Surprisingly not awful "awffles"

Strawberries are out of season right now. So if you use strawberries
on your waffles, they better be from the freezer! If they aren't, I'll
 hunt you down and yell at you!

My son loves all manner of breakfast foods. "Cancakes" are his absolute favorite, followed closely by "awffles". Then "yohgert". When he's all grown up and can say words properly, I know I'm going to miss the way he speaks now. Anyway...back to awffles. I've had some pretty great waffles in my life, but have had a tough time getting them just right when making them at home. I finally found a recipe a few years ago that beats any other that I've ever tried. Then I played around with it and found that I could make 2 different kinds of waffles with 2 simple ingredient switches. The first kind (and my personal favorite) is the light, crisp, airy waffle. The second (and equally delicious) is the slightly dense, moist waffle that is crisp just around the edges. Please don't mistake that for meaning soggy. It's just not as feathery as the original recipe. Without much more ado, here you go!



Affles! (recipe adapted from Fine Cooking)

3/4 C. AP Flour
1/4 C. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 C. milk
1/4 C. buttermilk
6 Tbsp. veg oil (coconut oil works well, too)
1 large egg, separated
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees. Take a cooling rack and put it on a sheet pan. Place this in the oven to stay warm as well. Or, if your oven happens to be spotless, you can place the cooked waffles straight on the rack. The point of this is to keep them warm AND crisp until they are ready to serve. You should also go ahead and preheat your waffle iron while you're mixing up the batter.

In a bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together well. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, mix the milks, egg yolk, and oil together. Set aside. In yet another bowl, beat the egg white with the sugar and vanilla until the firm peak stage. Gather up all your bowls, make sure you've given your dishwasher a little pep talk, and you can finally make your batter. Mix the milk mixture into the flour, just until the ingredients start to come together. Next, gently fold in the egg white.

Cook the waffles according to the way your temperamental machine will allow you to without scorching the suckers. The recipe suggests about 1/2 C. batter per waffle in a standard waffle iron. I like my waffles about the same color as a pancake- nice and golden. Once each waffle is done, place it in the warm oven on the prepared pan or straight on the rack.

For the more dense and moist version, skip the cornstarch. Use 1 C. of AP flour instead. You should also interchange the milk measurements. Use 3/4 C. of buttermilk and 1/4 C. regular milk.

_________________________________________________________________
I've been absent the last few weeks. I swear I'm not trying to abandon anyone, I just got busy. Life happens. I am already back to writing and have those posts I've been promising nearly ready to go. So please, watch this space!

I would like to thank/blame my friend J**** for this post. While this actually all started during a Facebook conversation, it's so much easier to type out a recipe here than it is with the limited formatting options of a Facebook comment.



Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle

TL;DR- A birthday, a thank you, and a meal plan

My baby boy isn't much of a baby anymore. Life happens so quickly! I can hardly believe it; he turned 2 years old on Friday. From the time we learned we were going to be parents, my husband and I have been put to the test in a thousand ways we never dreamed of. To say Calvin was a surprise is an understatement and it's been a whirlwind experience from the start. But we've made it, so far. While we all still have our struggles, we are all mostly happy. And we're a family with a very strong bond and large, loving support system. We are forever grateful for the advice, love, help, and support we've been given. I don't think I'll personally be able to say "Thank you!" enough or show just how much you have all meant to me; and to Charlie and Calvin. Though, if you doubted us or turned your back on us because our situation didn't fit your ideals, thanks for that too. You've given me the ability to muster up strength I didn't know I had and get through the day. You've taught me a lesson that I can pass on to my son, and maybe one day he'll know to avoid people like you. He may not be able to keep people like you out of his life completely, but he will know to seek people who care for him and will help him, no matter the circumstances. Because that's what children need. They need help, care, and unconditional love. Of course they need shelter, food, and water, but they need to be protected and loved in order to thrive. And that's exactly what I try to do. I try to love, care for, respect, and protect my son. I also strive to do the same for my family, my friends, and anyone I may come into contact with.

Recently, a few people have said that I am an inspiration to them; that I'm a role model. To them I'm someone to look up to or admire. These are probably some of the greatest compliments I've ever received and I am very thankful for them. So please don't let what I'm about to say lead you to think I'm belittling those compliments. I'm glad that these wonderful things are thought of me, but I have a hard time believing them. I'm also terrified I'll do something to let those people down, as they are dear friends who I count as family. Yes, I've been through a lot in the past few years. Yes, there are days when I don't know how we'll make it to bed time, but we do. I do often find myself with a "To Do" list a mile long and there is never enough time to get it all done. However, once a week, I usually manage to pull it off. I don't go to work or go to school, but my job is to run my household and care for my family. I keep quite a busy schedule, despite being a "stay at home mom". I actually consider myself a "stay on the go mom". But I do NOT do it alone.

I have a wonderful husband who works ridiculous hours putting up with truly snotty college kids to pay the bills. He's a fantastic father, and most days he isn't aware. He loves his son and he loves me to the ends of the earth and he makes sure we know it. He takes pictures with passion and care so that we will always have memories of the days that we're living right now. I have parents who give unending support in more ways than I can count. You know, they dealt with a lot when we first found out about my pregnancy and no one really asked them how they were doing. I'm fairly certain it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine for them. There were many concerns, but they gave Charlie and I the space we needed while still being there waiting just in case we needed them. And boy did we ever. Charlie's parents have also been extremely supportive from the very beginning (after the shock wore off some). They have helped us in more ways than I can really say and I don't know that I will ever be able to repay them. We've gotten immeasurable support from our extended families, dear friends from all over the globe, a few members of my church, and even some kind strangers. Chances are, if you're reading this, you've helped me or us in some way. If you're reading this, there is a good possibility your kindness has helped me get through the day.

I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is thank you. Just...thank you.
__________________________________________________________

On a lighter note, here's our menu for the week. As usual, I don't assign a meal to a day or a day to a meal because I'd rather not set myself up for failure.

BBQ Beef (This will get made this week, by golly!)
sweet potato fries
cornbread

Grandma H's Spaghetti Sauce
pasta
side salads
cheesy bread

Sausage and Lentil Stew
dutch oven bread

Monte Cristos
home fries/roasted veggies
apple sauce

Buffalo Chicken Dip
veggie sticks
tortilla chips
fresh fruit

Risotto
sauteed veg
side salads

Other things to make this week:
bread (both plain and cinnamon raisin)
pumpkin pies (for the freezer)
Calvin's birthday cake

Tuesday night we're having Calvin's little family party at my parents since it's the only night we're all off. My mom is making lasagna and salad. I'm contributing the cheesy bread and the dude's birthday cake. On Saturday we are leaving for a little weekend away. As a family. Like, all of us. Charlie included! I can't tell you how excited I am! Due to these events, one or more of the planned meals may not get made. But I have everything I need to make all of them, just in case.

What are you having this week?

Meals and Sundries

Let's just get this out of the way now. FALL IS ON THE WAY AND THERE ARE SO MANY SQUASH AND APPLES AND WARM SPICES AND FOOTBALL AND AND AND...HOORAY!

Thank you for indulging me.

Calvin at Bryson's Apple Orchard. This is where we got
our apples for the applesauce we recently canned. 

Truly, though. I am pretty excited about the season changing. This summer was a weird one for our area. We had record rain fall, cooler temperatures, and our growing seasons were all kinds of whacked. Luckily, the apple orchards didn't suffer. We're getting a really decent late tomato crop as well. Momma and I are doing lots of canning because of it! We processed about 20 pints of tomatoes and 10 various sized jars of applesauce so far. More tomatoes and apples will be put up in the next two weeks. That should last us until spring...I hope. 

For the past few weeks, I've been making meal plans for my little household. It's helping me stay on track and on time, since we've started eating dinner a little earlier on the days that Charlie works. I'm going to start sharing my plans for each week in hopes that I'll keep this habit (and perhaps keep writing, too).

I don't have my meals organized by days, because dinner depends on how much time I have to prep/get it done, what else we've got going on that day, who feels like eating what, etc. So, in no particular order-

Meal ideas:
Elle's Chicken Franchaise
pasta with olive oil and garlic
side salads

Homemade pierogi**
sausage of some kind
applesauce (from the batch Momma and I just canned)

Tomato soup (from the tomatoes I just canned)
grilled cheese "croutons"
fruit

Turkey meatballs
roasted acorn squash and sweet potatoes
spinach for me, corn for the boys

Grilled chicken salads
garlic bread

There will more than likely be a night where I have veggies/leftovers and I'll make the boys a burger. It's a great back up plan because I know I always have the ingredients on hand and Charlie (my own, personal Hamburglar of a husband) won't complain.

Other things that must be made sometime this week:

A small batch of pickled carrots

Dijon mustard

Bread! Must. Make. Bread.
Fig bars**
Possibly a chocolate cake using a recipe a dear friend recently tried and loved

There is a local-ish butcher that I'm going to explore this week. I really hope it won't be a bust. We just don't have many farms and specialty stores around to buy local, fresh products. But I'm seeking them out! I'm tired of funding giant corporations and getting shafted in the process by poor quality and high prices. But I digress, as that topic could be a rant-fest on it's own. 

What are your culinary plans for the week?

**These are 2 new recipes I'm trying. If they work out well, I'll share them!

Photo Friday x 2

I missed last week, for whatever reason. I think I had a severe case of mommy brain. That's what I'm going with, anyway. So you get 2 pictures this week! Yay for you!

This was last summer when I first started letting Calvin really
try to feed himself. 

This was taken last month while he was attempting to eat
(homemade) ramen. I'm not sure how much progress we've made,
but he sure is cute!

I can't stress enough how fast everything changes. In the first picture, he was just dabbling; playing with his applesauce more than eating it. But, for the most part, I was still feeding him myself. We were also still experimenting with new foods and textures. The only thing he had made up his mind about not liking was green beans. In the second picture, he insisted on helping himself. He still allowed me to guide him a little and I promise more noodles ended up in his tummy than on his head. But in just a month's time, even that has changed. He won't let me spoon feed him at all, anymore. He refuses to take a bite until I give him the spoon. This baby has severe "I do it myself!" syndrome. And Mr. Personality here is no longer a fan of broccoli and insists on dipping as much food as possible (noodles into sauce, biscuits into gravy, anything into ketchup). I blame his father. For the hatred of green beans and the love of dipping anything into ketchup.

This post reminds me...Homemade Ramen post coming soon!

Photo Friday

Earlier this week I was feeling nostalgic. I'd seen an old, beat to hell, blue Celebrity wagon while driving around Anderson and nearly had a breakdown. My Grandma H had one that looked similar and the memory of her came rushing back so fast it made my head spin. So I decided to make a batch of her spaghetti sauce. It's nothing fancy. It is an extremely simple meat sauce that she, more than likely, got off of a package once upon a time. Even so, it is delicious. It's savory and just...yummy. It took me forever to be able to recreate it after she passed away. I finally got the recipe from my Aunt Lorna when she gave me my grandma's old recipe box (another story for another time; remind me to tell you about it). To make a long story short (too late), I made some and let Calvin have at it.

It's a requirement to have a spaghetti-face picture of your kid, right?

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Elle

These are a few of my favorite things...

Last week was a tough one. I don't really want to talk about it too much. This week has been a little better, but it still has it's stresses. I may elaborate a bit on that in the future. But the point of the next few posts is to focus on the positive. I probably should have started this little series long ago. Well, I've started it now so heeeeeere we go!

I'm visiting my family in Texas. Calvin and I got out here Friday evening and my Aunt took us to the HEB (grocery store) on Saturday to stock up on food for the dude and anything I might need, too. We stumbled on this little gem pictured on the left- Central Market brand organic PRICKLY PEAR Italian soda. Y'all. Y'ALL! OMG! This stuff is amazing! I have pretty much given up soda because it's very difficult to find soda without all the crappy chemicals and HFCS for a reasonable price (I'm on a budget after all). But the weirdest thing in this is purple carrot juice. And really, how awesome is that too?! It was a bit of a splurge, I'll admit that. BUT! It was worth it.

If the Central Market brand is available in your area, check their products out! I mean, if they have things as awesome as this, you really can't go wrong.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

According to my posting history, I've not entered anything into this here blog since January. That's about 9 months of silence. Well, silence in the sense that I've not said anything in written form other than on Facebook and in email. Definitely not silence in this household. Seriously. My kid found his voice at 4 months old and he knows how to use it. It went from cute baby cooing to this new high-pitched squealing thing that is only adorable if you cover your ears and focus on how cute his face is. But in all reality, the squeal stops being cute in about 5 seconds and duct tape becomes and appealing option. Anyway, moving on...

The past 9 months have been interesting and full of changes. I've been a full time stay at home mommy, Charlie went from a crappy job at Lowes to a pretty rad job with as a security officer, Calvin has turned into a bottomless pit, I started a weight loss "journey"**, and I'm about to go back to work part time this week leaving Charlie home with the baby. That's a very poor summary because SO much has happened, but I don't have the time to write all of that down. That's what all of those pictures I've taken are for.

I'm not totally sure where I'm going with this so please bear with me. I want to keep it semi food related, but I'm going to blame any randomness on "Mommy brain". Seems legit, right? Right.

As far as Calvin goes, we've gone from strictly breast feeding, to formula feeding (that broke my heart), to rice cereal and liquidy purees, to chunky purees and Gerber puffs, to "big people food" cut into baby safe pieces. It took my little man about a week to get the hang of eating solids. We started him on rice cereal and stuck with that for almost a month. I'd mix in some banana or applesauce for a little variety, but he seemed satisfied with that and stuck to his bottles for the most part. But as soon as is 2 little front teeth came in all the way, we were off to the races. He loved my mom's applesauce, he liked peach-mango puree, I steamed and pureed all manner of veggies and fruits (broccoli and cauliflower, sweet potatoes, winter squash, Asian pears, apples, green beans, edamame, peas, peaches, cherries), and he LOVED ricotta cheese and yogurt. Most of it was experimental. He'd eat a few ounces here and there, but again stuck mostly with his bottle. Then it got to the point where when mommy and daddy sat down with a meal or a snack, he had to have it. This was another thing that was cute for about 5 seconds. Then we realized he was ready for the big leagues.  Now his typical meal plan for the day is something like this (keep in mind that he gets 4-7oz bottles a day in between all of this):

Breakfast- a banana and a 4 oz cup of YoBaby organic yogurt OR a few ounces of Cheerios with 1% milk
Lunch- Unsweetened applesauce and bites of whatever I'm having (example: If it's a sandwich, I get some extra lunch meat and cut it up for him.)
Dinner- Little bits of whatever I come up with that night. This kid will eat anything***. One of his favorite things is a sauteed chicken tender, alphabet pasta with a splash of olive oil, basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, a steamed veggie of some kind (spinach, broccoli, peas, corn, squash) and maybe some applesauce or cheese cubes if he's really hungry.

There's an old saying I learned not too long ago that "Before one, it's just fun" meaning before babies turn a year old, the solid foods are fun but most of their nutrition is going to come from breast milk or formula. That's all well and good, but formula does not keep my 10 month old satisfied for more than 2 hours. It's pretty amazing how quickly he went from hating textures and only wanting purees and mush to craving just about anything he can put in his mouth. Feeding an almost-toddler isn't as scary as I initially thought, but I still have some things to learn. Like, just because he has a total of 8 teeth now, doesn't mean he will use them. I've always got to keep this in mind when cutting his food. And the little stinker will let me know when it's too big or he doesn't want to chew it by spitting it out. I suppose that's better than him choking, though. Okay, yeah. The spitting it out thing isn't so bad after all.

Calvin's first experience with pureed broccoli was hilarious, as you can see!

I guess what I'm trying to say while taking you through this scenic route in my brain, is that I'm already proud of my non-picky eater. I REALLY hope this trend continues. I want him to try different seasonings, flavors and hotter spices (hotter than plain ole black pepper) now while his palate is so open and unbiased. And I think I'm well on my way to raising a healthy, well-rounded, foodie. Would you expect any less from someone like me?

:) Elle

**I despise the term "weight loss journey", but it's 3 am and I can't think of anything else. What I'm really doing is running my butt off with a Couch to 5K program and getting rid of all the crap food in my life. I'm focusing less on calories and pounds and more on getting my ass in gear.

***Okay, almost anything. Calvin has had everything from simple fruits and veggies to little bites of enchiladas and bison, but he will not eat a green bean to save his life. He's tried several different times and every time he makes the Mr. Yuk face. The conclusion I've come to is that he hates the texture. And since I REFUSE to over cook green beans (even for my son), I think it's just going to be this way. Also genetics. Charlie hates green beans.  But Calvin likes broccoli and spinach so I am not gonna complain. More green beans for me!

Where I'm coming from...

Typically my "Where I'm coming from" segment or post consists of restaurants I've been to recently that I recommend. Well this whole blog is a "Where I'm coming from" and it's not so much about restaurants as it is about where I've been for the passed few months while this blog has been sitting here, neglected.

I've been a little busy lately, for a few reasons, but mainly because of this:

...and this:



I vaguely remember posting something about getting a job at Sullivan's Metropolitan Grill back in July, but I'm honestly too lazy to take a look back at my former posts. I had been working full-time (40 or more hours a week) there with wonderful people. As tiring as it is, I love my job. From July of 2011 on, being a garde manger kept me pretty busy. Then, in October my darling fiance and I had our reality shaken like a toddler shakes a snow globe. We discovered that I was pregnant. It's a long story that I've told many times and may one day tell again; but not here and not now. Suffice it to say that I did not know I was pregnant until late in my third trimester. I'm not proud of that fact. I feel rather foolish, actually. However, regardless of all that *could* have happened with not knowing, what actually transpired was this: Our families pulled together in a time of shock and need to help us get to that day. November 1st, 2011 at 4:52 am, as Charlie held my hand, I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy who we named Calvin Logan. He's now two months old, still healthy, and still beautiful. Our situation wasn't/isn't ideal by any means, but I wouldn't change a damn thing.

As you can probably guess and hopefully understand, I haven't had a lot of time for writing recipes and being creative in the kitchen. I'm just now getting to the point where I can find the time to cook whole meals again. Recently I made a beautifully roasted chicken with yellow rice, veggies, and cornbread. I then used the left over pulled chicken to make sandwiches with a rosemary and garlic aoli. And yes, my first attempt at making the aoli failed miserably. I don't know what it is with me and emulsified sauces, but the first time never seems to work. Maybe I should make that a New Year's resolution; Make an emulsified sauce correctly the first time. We'll see. Oh! I was VERY fortunate to be able to get some baking in during the holidays. So my culinary adventures haven't gone completely by the wayside.

When I found out I was pregnant, I had to take leave from Sullivan's almost immediately. I think I worked for a week after my first ultrasound and doctor's appointment, but then had to go on bed rest after the second doctor's appointment. And now, 9 weeks later, I think we've worked out a schedule and I'll be returning to work on the weekends. At this point, moving forward in my career just doesn't seem quite as important. So I'm not diving head first back into working full-time. We can't afford the child care, I don't want to miss anything with Calvin, and being a full-time mom trumps being a full-time salad bitch. But I have to be honest with myself. I'm looking forward to getting back in a kitchen. And when Cal gets a bit older, I'll be able to move ahead and maybe become a great chef some day.

So there's that. That's where I'm coming from. I'm coming from working hard to make a career for myself and I'm coming from a sudden, new life of parenting. I've missed writing and I'd like to pick it back up again. I make no promises, but I'll try. I often find myself with plenty to say and no one (other than the baby) to say it to. For a while this blog may become more about life rather than food, but that's okay. In a few more months, I'll have exciting stories to share about my attempts to make homemade baby food. Then there will be the post about how crazy and ambitious I was and maybe making my own baby food wasn't such a great idea. But then again, maybe not.

A new year, a new life, and the same old me.

Thanks for reading. I'm glad I got the chance to tell you all what I've been up to. And if you don't see me post for a while, poke me about it. Sometimes I need a little reminder.

<3 Elle