Sweet Potato Waffles with Berries & Whipped Coconut Cream

In the spring and early summer, my mom used to make waffles and pancakes with strawberries and Devonshire Cream. It was always such a special way to spend a Sunday morning, not just because of the delicious food, but because we slowed down and enjoyed each other. Something about spending a slow morning together as a family made the weekend stretch out a bit more and the week became less daunting.

I still love indulging in my mom's special waffles, but I wanted to find a healthier alternative that was manageable for weekday mornings and special enough for lazy weekends. These sweet potato waffles with berries and whipped coconut cream are the perfect solution. The sweet potato waffles are packed with nutrients and the berries are a bright and fresh contrast to the rich whipped coconut cream.

The video below is part of a series of Foodie Friday videos from Penso Entertainment. Watch and subscribe on YouTube so you don't miss out on new videos!

Rachael from setthetableblog.com has a special guest with her as she prepares sweet potato waffles.

For more videos like this one, subscribe to Penso Entertainment's YouTube channel, FoodieTV.

Sweet Potato Waffles with Berries & Whipped Coconut Cream

Makes 4 Servings

• 1 can full fat coconut milk (Whole Foods’ 365 brand works best)
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 cups mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)

For the coconut cream:

The night before making the waffles, place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator. Allow it to chill for at least 8 hours.
Spoon the cream off the top of the can and into a bowl. Use a hand mixer or a standing mixer to whip the cream until thick and creamy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Return to the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the sweet potato purée:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Pierce the potato several times with a fork and place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the potato is tender and easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow the potato to cool until you can comfortably handle it. Pull the skin off the potato and put the flesh in a blender. Pulse a couple of times, then add about 2 tablespoons of water at a time until the texture is smooth.

For the waffles:

Preheat your waffle iron.

Combine the berries with 1 tablespoon honey. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In another small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, butter, and buttermilk. Stir in 1 cup of the sweet potato purée.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. The batter should have visible lumps but you shouldn’t see any dry flour floating around.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and set a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the waffle iron with just a little bit of cooking spray to keep the waffles from sticking. Using a 1/3 cup measure, scoop the batter into the center of the waffle iron, close the iron and cook until golden and slightly crisp on the outside, 2-3 minutes. Place each waffle on the wire rack in the heated oven until ready to serve.
Before serving, top with the mixed berries and a dollop of the coconut cream.

Peach Crisp Smoothie Bowl | VIDEO

I used to tell my parents that it was, "Okay for me to eat dessert because I have a second stomach for it." Well, it's peach season here in Colorado, and my second stomach really wants peach crisp.. All the time.

In an effort to satisfy my cravings while providing a healthier treat for my family, I came up with this Peach Crisp Smoothie Bowl. It is just as delicious as the real thing and will help get me through the summer with less guilt about that “mythical” second stomach.

The video below is part of a series called Foodie Friday from Penso Entertainment. I am so honored to be able to partner with this genuinely kind, talented, food-loving team. Together, we’re bringing a new feature to Set the Table and helping more people make beautiful, healthy, delicious food for their families.

We are very excited to team up with popular food blogger, Rachael White, to bring a new look to our channel. In this episode, Rachael shows us how to make a peach smoothie with a twist. If you like this dish you can check out more of Rachael's recipes at setthetableblog.com.

For more videos like this one, subscribe to Penso Entertainment's YouTube channel, FoodieTV. You won't be sorry!

Peach Crisp Smoothie Bowl

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings

• 12 oz frozen or fresh peach slices
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Toppings:

• 1/3 cup granola
• 1/4 cup chopped pecan halves, toasted
• fresh peach slices

1. Begin by putting the peaches and banana in a blender.
2. Add about a 1/2 cup of the almond milk and pulse a few times.
3. Continue adding the almond milk a little a time until you achieve a texture that is thicker than juice but thinner than ice cream.
4. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine.
5. Pour the smoothie into a bowl and arrange the granola, pecans and peach slices on top.
6. Serve immediately.

Cocktail Friday: Rainbow Mimosa

“It only took a moment to decide to love you, wildly with my whole heart & the thing that amazes me again & again is that it really is as simple as that.”

— StoryPeople | http://www.storypeople.com/

I don't know what you all have been doing this afternoon, but I've been scrolling through my social media feeds with tears of joy in my eyes because today, every person I know can get married. MARRIED. They can commit to the person they love because it has been declared, by law, that love is love.

Love. Is. Love.

I don't talk about this much here on the blog, and perhaps I should work on that, but as a Christian I firmly believe in a God who loves us all unconditionally. That pure, constant, fierce love is something we can share with one another. We can show it through our love for our partners, our acts of kindness toward strangers, and our desire for people to feel safe and secure no matter who they walk through this world with.

Today, we took a gigantic leap in the right direction. I hope this love that is sweeping the planet continues to wash over all of us, no matter what.

This rainbow mimosa is the perfect celebratory drink for the weekend. It's fresh and new and full of vibrant color that perfectly reflects the joy and relief so many are feeling as this weekend begins.

Rainbow Mimosa

Makes 1 cocktail

• 8-10 blueberries
• 3-4 chunks frozen or fresh pineapple
• 4-5 raspberries
• 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
• 4-5 drops bitters
• chilled Champagne or Prosecco
• basil or mint for garnish

In a champagne flute, layer the blueberries, followed by the pineapple and raspberries. Add the orange juice and bitters. Top with champagne, garnish with basil or mint and sip immediately! Cheers!

10 Minute, No-Cook Marinara Sauce

I have a love-hate relationship with summer. Yes, the sun feels wonderful and it's nice wearing sandals every day and I love watching Riley play outside in the kiddy pool. But summer can be hot. And for someone who spends the majority of her time Kent he kitchen, this can be a big problem.  Fortunately, there are a few special occasions that help me get through the heat with a smile on my face: I get to celebrate my wedding anniversary, my birthday, my husband's birthday, my sister's birthday,  hopefully a few Minnesota boat rides and a trip or two to Crested Butte somewhere in the middle.

Now, if I could get my kitchen to be less than 5 million degrees every time I even think about cooking anything, we could be talking about a real-love kind of situation between summer and me. Until that happens, at least I have this 10 minute, no-cook marinara sauce in my corner. 

10-Minute No-Cook Marinara

Makes about 4 cups

• One 28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, whole or diced
• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 1 large carrot or 2-3 small
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or basil (or a combination of both)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Begin by putting the tomatoes and their juice in the bowl of a food processor.
2. Cut the yellow onion and carrots into large chunks. Peel and smash the garlic cloves. Add to the food processor.
3. Pulse until the mixture is nearly a purée. Add the oregano and pulse again until fully incorporated.
4. Add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
5. Use the way you would any jarred sauce.

Cocktail Friday: Brad's Whiskey Friday

My husband is not a big cocktail person. He enjoys a nice beer (current favorite: Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout, which goes perfectly with our current, completely crazy monsoon season here in Colorado), and appreciates a perfect glass of Pinot Noir. But he thoroughly enjoys a perfectly balanced, not-too-sweet, not-too-gimmicky whiskey cocktail. A while back, he started experimenting with his own combinations and has settled in with a mixture of whiskey, ginger beer, lemon juice and bitters. He calls it: Whiskey Friday.

Watching Brad perfect this recipe was actually really fun. He tested several cocktails (tough work, I know) to make sure his measurements were exactly right. Like any good recipe developer, he was picky and didn't settle for 'almost' right, or 'good enough'. He tweaked it over and over again until it was perfect. In the end, this recipe produced the exact cocktail he loves to sip at the end of a long week during our at-home happy hour. 

As the process of recipe development progressed, Brad began to tell me exactly why this cocktail was so great. He would yell things from the kitchen like, "I think it needs more lemon juice!" or "Do I need to measure the ice?" My favorite little tidbit of information was this, "People who like whiskey cocktails like to taste the whiskey. Don't try to hide it." True. So very true. So while this cocktail uses zingy ginger beer, it does not mask the flavor of the whiskey itself. It is well balanced with fresh flavors that refresh on a warm summer evening.

Whiskey Friday

Makes 1 cocktail

*Note: Brad has made this with both bourbon whiskey and straight whiskey. The recipe stays the same either way.

• 2 oz whiskey
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 4-5 drops Angostura bitters
• 4 oz ginger beer
• ice

1. Combine the whiskey and lemon juice in a cocktail glass.
2. Fill the glass with ice and top with the ginger beer.
3. Add the bitters and stir gently to combine.
4. Garnish with a slice of lemon. (optional)

Cocktail Friday: Strawberry Sour

It has been raining cats and dogs here in Colorado for the past few days. Actually, for the past few weeks we have been getting buckets and buckets of rain. Most Coloradans are not used to this kind of weather and, from what I gather, are not loving it. For me, after living in Minnesota for most of my life followed by Tokyo, Japan, rain is somewhat comforting. I've enjoyed every rain drop and that's the truth. Still, having the occasional sunny evening to sit outside is a wonderful thing. Particularly if this Strawberry Sour is in hand.

This cocktail was actually supposed to be a rhubarb sour from Ashley Rodriguez's book Date Night In. However, for some strange reason I don't quite understand, I could not find rhubarb to save my life. So, I decided to improvise and give the cocktail a try with fresh strawberries instead. I made a simple syrup that became sweet ruby red amazingness and built the cocktail from there. Some gin, lemon juice, and a lemon garnish were added to the syrup and it all came together in a gorgeous, vibrantly colored cocktail that my husband and I absolutely loved. It tastes like strawberry jam but less sweet. You know, like when you eat strawberry jam directly from the jar?

Wait...TMI?

So back to Ashley's book, Date Night In. This was our first date in quite some time and it was desperately needed. We got the boys in bed by 8pm, then I put the finishing touches on dinner while we sipped our cocktails. We enjoyed our meal at a leisurely pace while having adult conversations with NO INTERRUPTIONS. It was a strange feeling. At first, I think we legitimately had no idea how to talk to each other. But we were quickly inspired to talk about things the way we used to when we were younger and more rested and full of fresh ideas and thoughts. I give almost all the credit for our date night success to the amazing food (a vibrant, seasonal salad, herb roasted chicken, roasted carrots, and homemade aioli? yes!) and this pretty cocktail. You can't go wrong with a combination like that. The beautiful sunset and fire in the chiminea helped as well. 

Unsolicited advice for the day: you need this book. You may not know it now, but you do. You need it.

Brad and I are so excited about this book and it's thoughtful menus that we have decided to schedule our date nights every two weeks so we can experience it all, start to finish. If the rest of the recipes are as amazing as the first few, we are in for a delicious date night future!

Strawberry Sour

Inspired/adapted from the Rhubarb Sour found in Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez

Makes 2 cocktails

• 3 oz gin
• 2 1/2 oz strawberry simple syrup
• 1 oz lemon juice
• lemon slices for garnish

Combine the gin, syrup and juice in a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds and pour into 2 coupe glasses. Garnish with the lemon slices and enjoy!

Strawberry Simple Syrup

1 lb strawberries, cored and quartered  

4 cups water  

1 cup sugar

Combine the strawberries and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the berries over a large bowl and discard the berries, reserving the liquid. Return the liquid to the heat and add the sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced slightly and syrupy. Cool and store in an air tight container.