Scraping the Skillet

Now that things are cooling down a little in Tucson we actually have time to lollygag on weekend mornings. In the summer the only time worth being outside is early, early morning and, as a result, we got out of our weekend breakfast habit during that time. But, now that we have lovely weather until 10:30 or so (yes, it is still reaching 90 during the day, but that should change soon), we have time to enjoy a more drawn-out, conversational breakfast.

A while back we promised ourselves one morning each weekend where we could make something more fun than cereal and take the time to enjoy it. Because it’s breakfast, it’s a pretty private time in the sense that no one is really bothering us, which is great. We get to talk about new ideas we have and daydream about the future. It really is fun.

Each week we take turns picking what we’ll eat. We both pitch in making breakfast but, since we have differing needs when it comes to trying new things, we share the responsibility of choosing what to make. Usually, D chooses something really classic, like buttermilk waffles. I’m more likely to try and make something new and interesting. That’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy the new and interesting dishes…he’s just more drawn to classics and perfecting them. Like a moth to a flame, really.

I would guess that 50% of the time we make waffles or pancakes. One of my recent picks was to make waffles, but with a cornmeal twist.

This waffle recipe came from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion, one of my very favorite cookbooks of all time. If you don’t have a copy of this book, I highly recommend picking one up. There is so much great information packed into Baker’s Companion, it’s a wonder it doesn’t cost twice what it does!

We both really liked the flavor of these waffles, especially with the blueberries. We did, determine that using a fine grind of cornmeal was a good idea (we used medium). Also, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, turn to your inner chemist and, per cup of buttermilk needed, mix 1 T vinegar with enough milk to equal a cup. Be sure to let it stand for at least 5 minutes.

Crunchy Cornmeal Waffles

• 1 3/4 c buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 5 T butter, melted and cooled OR 1/3 c vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 c AP flour
• 1 c yellow cornmeal
• 2 T sugar
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt

Whisk together wet ingredients in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Don’t over stir! Your mixture will look lumpy…just let it be that way. If you stir too much, your waffles will not end up as light and fluffy as they could otherwise be. Let your batter sit for 10 minutes so the cornmeal has time to soften a little.

Drop the batter by 2/3 cupfuls on your preheated waffle iron. Makes about 10 8-inch waffles.

For the topping pictured here I used blueberry preserves that I heated up in the microwave (I prefer this to blueberry syrup) and sweetened sour cream (1 T powdered sugar/2 c sour cream).

What are you making for breakfast this weekend?