Sunday, August 10, 2008

Not your average food blogger




Before I start my "long" story... I have to tell you that YES I did make waffles this morning.

Check out this book....
SERIOUSLY!!
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath. I've had it for quite some time. This is a Newberry Honor book. A very prestigious award.... or honor, in Children's Literature. It's a cute book, and believe it or not, I really like the recipe Horvath's includes at the back of the book.
So, yes, SERIOUSLY.... a children's novel has a great waffle recipe.



Okay, so there begins my story....

To be honest, I am not a great food blogger. It's very sad--but very true. There are many more of you out there who are better cooks, better photographers, better bloggers.
BUT... I am having fun.

Or I was, until this morning when I was getting ready to make waffles and my camera quit working!
I might have had a moment of panic. I didn't know what to do... I had waffles to make and a soup to make later on in the afternoon and no camera to take pictures. I looked at my husband and said... "I can't cook. My camera's broken!"

In my mind I said this all very calm and logical....I can't cook. I can never cook again. I must take pictures. He says I reminded him of Lucille Ball, in panic mode. "RICKY I CAN'T COOK....WAAAAHHHHH"
Okay...so I got a little melodramatic... my camera broke, okay? And I knew I couldn't afford a new camera. (well... I could, but it really isn't in the budget for this month).

So, I sat down and I wrote an e-mail to the original "Friday Friends", letting them know I was a bit panicked.
While this was happening, or while I was shooting off a quick e-mail to the originals (Friday Friends, that is) , my husband Rich (or Ricky when I'm in my Lucy mode )found a battery and put it in my camera and it worked just fine. Whew!

Here is my note from this morning to the originals.... ( in the subject line I wrote: Panic!)
Rich just called me a panic freak. ?????
I thought my camera was broken. It quit taking pictures right in the middle of my taking pictures of the cover of the book... "Everything on a Waffle" (I hadn't made the waffles yet) (and then I thought I couldn't) I COULDN'T COOK TODAY!!!! what was I going to do? I found quote on someone else's food blog today. The Southern Plate---my friend Christy, you know. She sent out one of those "you know you are " e-mail things that go around.This was...you know you're a food blogger when.... ( to check out the whole list which is hilarious---to us food bloggers, go to her blog...you can link to it here: http://www.southernplate.com/

this is a line from it:
you know you're a food blogger when: You feel guilty if you cook something and don't take photographs. That is soooo dang funny, because it's soooo dang true. I didn't know how to finish my waffles! LOL
okay, maybe I was a panic freak a minute ago. But Rich (as I said, he is sooo good to me), put new batteries in my camera. WHEW!!

Then after a bit, I heard back from a few of them...

Darleen of Washington said of my camera just needing new batteries:
I did the same thing once. Amazing how it works after the new batteries are installed. Duh....(

Theda of Oregon said of my subject line.....sadly we take bets on which people of notoriety will pass on in the new year. We are not necessarily proud:
I was just going to email you when I saw this subject "panic". I thought that you were having the same panic/guilt that I was having.
Mine...we were talking about the dead pool recently and now Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes have died. I was feeling bad.

Barb of Arizona said of my cooking:
You are getting too complicated and "gourmet-ish" for me! Plus, I'm not sure if my dinners, etc. are picture perfect. Last night I made crab cakes, cole slaw, and fries.....................but unless you put some garnish on and make it look "cute", it's just food on a plate-------did taste good, though!
and for the syrup
I can go either way-----But warm would be really nice.

And I am back (me/debbie ) again saying this: Barb is a GREAT COOK!!! and crab cakes and cole slaw and fries. YUM YUM!!!! I think I might be making these things next week.... mmmm.
and come on....meatloaf? gourmet-ish? HA!

Meghan from California said:
are you making waffles this morning? would you believe I don't have a waffle iron?? I may go to Kohl's to get one today! now that you point it out!

and Sally of Pennsylvania said, of my....waffle making, I guess. LOL
If we are talking waffles, I have to get my two cents. I get maple syrup in big square cans, like half a gallon or so. And I have to keep it in the refrigerator. so definitely warmed. We don't use pancake syrup at all. I always used Mrs. Butterworth's when the kids were small and we went through larger quantities. But even that kept in the frig and warmed up. I use creamers for syrup, since I rarely use my creamers, anyway. When I'm on a vacation or something I bring my kids pancake/waffle mix and blueberry syrup or other flavors instead of a t-shirt. Can you buy that kinds of stuff in gift shops out there? For instance, Williamsburg and Vanderbilt Estate sell their own pancake/waffle mix and syrup. In fact, I'm honeymooning in the White Mtns. NH so I'm be stocking up the family in syrup next month.Krusteav (is that the spelling) makes the best waffle mix for when you are in a pinch. Is your waffle maker round, square, or Belgium? do you have a preference? These are important questions to find the answers to, Deb.Next, to rice and rice pudding, there are few foods I take as seriously as my waffles. My favorite Christmas carol is "Here we come a waffling..." by Garrison Keiler.

and it's me again...my voice, my words:
wow. :~)
I had also asked (Original Friday Friends get "questions" they have to answer... and I asked) do you guys like your syrup warmed up or not warmed up?

My daughter in law Sadie in Connecticut:
I don't like syrup at all, but in my family it was always warmed up (I didn't know people used it cold until I married Marcus)

me again:
LOL we don't warm our syrup normally, but I did this morning.
oh...and back to Sally's questions for me!
I have a round waffle iron. What is the best?
I have 3 syrups right now... Mrs. Butterworths, "Real" maple syrup and some strawberry syrup.
I like food stuffs as gifts!!

Here is the recipe from "Everything on a Waffle" by Polly Horvath
(if you have ones you love please send them to me!)

Written EXACTLY as it is in the book:

Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, put 3 large and well beaten eggs, 1/2 stick butter, and 1 1/2 cups milk. Make a hole in the middle of your dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and stir it all up. Make sure your waffle iron is hot and greased and then pour in enough batter so that it spreads all over but not quite to the edge or it will end up leaking out the sides and making a big mess. If you have an electric waffle iron it will tell you when the waffles are done, otherwise you must check them and turn the iron on the burner until the waffle is brown. Serve them with butter and syrup.

** I put a tsp of vanilla in there. :~)

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