Day 29: Pile O' Waffles from Vegan Comfort Classics
Ever since I moved out of my parents’ house, I have had a mild urge to purchase a waffle iron, but I haven’t been able to justify it. I don’t have the counter space; I will almost never use it; I don’t need it; these are some of the reasons NOT to get a waffle iron. Yet, a voice deep inside of me kept calling “…waffle iron….WAFFLE IRON…” Or maybe it was saying “Iron Waffle…” the name of my “band” in high school that I created with 2 of my neighbors. I put band in quotations because though we had a plethora of potential album covers from our “photo shoots” around the neighborhood, we really only had one song, and it only had 4 words. Since Iron Waffle unofficially disbanded circa 2007, I think it’s safe to assume that I just wanted a waffle iron. Last week I stumbled upon the perfect solution: a MINI waffle iron. It was everything I’ve ever wanted in an appliance: tiny, easy to store, functional, affordable, makes waffles. So now I have a waffle iron, and for that reason, I made waffles.
I’ve had the Hot For Food cookbook, Vegan Comfort Classics, since it was released a while back. I’m a fan of Lauren Toyota’s YouTube channel and have tried a few of her recipes. Her Easy Vegan Chili and Cauliflower Buffalo Wings are dependably delicious go-to party foods for me. The recipes in the book all look amazing but many seem to require a time commitment that I’m not usually in the mood for. As I was scouring my collection for a basic waffle recipe, I found this recipe for a Pile O’ Waffles with berry syrup. Having all of the ingredients already in my kitchen was an added benefit.
The recipe couldn’t have been much easier and came together in 15 minutes or so. The waffles had a good rise as they cooked in the waffle iron. I do think I overloaded it a bit as my waffles were pretty dense, but my batter was also REALLY thick which I’m pretty sure is not the right consistency for a waffle batter. I cut the recipe in half but didn’t make any measuring mistakes as far as I can tell. The taste was good, nothing amazing. I think it could have used some vanilla, maybe a bit more salt, something else to give it some depth. I will definitely try this again with some changes to see if I can get it right.
The berry syrup was really good, but this is something I already make for waffles or pancakes any time I make them to cut down on how much maple syrup I’m eating and replace it with some whole foods. Just mix a bit of maple syrup with berries and let it heat up on the stove, stirring occasionally. I used a tablespoon of syrup to about 3/4 cup of blueberries and strawberries.
