BFD

Lately, (almost) every morning we hear this over the monitor: "Waf, waf, waf, please, please?"  Sometimes we hear it at bedtime too.  Oh, and at bathtime, and lunch time, and play time...you get the picture.  Translation: Blake is asking for waffles, please.  The kid loves frozen waffles.  We don't mind them either; I figure they are fairly healthy since we feed him the organic kind, sans syrup.  Also, they are easy and relatively mess free.

Organic frozen waffles are, however, pretty expensive.  So last night we decided to have breakfast for dinner (BFD) and we made a double batch of waffles and blueberry pancakes.  I froze the leftovers in a single layer on a cookie sheet (so they wouldn't stick together), then I popped them into a freezer bag.  A couple of minutes in the toaster oven and they're ready to go.  I didn't do the math, but I'm sure we are saving money over the store bought variety.

Here's the recipe I used, adapted slightly from Fine Cooking.

Light, Crisp Waffles

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 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 oz. (1/4 cup) cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk
6 Tbs. melted butter
1 large egg, separated
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 200°F and heat the waffle iron. Mix the flours, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Measure the buttermilk, milk, and butter in a Pyrex measuring cup; mix in the egg yolk and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg white almost to soft peaks. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until the peaks are firm and glossy. Beat in the vanilla.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Drop the whipped egg white onto the batter in dollops and fold in with a spatula until just incorporated.

Pour the batter onto the hot waffle iron (mine takes about 3/4 cup) and cook until the waffle is crisp and nutty brown (follow the manufacturer's instructions for timing at first and then adjust to your liking). Set the waffle directly on the oven rack to keep it warm and crisp. Repeat with the remaining batter, holding the waffles in the oven (don't stack them). When all the waffles are cooked, serve immediately.

All I want for Christmas...

Hadley and Blake, Christmas 2009

Me:  "Hadley, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?"

Hadley: "Presents"

Me:  "What kind of presents?"

Hadley:  "Chocolate presents!" 

Lip dub

If you watch The Office, you probably remember the season opener:



When I watched it, I had no idea what a lip dub was.  You can read about them here.  It turns out that it's a bit of an internet/you tube sensation right now.  Apparently schools do lip dub challenges.  Cool, huh?  I think these videos are really fun, even though it makes my head hurt to think about the logistics of making one.  So, don't think, just watch and enjoy.  Here are a few that I found on youtube.

Here's one from Boston University




And one from a high school in WA


Another good one.



Want to see more?  You can watch several more videos, from all over the world, here.   Let me know if you find any good ones!