Hunt for the Perfect Overnight Waffle

A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap.

–Mitch Hedberg, comedian–

If you have, like me, searched high and low for the perfect waffle recipe, look no further because I have arrived in waffle heaven. And as soon as you make the recipe following below, you will be there, too. The waffle batter is prepared ahead of time–at our house that usually means at night–and used for breakfast waffles in the morning. I stumbled upon it at gourmet.com, and lo and behold, it actually is a Fannie Farmer Cookbook recipe. This is the best waffle recipe ever if you like tasty waffles that are crisp on the outside. The only comment I have to make is that the batter is very thin and will not bake properly in a Belgian waffle maker; however, it is perfect for a traditional or classic waffle iron. So, without much further ado, here is the perfect waffle recipe:

Overnight Raised Waffles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water

2 1/4 tsp. dry yeast

2 cups warm milk (I like using whole milk)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Preparation:

Use a large mixing bowl because the batter will rise considerably. Start by mixing the warm water and yeast in the mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour and mix until all the ingredients are blended well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.

In the morning add the beaten eggs and baking soda to the mix and stir. To bake waffles, pour about 1/2 cup of the very thin batter onto a hot waffle iron and bake. Serve immediately and top with fresh fruit–berries are delicious–and maple syrup. Makes about 7 seven-inch round waffles. Any unused batter can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator.

Mixed Veggie Medley

When I woke up this morning, I felt like consuming something light and clean. A look into the fridge revealed a number of great-looking veggies, so the idea of a nice fresh juice came to mind. I knew Emily would appreciate it, too. This is not an inexpensive juice, but the taste is definitely worth the effort. So much goodness in one little glass!

Mixed Veggie Medley

Ingredients

4 large carrots

4-5 apples

1-2 cucumbers

2 stalks celery

1/2 head broccoli (about 3 cups)

1/2 bunch Italian parsley

Preparation

Wash all produce, cut into pieces small enough to run through a juicer, and juice. Makes approximately 1 quart of fresh, delicious juice.

Sweet Corn Soup

The first time I had corn, raw, I was fifteen and my parents had decided to take my brother and me on a week-long fall vacation to a farm in Bavaria. Being big-city kids, my brother and I enjoyed being outdoors and helping with the harvest at the time. The day we helped with harvesting corn, I remember sitting on top of a huge pile of corn on the trailer the tractor pulled off the fields at the end of the day. But before leaving the fields, the farmer we stayed with peeled an ear and handed it to me, saying, "eat." I dug my teeth into the corn and thought it was quite tasty. Up until that day, I didn't know people could eat fresh corn. Actually, I didn't know anyone who ever ate fresh corn. Corn, in my experience, was fed to the animals. At least in Germany.

Many years later, after having moved to Minnesota, I found out that most people in this part of the world spend the time from mid-July to mid-August eating corn-on-the-cob almost every day–more or less. Corn-on-the-cob, heated for only a few minutes in boiling water, then slathered with butter, salt and pepper or sprinkled with a little Parmesan cheese, is a staple in our house every summer. We eat so much that the ears quite literally start coming out of our ears, and by the time we're tired of corn, the season is over, and, satiated, we can wait and anticipate the new crop next year.

Today, I found myself in the kitchen with a scant dozen ears that I wanted to transform into something other than corn-on-the-cob. My sister-in-law Julie has a wonderful recipe for corn chowder that is out of this world, but I thought it would be a bit heavy for the high temperatures and humidity we've been experiencing this weekend. I settled on a recipe for sweet corn soup that I found in Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. According to the girls, it's delicious–they already had seconds. What I love about it is that the ingredients are simple, the soup is easy to prepare, and it is tasty.

Sweet Corn Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 very large sweet onion (roughly 2+ cups chopped)

10-12 ears of fresh corn

salt (I like kosher and/or sea salt)

2 qts. water

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, but be careful not to brown the butter. Add the chopped onion and sauté until the onion is softened and translucent, about 15 minutes. Yes, the onion will quite literally swim in butter, but that will all change once the corn is added.

Meanwhile, chuck the corn (cut the kernels off the cobs). After the onion is softened, add the corn and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add salt liberally. Then add the water.

Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil soup for a few minutes, no more than five minutes. Turn off the heat and puree in batches to desired consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed. Yield: about 3 quarts.

Fresh Basil Pesto from the Garden

It's been pretty much three months since I last blogged, but tonight's dinner was just too fabulous to pass up writing about. We've been busy with construction in the house and family visiting from Germany, so there was not a lot of time left for me to blog. It's good to get back into the swing of things and record memorable meals for posterity.

I have made basil pesto many times, but I don't recall the last time I thought it was really outstanding. Tonight's pesto was the best I recall from recent years. Maybe it was the unbelievably fragrant homegrown, organic basil that made the difference–or the time I took to meticulously toast the pine nuts or the high-quality organic extra-virgin olive oil I used. Whatever it was, tonight's pesto was better than any pesto I remember. So it's worth writing about. Try it for yourself. Indulge, and let the goodness of summer explode on your taste buds!

Fabulous Fresh Basil Pesto from the Garden

Ingredients:

2 cups tightly packed fresh basil (equals about 4 cups lightly packed or 2 oz.)

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1 very large clove of garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (a very generous 1/4 cup that is!)

and more freshly grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the meal

Preparation:

I do have a mortar and pestle, but enjoying the convenience of modern kitchen equipment, I always make my pesto in the food processor.

Add the first three ingredients–basil, pine nuts and garlic–and chop coarsely. Then, while running the food processor blade on the continuous setting, slowly pour in the olive oil. Add the cheese and, voilà, your pesto is ready to be tossed with hot pasta. Serve in pasta bowls and add a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!

By the way, pesto can be frozen as long as the cheese is not added. So, if you plan on freezing your pesto for later use, freeze it without adding any cheese and add the cheese after your pesto is defrosted. Pesto is also good on sandwiches. My favorite sandwich consists of two slices of sprouted grain bread, pesto smeared on both slices, and 1/2 avocado and a sliced tomato sandwiched in between. That's yummy! Yield: about 1 cup of pesto.

The Vacation's Over

Yesterday marked the one-month anniversary of me not having added anything to this blog for exactly 31 days, the entire month of May. What does that say about me? That I haven't cooked in a month? That we ordered take-out too many times? That I was too busy? Too lazy? Too side-tracked with other things? Too uninspired? Too tired? Too indecisive what to write about? I'm afraid all of the above and more.

Actually, I have served quite a few meals here at home, but I'm afraid a lot of them could all fall under the label "leftover" meals. Come to think of it, I've served so many "leftover" and "fridge-cleaning" meals, day after day, I wonder where the original meals actually came from.

In any case, it's about time to stop this nonchalance. There are meals to be cooked and recipes to be recorded if for no one else than myself and my offspring. Tonight I still have to write something more personal for a special person in my life. So I promise to myself to return to the blog tomorrow with a recipe for something actually concocted in our kitchen and enjoyed!

Cinco de Mayo

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Even though I've heard that it's a day not celebrated in all parts of Mexico, here in the US it is also a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

In our family, no one even has a stitch of Hispanic heritage in their bloodline, but–always looking for inspiration for what to cook for dinner–Cinco de Mayo translated in my head into tacos, salsa, and guacamole. So we cooked some Mexican food for dinner tonight.

I have to admit up-front: Mexican food is not my favorite. I will eat it in a pinch, but when hungry, Mexican is not what comes to mind. Mostly because I didn't grow up with it, and, no matter where I've eaten it, Mexican food has usually struck me as an over-sized plate filled with overly cooked and mashed foods, doused with enchilada sauce and melted cheese. A picture of yellow, brown and red–not exactly pretty.

However, when we make tacos at home, I absolutely love them. I also love all the accompanying dishes, such as salsa and guacamole. So, for the record, I'm going to share our favorite (MY favorite) Mexican dishes with our favorite trimmings. I have absolutely no idea how authentic our recipes are, but suffice it to say that I love 'em, and they look beautiful because they're vibrant and colorful and not covered under a layer of melted cheese.

Tonight we made shrimp tacos with mango salsa and guacamole. It was a terrific meal with fabulous flavor. It took a while to prepare because washing all the veggies and chopping them up takes time. But the result was well worth the effort. Here are the recipes:

Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 lb. shrimp, preferably uncooked

butter

fresh garlic, minced

cayenne

cumin

lemon pepper

salt

soft shell tacos

Preparation:

Sauté shrimp in butter with garlic. Sprinkle with a little cayenne pepper, cumin, lemon pepper and salt. Shrimp are done when opaque. Serve with warmed soft taco shells.

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

1 mango, diced

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

juice of 1/2 lime (about 1+ Tbsp.)

a couple of dashes red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let stand, in the refrigerator, for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Guacamole Calabas

(This recipe is from Marilyn Diamond's The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 green onions, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed

1 large tomato, minced

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup minced cilantro

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili

Cayenne to taste

4 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded, and mashed (approximately 2 cups)

Salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Chop all vegetables by hand or use a food processor, to process ingredients in the order given, using the steel blade. Yields 3-4 cups.

Tip: We like our guacamole a little chunky, so I usually mash the ingredients with a fork or a potato masher. If completing the guacamole in the food processor, use the pulse setting only and scrape the bowl frequently, otherwise it's easy to over-process.

To serve, we layer a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese, shrimp, guacamole and salsa and top the taco with chopped fresh cilantro and a drizzle of salad dressing (optional). Enjoy! This is really good stuff.

Perfect Spring Day, Perfect Smoothie

Here's a perfectly blended smoothie in a beautiful color for a splendid spring day:

Ingredients:

1 papaya, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks

1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks

3/4 to 1  cup of low-fat yogurt

dash of nutmeg

dash of stevia to sweeten smoothie (optional)

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients in a blender for at least 30 seconds until smooth. Pour into glasses. Makes about two 12-oz. servings.