Strawberry Funnel Cakes

I have recently taken up milling my own grains. I know this is a weird step because for years I didn't eat grains. And I have learned, much like other foods that become demonized...its not the food that's imperfect, its the way that we process it for mass consumption that devalues the nutritional benefits of the food. I learned recently that even my organic flour that I buy is void of most of its original nutrition when it is first milled. And the flour begins to go rancid just 3 days after it is milled. The flour loses 40% of its vitamin content in the first 24 hours after milling and 85-90% after 2-3 more days. These are B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin E, and beneficial enzymes for digestion. That blew my mind. I have noticed that when I eat bread made from freshly milled flour, I have energy instead of that foggy brain and need a nap situation. Some people go a step further and sprout their wheat berries for extra digestive support--I'm not there yet. Anyways, there's my paragraph intro to this recipe and a small disclosure that you will start seeing a few recipes on here using fresh milled flour. So lets get to it!

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Ingredients:

2 cups organic flour

1 1/2 cups milk (can use soured if you use raw)

2 tbs honey

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

lot of coconut oil to fry them in

Notes: IF you mill your own, I used 1 and 2/3 cups of prairie gold organic wheat berries. It made 2 cups of flour.

Directions:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixer. Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour the mixture into a gallon size zip lock bag. The trick to fill it is to place it inside a large cup or medium bowel and flip the top edge inside out over the rim. Cut the tip of the plastic bag. Smaller is better, where the opening is the size of a pencil eraser.

In a large skillet, heat coconut oil on medium high heat. You need enough oil to fill the bottom 1-2 inches deep--go ahead and buy the gallon size coconut oil from Costco. Swirl the batter into the skillet once it is hot and just make sure the batter all touches itself as your pour. You know it is ready to flip when the batter has light brown edges and bubbles in the batter like a pancake. Lay them on a flat plan with a paper towel. Top with strawberries and whipped cream! You can also dust with powdered sugar if you're feeling extra.

Whipped cream

1 cup organic whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbs pure maple syrup

In a stand mixer, add all ingredients and whisk on medium speed until it is airy and forms stiff peaks.

Strawberry topping

1 lb strawberries, diced

2 tbs pure maple syrup

squeeze of lemon juice

Stir together in a bowl and set aside at room temperature.

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Now don't be intimidated by this recipe, start to finish it took almost an hour and I was creating the recipe as I went...recording measurements, adding things, ect. It was not a well oiled machine. It also made 10 big fluffy funnel cakes. This was such a special treat! Kicking off summer break with a bang! Now that my schedule is more clear, and I have more time to dream up things in the kitchen. I will be coming at you with many more recipes! Stay tuned!

--Michal