Ingredients:
2 cups quick oats
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup ground pecans
2 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
2 1/2 tsps salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1/8 cup oil (flax seed oil best)
2 tsps vanilla

Instructions:  Grind oats.  Grind pecans.  Sift together all dry ingredients.  Beat eggs, buttermilk and vanilla then add melted butter & oil.  Gradually add dry ingredients to just moistened.  Let mixture set for 15 minutes.  Bake in waffle iron.

Notes:
* Yields 20 waffles
* I freeze them for quick breakfast -- toast in toaster oven
* Zoe likes to dip waffle sticks (cut waffles into strips and put on popsicle sticks) in peanut butter syrup

Found in the fridge:  tomatoes about to turn, basil.  Found in the pantry:  Pasta, white beans. 

I remembered that I had seen this recipe in Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave.

Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans
1/2 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds. Put the tomato wedges and garlic into a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and a few turns of pepper. Roast in the oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Drain the beans into a large colander in the sink. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta into the colander containing the beans, so the hot pasta water will warm the beans. Return drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.

When the tomatoes are done, pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Pour the roasted tomatoes into the pasta pot, add the garlic, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve topped with the
Parmesan.

It's a big week for country music celebrity birthdays!  On Oct 22, Shelby Lynne (remember her from Walk the Line movie?) turned 44.  If you haven't heard her music, and you need a good cry, check out her song Telephone.  On Oct 23, Dwight Yoakam turned 56.  On Oct 25 singer Jeanne Black turned 75 and Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown turned 54.  And today, Oct 26, Keith Urban turns 45. 

In honor of these musicians, I've offered up some southern recipes for you:  pinto bean cakes and cheese grits.

Pinto Bean Cakes

Ingredients:
1 cup dried pinto beans
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup celery
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup scallion, thinly sliced (whites only)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon tabasco
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Flour for dredging

Instructions: 
Pick through the beans to remove damaged beans, clumps of dirt and pebbles. Soak dried beans in a large pot of water overnight. After the overnight soak, any beans that have floated to the top should also be discarded.

Drain and rinse beans. In a medium saucepan, cover them with water. Bring to
a boil and cook, over medium high heat until tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside 1/4 of the beans.

In a food processor, combine the rest of the beans with eggs, cheese, celery,
parsley, scallions, lemon zest. Pulse to make a rough paste. Remove to a medium
bowl.  Mix in bread crumbs, olive oil, Tabasco, salt, pepper and reserved whole
beans. Stir lightly to combine all ingredients.
 
Divide the mixture into 12 even patties.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, pat the
cakes with flour and brown the cakes in the pan, cooking until they are browned,
about 3 minutes. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining
patties.

Serve with sour cream or relish, if desired.

Cheese Grits

Ingredients:
4 T. butter
5 c. milk
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed1 1/2 cups uncooked stone-ground white grits 
1  (10-oz.) block sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions: 
 
Bring 2 Tbsp. butter, the next 4 ingredients, and 5 cups water to a boil in a medium-size Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in grits, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours or until thickened. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter until melted. Serve immediately.

Well, it's not Friday yet, but I found these items in the fridge and didn't want them to go to waste:  1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream and 1/2 pint of blackberries.  Whip the heavy cream until it has the consistency of whipped butter.  Add rinsed blackberries and beat until incorporated.  You can put in molds, or freeze in a log for later use. 

Light and healthy, these muffins are a breeze to make.  Who has time to whip egg whites?  The mix always works for me when it comes to angel food cake.

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker Angel Food cake mix
1 pint blueberries
Muffin tin liners

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 and place rack in middle position.  Line 18 muffin pans with liners.  Mix cake mix according to directions, and then gently fold in blueberries.  Fill liners 1/4 the way, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.  Cool 5 minutes, then remove from muffin tins to cool. 

Happy birthday, Bishop Tutu!  Thank you for your tireless work to make the world a more peacfeful place for all of us.  Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. 

Born: October 7, 1931 (age 81), Klerksdorp

Awards: Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Gandhi Peace Prize

Ingredients:
2 avocados, cubed
1 onion, minced
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt to taste
16 oz fresh peas, steamed

Instructions:
Mash avocados in food processor.  Pulse remaining ingredients until incorporated.   Chill for 1-3 hours.

HONEY BBQ SAUCE
1 cup ketchup 
1 cup white vinegar 
1/2 cup molasses 
1/2 cup honey 
1 teaspoon liquid smoke 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
 
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and serve with your favorite meat or seafood.