Get me some breakfast!

My love for waffles is something new.  Before pregnancy, but so recent, it sometimes surprises me.

As a kid, the weekend meant pancakes.  I loved to smother them in butter and syrup, so much so that you had to wonder whether I was having some pancakes with my syrup rather than the other way around.

You’d think that since I was a pancake lover, I would automatically enjoy waffles too, but somehow they always seemed second rate to me.  Then, during one of the many times my husband and I went away for the weekend, I discovered the hotel waffle machine.  It had been there before, but I had snubbed it.  For some reason, I wanted to be a little more open-minded, so I went for it.  The butter melted over the hot waffle, and I got a good splash of syrup too.  I was more than satisfied and started to wonder why I had left the poor waffle of my “To Eat” list.

During the last holiday season, my parents asked if I wanted a panini maker.  I told my dad that I had been dreaming of having a waffle iron.  So lo and behold, it was one of my gifts!  Ever since, I’ve been working on perfecting the recipe and mixture of added items.  This last Saturday, I found the one that I will stick with for a while…waffles with blueberries and bananas.

I’ve used the pancake recipe from Myra Goodman’s Food to Live By.  Her recipe is a bulk recipe that requires some math if you want to lessen the amount.  The first time I did it, I made just enough for a waffle and a half.  I then decided that I would go all out and make the mix so that I had it when I wanted to make waffles or pancakes.  Here it is:

For the base:

10 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I just used regular whole wheat)

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp baking powder

I am storing this mixture in a plastic bag right now, but will probably get some sort of storage container so as not to waste too many bags!

Here’s what you mix in:

For 2 people or 6 pancakes

1 large egg

1/2-3/4 cup milk (I like my batter a little more watery…though once it’s cooked, it’s really fluffy, but just dense enough)

2 tbsp melted butter or oil

1 cup of the whole wheat pancake mix

I add 1/2 cup of blueberries and slices of banana, set my waffle iron to 6 and wait while it all melds together. This week, I made myself a few waffles and froze them so that I could just grab one, toast it, and have a quick, healthy and tasty breakfast.