup (80 ml) of batter in the middle of the waffle iron and spread into a circle with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. When you place the top down, the batter will spread. If your mixture gets too thick to spread, add a little nondairy milk to loosen it up.

Cook according to your waffle iron instructions, about 5 to 8 minutes. With my waffle iron, the first waffle takes 8 minutes. As you make additional waffles, the process gets a little faster until it takes 5 minutes for each waffle.

Per waffle: Calories 259.2, protein 6.9 g, total fat 7.8 g, carbohydrates 42.5 g, sodium 90.4 mg, fiber 6.1 g

Don’t have a waffle iron? Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup (60 to 120 ml) of extra nondairy milk and make pancakes instead!

Visit Kathy Hester at her site, Healthy Slow Cooking, here.

Purchase Kathy Hester’s new book, OATrageous Oatmeals here.

Or for a chance to win a copy of OATrageous Oatmeals, Click on the link below to enter! This contest is open to entrants in the USA only! You must also follow this blog by email or RSS feed to qualify. You have until Tuesday the 21st of October to enter. I will notify the winner by email by Thursday October 23rd! GO!!

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