Family Brunch: Mochi and Mimosas

I got to hang out with my family yesterday at my sister's house. We didn't really have plans except to spend some quality time together ... and make waffles. My sister just got a waffle maker so we were excited to try it out.

The instructions were a little vague, but we managed to figure it out with a little trial and error.

My mom and sis went for the regular buttermilk variety and I had found a recipe for mochi waffles in The Kind Diet book. We also made crispy hashbrowns with garlic and baked asparagus (with more garlic - we LOVE garlic!) And, of course, we enjoyed some mimosas... :)

The mochi waffles were fun to make and delicious - a little crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They were super dense and filling. One was plenty.

I toasted some walnuts like the recipe said, but instead of the lemon brown rice syrup, I used maple.

Mochi is made from whole grain brown rice, which means it's wheat-free and gluten-free. It comes in a hard disk. For the waffles, I chopped it into strips, but you can also chop it into 1- to 2-inch squares and bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes or pan fry for 4 minutes on each side. Then you can top with a vegan syrup (like agave) for a yummy dessert.

It was really fun to cook with my sister again. Before she moved into her house at the end of last year, she had lived with Pat and I for a year and half. My favorite times with her were in the kitchen when we made dinners together.

Our mom jumped in and helped too, and kept us entertained with stories about her trip to Palm Dessert.

Got worms?
Before heading back home I also got to see my dad and he gave me some worms from his compost bin to bring home and start my own. I'll spare you from pictures of that!

They totally gross me out, but I'm excited that they'll be eating up our kitchen scraps and turning them in potting soil. We have a lot of scraps with all the veggies we're eating, so I hope they're hungry! I'll let you know how it goes...