I thought I would repost this one because I am still so in love with my waffle iron. Thank you mom. These waffles and this iron makes all of us very happy on Saturday or Sunday morning!
Its funny, whenever I think of food, a lot of times I think of my childhood. Breakfast, certainly, is no exception. Even thought a lot of us don’t take the time to sit down and eat a healthy breakfast every day, because of the ease of a Starbucks and a pastry, or nothing at all, many books, and health plans keep telling us that eating a good breakfast, every day, is one of the keys to a healthy life (I am working on it myself!).
In past posts I have touched on the fact that my mother wouldn’t allow for sugary cereals in the house when my sister and I were kids. We ate oatmeal, and lots of it. When I brought this up to her the other day (no kidding) she said we were always allowed to put in raisins, and even add some brown sugar now and again to our oats. I simply don’t remember that. I remember oats, boiling water, drained, and milk. If not oatmeal, then we could have cream of wheat, which, lets be honest, is one of the absolute worst ideas for a breakfast EVER! I mean seriously, CREAM OF WHEAT? Just saying it out loud makes me gag. Who wants a porridgy, thick, almost-gelatinous, and yet somehow creamy goop of pulverized wheat? Not this guy!
On weekends, and during the summer, however, my mom would make us pancakes, which I will write about soon, and even more rarely, but definitely the highlight of the AM meal was waffles! The one thing about waffles, is that unlike pancakes, oatmeal, and all sorts of other hippy ways to add health and wellness to breakfast, waffles just shouldn’t be messed with much, and the way they are cooked, they tell you if you have strayed too far. My mom had this awesome, ancient cast iron, with stainless steel waffle iron that is so gnarly, the knob on the front takes all the strength a young man can muster to turn it! So over the years we just never bothered, it is now stuck at medium high. This waffle iron is the big square one, not the fluffy belgian style, but cooks (bakes) the batter into a crisp, and yet light 4 squares of waffly pleasure. The cast iron imprints, that give it that hole punch look, become little pockets, vessels even, to capture and hold onto butter and syrup ensuring each bit is loaded with that extra sweetness and creaminess that a waffle is worthy of. I should point out too, that making waffles was the first solo flight for this kid. I learned, from Betty Crocker herself how to make excellent waffles, right out of the now famous reddish-orange cookbook.
I have since modified my tastes, but would even to this day would not pass up a perfectly cooked Betty Crocker waffle, especially cooked in the old waffle iron, that recently, became mine.
Enjoy this version, a somewhat healthier adaptation from one of Greg Atkinson’s At the Kitchen Table book.
Old Fashioned Waffles
2 cups AP Flour (or 1 cup AP, 1 cup whole wheat)
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil (I like canola here)
1 1/2 cup whole milk
Stir with your favorite wooden spoon and cook in your mom’s waffle iron.