Vittles in Florida and Waffles in Maine

It’s almost officially spring – hooray!  I can’t think of a winter that I’ve been so excited to see END.

The changing light, even just slightly warmer temps and a weeklong trip to Florida last week have brightened my mood and made me more energetic.  Just to be outside, the hubs and I walked over 35 miles in 5 days on the hard flat beach of Daytona Beach Shores.

It was our first home exchange – a large 20^th floor condo with beautiful views of the Halifax River during the day.

And at sunset.

Just to be outside, I would have walked to Key West.

We ate a lot of key lime pie, my favorite was from McCoy’s at the Hyatt, more importantly at the Orlando Airport.  Yep, the airport.  Best Key Lime Pie I’ve had in a long time – fresh, fluffy and tart.  So good, in fact, I had it twice.  Arriving and Departing.

I LOVED this Old Florida style restaurant, where everyone is your cousin –the delicious and crispy everything —  coconut shrimp, shrimp & grits, pecan crusted catfish, tender cinnamon rolls and hush puppies served piping hot were the #1 reason we walked all week.  Worth.Every.Bite.

Crispy hot coconut shrimp, cinnamon roll, hush puppy and a broccoli casserole like your Aunt makes.

Now it’s back to northern reality.

March in New England means maple season is here (maple syrup should be a food group).  With warmer days and cold nights, the sap will run and the sugar houses will be open. Visit one in Maine this upcoming weekend for Maine Maple Sunday.   Check out @jbmanch’s photo on Instagram I’m dubbing Eight Shades of Maple.

And speaking of the weekend…guess what!  It’s my blog’s first anniversary!  A blogiversary.  It’s not a coincidence that I first hit publish on the Spring Equinox, March 21, 2014.  New beginnings…before I left my job last year, I just had to let God know I was serious so he could make all the pieces fall into place and help me connect the dots.  It’s fun to cook, write and publish the blog—and I hope that you will recreate some of the recipes I concoct in my kitchen.  I love reading your comments and connecting with readers and friends near and far, past and present.  So let’s keep connecting and while we’re at it, add your email to my list and never miss a recipe.

Big thanks are due to Leigh, who let me know there was an ingredient missing in the Matcha & Tahini Bites recipe.  Ruh-roh.  Like just the tahini, people!  No big, just the second most important flavor.  The recipe is updated for your pre-workout chomping pleasure.  And it’s green for the arrival of spring – timely.

Did I mention maple season means it’s time for waffles and warm maple syrup?  I mean, it’s always time for waffles, but now during sugaring season, most definitely so.  I don’t do anything fancy (why make mornings harder?) because I’m perfectly happy with Stonewall Kitchen’s pancake mix.

It was so cheap at their outlet in North Conway, NH a few weeks ago, I bought a bunch of it.  For the waffles, I basically use the pancake recipe (not the waffle recipe which is not as flavorful, imo) on the side of the container.

The key is to use buttermilk, 1) for the probiotics (there’s got to be something good in a waffle) and 2), because importantly, it gives the waffle (or pancake, if you go that route since it is the pancake recipe) some fluffy height without getting into beating egg whites (who has time for that? well, maybe you do, but I certainly am not that energetic in the am).  I love it – just add 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and a large egg with 1 cup of the mix and your good to go.  My other tip is to not overmix the batter — in fact, the SWK mix will be lumpy, that’s totally OK.  I also mix it up and then let it rest for 10 minutes before I ladle it into the hot waffle iron.  I’m not a chemist, but it seems that the resting time gives the buttermilk and baking powder some time to do it’s fluffy magic.

If I was in the market for a waffle iron now, I’d look at this one – yes, Breville is more $$$ but we recently bought this toaster which has elevated our morning toast to a new spiritual experience (seriously, the toast rises up on cue like it’s being reborn), so I expect the same attention to detail from the Breville waffle iron.

I have an old VillaWare waffle iron that still works well except for the genuflecting up and down from the table that the cook must perform in between waffles so the thing can reheat.  I usually times the recipe below by the number of people I am serving because NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY, they always want another.  And another.

So that’s my update and an easy recipe, more a reminder to eat waffles with real maple syrup.  You?  What are you anticipating this spring?

May it be filled with flowers, bunnies and good things to eat.

Cheers,

Barbara

I was not compensated for this post, I just like the products so much that you should know about it.  Simple as that!

Buttermilk Waffles

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

4 mins

Total time

19 mins

 

I love a good waffle. My secret is to use Stonewall Kitchen's Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle mix, which I personally think is some of the best in the biz. Slightly adapted from the side of their package. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled....depends on how many you are serving!

Spiritedcook.com: Barbara Gulino

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, baby!

Serves: One 4 square waffle

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus extra for serving
• 1 large egg
• ¾ cup cultured buttermilk
• 1 cup Stonewall Kitchen's Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix
• Optional: coconut oil or canola oil spray
• Positively necessary: Pure maple syrup, as much as you like

Instructions

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. In a bowl, whisk egg to mix. Add buttermilk and whisk to combine. Add melted butter and pancake mix and combine just until batter forms. It will be lumpy but that is OK. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, if desired (and allowable according to manufacturer's directions), lightly spray surface of waffle iron with vegetable oil spray and heat until ready to use. Ladle batter onto waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Remove, and with a serrated knife, separate the four squares to serve immediately with warm maple syrup and butter.

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