A Pantload of Belgian Waffles

 My family loves waffles. When I ask my 4.5-year-old daughter what she wants for breakfast, 99% of the time she will say, "chocolate waffles," and it has been that way since she could talk (only three years ago, it was "shaw-kwit faffles"). She means waffles with Nutella on them. Yep. I do that. Every morning. And I'm not sorry. Very lately, she has changed her preference to vegan butter (okay, she doesn't know I put that on them), and maple syrup. Next I hope to interest her in a little fruit to go with them. Baby steps.

My two-year-old chooses waffles about 80% of the time, sometimes branching out to yogurt, and always pinching about three out of five of the berries that I'm eating on MY waffle. Oh yeah - and I eat them three or four days a week, with vegan butter, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, maple syrup, and veggie sausage. Breakfast is my biggest meal, and I love it. Three or four days, every week. (I eat my fruit on cereal on my work days, because I'm always in a hurry.)

Because these waffles make up about 50% of my daughters' diet for the day, I have always tried to make sure that they have the maximum amount of nutrition jammed into them. Previously, this meant buying the "fancy" waffles with protein and fiber. Then I did the math on that. For the family, this means I have been spending between $450 to $625 a year on boxed waffles. Wow. And you know, I'm not the tops when it comes to ecological worries, but how many boxes is that? I'm spending a lot of money, downing a lot of trees, and I thought the waffles could taste better, too.

I announced to my husband, "I am making all our waffles from now on." He shrugged. He's a lovely man who follows my lead on things like this. I think he was just happy to hear that there would be no more, "No, these are MY waffles, and these are the KIDS' waffles!" Now there would just be waffles.

I looked through the reviews on Amazon (from whence all things come), and I chose the Waring Pro WWM1200SA Double Belgian-Waffle Maker based on the good reviews. It's a double, so I figured I could go factory-style, and crank those mothers out. And while I swear I have not been paid a dime (though I'm happy to change that status, if anyone is paying attention), I am so happy with my choice. I have monkeyed so much with the manufacturer's waffle recipe, and I had to stray pretty far from it not to still get a perfect waffle, every time. It fills the house with cinnamon and vanilla scent, and I still enjoy making them.

The included recipe involves eggs, melted butter, and flour dough that has been risen with yeast. I swapped out some things so that the recipe is vegan, and I'm very happy with the result. I've added chickpea flour for protein, though I once used a bit too much, and it made a thinner batter that stuck to the waffle maker. Adding more all-purpose flour fixed this. Phew. (The chemistry of chickpea flour is a bit different, so it doesn't work quite the same way).

I also included whole wheat flour, applesauce, and wheat bran for fiber. (The whole wheat flour also contains more protein). My recipe includes Splenda, which also contains fiber. I know it isn't the most natural product out there - but I only use a half cup for all these waffles, and it adds a lot of sweetness without a lot of sugar. I also have brown sugar in the recipe, because both the yeast and I find it to be yummy.

My plan all along was to make a giant batch of these, and freeze them, so that we could use them throughout the week. Yes, I know that fresh waffles taste the best - so if you have time to make fresh Belgian waffles every morning, then I'm happy for you. I don't. And these still taste better out of the freezer than the boxed kind do - about eight times better. That's science talking.

I have to mention that I use the Oster TSSTTRWF4S 4-Slice Toaster, because it just might be important to the successful re-heating. This toaster has a "frozen" setting, which is so handy. I toast the waffles once on this setting, then again lightly without it. This way, the outside gets toasted and the inside doesn't stay frozen. If you don't have one of those, you could try nuking them for a few seconds in the microwave, then toasting them. Trust me, it is worth it.

So here's the recipe for the giant batch. It makes about 20-22 thick Belgian waffles that are doughy inside, and crispy outside. If you want to make fewer, just do the math and subdivide. You should keep those fraction skills sharp, anyway.

Giant Batch O' Waffles (makes 20-22 waffles)

1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup garbanzo (chickpea) flour
1 3/4 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
5 flax eggs (5 Tblesp. milled flax, mixed with just under a cup of water - combine separately)
4 1/2 cups warm tap water
3 packets of instant yeast
3 sticks vegan butter, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup apple sauce
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. butter extract (skip if you don't have)
2 Tblesp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

Whisk the flax powder (milled flax) with the water indicated, and stick in the fridge for 5 minutes. Remove, re-whisk, and put back in the fridge for another 10 minutes. This is your "eggs."

Meanwhile, measure HALF the warm water (2 1/4 cups), mix with all the yeast in a BIG bowl, and a pinch of your brown sugar. Whisk, and allow to sit until the yeast forms a thick foam on the top.

Add the sugar, Splenda, and your set flax "eggs" to the yeast mix and combine. Next, add all the liquid ingredients (melted butter through the extracts, and the rest of the water). Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl with a whisk, then add to the wet mix while whisking. Then allow the whole batch to stand for one hour. You need some space in the bowl, because it rises quite a bit. What I do is pour a lot of it back into the bowl I whisked the dry ingredients in, and allow both bowls to rise under a towel.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions on your waffle maker, and crank those babies out. I freeze mine with a square of parchment paper between them, in stacks of four inside a gallon freezer bag. This way, they pull apart easily as you need them.

These come out reminding me a bit of French Toast, which I like. I have also made a ginger pumpkin version, which came with my waffle maker also, and which recipe I adapted in the same way. They were great, but now I'm pretty much sticking with the standard that everyone likes.

Fudge-O-Rama

Last year at Christmastime, we were home shopping, selling our condominium, and trying to get pregnant. It was a lot to deal with at one time. My brother tells me I'm always trying to do two or three life-changing things in one year, and I think he's right. But you know, we had to get out of that condo if we were going to raise children. It was a lovely place for the two of us to live for the first four years of our marriage, but have I ever showed you the microwave that we had?



The handle, where you see the chip at the top, fell into some soup I was making one day, and I had to fish it out (in a restaurant, you would have thrown the soup away, but that isn't happening at my house.) And note the classy repair at the bottom of the handle:



Do you have new respect for me as a cook, or what?

Anyway, of course we had to replace the microwave before we sold the place. We replaced closet doors, cabinet fixtures, had the carpet steam-cleaned, repainted chipped areas of the walls and all that home-selling stuff... But let me tell ya, none of that stuff would have mattered if there were rubber bands and garbage bag ties on the microwave, would it?

Needless to say, with all the repairs, closing costs, a fat down payment on the new place, paying a realtor and a couple of home inspectors (we had a couple of homes we decided not to buy after the inspection), we were kind of short on funds last year. So I gave a whole lotta fudge away as gifts.



I doubled, or possibly tripled, my favorite fudge recipe (be warned - you need a BIG pot and a strong stirring arm for that so that the chocolatey mass doesn't burn) and let it all cool. Then I cut it into squares, and put the squares on small cupcake liners with a holiday theme. Then I put several into a wax-lined baked goods bag (they have all this stuff at the regular grocery store) and kept all the bags in the fridge. Just be warned: use the plastic or waxy bags, or you'll have what looks from the outside like a bag o' grease, and no one wants that in their stocking.)

I gave one to the realtor, one to a neighbor, two to my husband's bosses, some to coworkers, one to my architect patient who looked at a house's foundation for us for free, etc. They make great presents to have on hand for those kind of folks, and what's better than a homemade gift? And let's face it, any time I can get sweets without baking is an ideal situation for me.

My favorite fudge recipe is the one on the back of the Marshmallow Fluff jar: "Never Fail Fudge." That's right! "Ancient Chinese Secret, huh?"

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 jar (7 1/2 oz.) Marshmallow FLUFF
3/4 tsp. salt
_________________________
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 large (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Combine first five ingredients. Bring to a boil over a moderate heat, being careful not to mistake air bubbles for boiling. Then boil slowly, stiffing constantly, for five minutes (to soft ball stage.) Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until chocolate is melted. Then turn into a buttered 9 x 9 inch pan and cool (I prefer to put it into a foil-lined pan that has been sprayed with Pam, because it is easier to get it all out that way).



That old kitchen wasn't all bad... I sure do miss that gas stove! I'm still not used to the electric stove here. One day I will treat myself to a gas stove again. Until then, I will probably have several burned batches of fudge...

Mojito Chicken, Nonno, and His Steak

Today I thought I would begin with pictures of a very special man: Chris' Nonno (grandpa). His name is Irio. He lives with Chris' parents, in his own little "apartment" in the downstairs area, with his own kitchen. He is adorable. Enjoy him:



My husband's Nonno (though I call him that, too) is almost 88 years old, and he still makes seasoning mix for us, fresh bread, and baccalà (which I believe is the only seafood he eats). He waters all the extensive landscaping at the house, walks every day, mows the lawn, rakes leaves, shovels snow... And probably a ton else. He doesn't have to do any of that, of course. In fact, Chris' parents have been totally unsuccessful in stopping him. He is incredibly stubborn, and just as cute and sweet at the same time with a light and merry sense of humor. I see him in my husband all the time, especially in his little periods of inflexibility about what I would consider "small things," like the schedule of events that you might have on a day off. On the days when most people would plan nothing and "go with the flow" (or even stay in their pajamas all day), Nonno wants to know, exactly what time is dinner? And Chris is grousing because we may be five minutes late to it. And you can't get very annoyed because, well, they're both just so dang cute.

Unlike Chris, Nonno is a picky eater. I'm not just saying that because on my side of the family, we cram things in our mouth first, and ask about edibility later. There is a pretty narrow range of things he will eat. When we grill out, he wants steak. Just steak. Keep away from him with the fish or the chicken (here you can see his steak in the back.)



And he always has some kind of potato or pasta, bread with dinner, and definitely white wine. And if you're not questioning the validity of all that you knew about healthy eating by now, you should be.

God bless you, Nonno. We love you, see you soon!

**As a side note, the chicken we grilled here on Father's Day was a concoction of some chicken breasts that I marinated in margarita mix (tequila included), coarse salt, pepper, olive oil, and mint for a sort of "Mojito Chicken." It was very good, as was the salmon that Wilma seasoned, and we ate with fresh homemade pesto sauce (with basil from her garden) and pasta. And Nonno's steak looked pretty good, too...

Will it Blend?

My husband sent me a link today to the "Will it Blend?" site. This has to be the most powerful blender in the world. Brilliant marketing -- who wouldn't want a blender that could pulverize chicken into soup, or, perchance, an iPhone?

Camera Phone!

I sent my brother a text message today saying, "I got a picture phone!" along with a picture I snapped of the framed photo of he and I that is on my mantle. He immediately texted me back with an accompanying picture, saying,

"Yay! Check out these pancakes!"

Paula's Pot Roast

When the weather turns as cold as it has here in Chicago, a girl's thoughts turn to her best friend (the Crock Pot.) There is nothing like the comforting little chatter of the lid on the pot when you walk in the door. It says, "dinner's hot and ready for you!" More specifically, my thoughts turn to pot roast when the weather becomes inhospitable.



I use Paula Deen's recipe, which you can still find here. The only things I do differently is that I add potatoes, carrots, and celery to make it a "one-pot" meal. It would be just as nice without the potatoes, though, and over some egg noodles. I also tend to use red wine instead of the Chardonnay, because I think it tends to have a deeper flavor with red meat. Also, we hardly ever have Chardonnay because I drink red.



I've also diced raw squash (like acorn squash) and added that, which turned out great as a fall-themed meal. It tastes great when there's leaves on the ground, or four feet of snow like today!