Sunday mornings can be so lovely. After years of having to work Sunday mornings, I have finally been blessed with the chance to enjoy them in the privacy of my own home. Something about Sunday morning just calls for a delicious breakfast.
My favorite breakfast to make is waffles. Nothing says love like fresh, crispy, flavorful waffles covered in butter and maple syrup. Of course, a nice amount of protien in the form of scrambled eggs and low-fat sausage is required to accompany the sugary goodness that my waffles turn into.
My homemade waffles start the night before special breakfast. I mix a batch of sour batter and let it ferment, loosly covered, overnight on the counter. For a summary of my learnings with starter, please see Starter “The recipe for the batter is:
- A dollop of starter
- Equal parts flour and water, approximately a cup of each.
Simple, right? Yeah! It should look something like this in the morning. Nice and bubbly:
When your coffee kicks in, plug in and turn on your waffle iron. (I am fortunate to have a vintage sunbeam waffle iron that produces amazing waffles)
Then mix the following into the starter batter:
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Ground Oats, or Oat Flour
- Dash of sugar
- Pinch of Salt
Every waffle Iron I’ve ever owned has the same problem: the first batch comes out uneven or overcooked! To remedy this, I have developed the practice of cooking one “sacrificial” waffle to help the iron stabilize it’s temperature. I’ll pour in just enough batter about 25% of my iron’s capacity and then cook it off. Sacrificial waffles make great appetizers and are terrific with a spreading of jam.
Anyways, cooking of waffles is pretty straight forward. You pour the batter on the grill and cook it until they are golden brown. This recipe requires no leavening. I’m convinced that the heart healthy olive oil, ground oats, and high quality omega-rich eggs counteract the butter and maple syrup that I drown my waffles in.
And syrup: Somebody told me about homemade maple syrup a few weeks ago. I couldn’t believe that I had not made my own maple syrup yet. I hate that every bottle of inexpensive maple syrup is almost completely made of high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is terrible for us, and I go to great lengths to avoid it. Here’s my recipe for that too:
- 4 cups water
- 3 cups Sugar (1 cup Brown Sugar, 2 cups White Sugar)
- 2 tsp Maple Extract
- 1 Tbsp Molasses
- A splash of coffee
Boil the water, sugar, molasses and coffee together until the syrup has reduced by about half. Stir it occasionally while it gently boils. When it has reduced add the maple extract. Your syrup should now coat a spoon and be thick when it is allowed to cool. Pour it in a squeeze bottle and store it for a few months, if it lasts that long!
