Good Day,
So here I am talking about Easter again. But, I am getting excited. It is a chance for all of our family to get together. My daughter and my son-in-law
are making the long drive here to be with us and they are bringing with them my two favourite little kiddos- my granddaughter and grandson.
After all, family celebrations like this are, for me, largely about the little kiddos. So, I am glad to have little ones back in my life. There was quite a dry spell there when my children were grown and no longer excited about Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.
I decorate the heck out of my home at Xmas time and I love it. I do that part for me. My hope is always to have everything decorated and ready to go by the third week in November. Sounds crazy, I know, but I put a lot of stuff up-mostly in my living and dining room, with a wee bit in the kitchen.
The most festive and lovely part of this picture is my grandson!!I am somewhat less ambitious about Easter. But I do have a few things that I put out for my granddaughter and now, my grandson. I love to watch my granddaughter when she arrives at the house. She runs around looking at and, of course picking up,everything that is Easter Bunny related.
Note the leftover chocolate from
last year. I found it nestled in an egg!
I imagine that the little guy, who is almost two, will be into touching stuff and perhaps be excited by his Easter basket, even though he probably does not know who the heck the Easter Bunny is and why it is so good to have him as a friend.
What shall this vegan serve to her family on this celebratory day? We have already decided to have a brunch, because this works out time wise for just about everyone. If we are lucky, we will be able to go outside and play some ball, like we did last year. Hopefully, the snow will be gone by then.
My daughter has requested that we have waffles topped with fruit sauce. Good idea, vegan, easy to make ahead and sure to be a crowd pleaser for anyone with a bit of a sweet tooth. So here I am in my nightgown and apron ready to make my vegan waffles. Yes, you read that right, nightgown and apron LOL. No, I will not take a selfie of this.
There are no witnesses, unless you count the cats, and my garb makes perfect sense to me. When I am finished cooking, I will get cleaned up-no reason to do it twice in one day. My nightgown and apron head to the laundry and I head to the bathroom and as they say, “Bob’s your uncle”. I like to use this old timey phrase because I really did have an Uncle Bob!!!!
Now, to the subject at hand-Vegan Waffles. There are lots of recipes on the internet for yummy looking waffles There are whole grain, low fat, high fat, sweet, savoury and so on. I was missing the ingredients for most of the recipes that really looked different and tasty. Note to self to always have applesauce, pumpkin and enough cornmeal on hand.
I was interested in trying something low or no fat, but apparently these kinds of waffles do not turn out as crispy as I was looking for. I found this recipe and decided to give it a whirl.
Here is the morning waffle making saga. The recipe I used is:
As per usual, I gathered all of my ingredients before starting. That way, I ensure that I have everything in stock and I make fewer trips to the cupboards and fridge. I definitely make less mess. LOL!
Mix together the dry ingredients, making sure there are no lumps. You can use a sifter or clean hands-as you wish! Measure the wet ingredients into a measuring cup or bowl.
Pour wet into dry and mix together using a whisk. Most pancake and waffle recipes say not to worry about lumps, but I do. The lumps seem to end up in the finished products, as lumpy as ever. I use a whisk to break them up, being careful not to over beat. Overbeating makes for tough pancakes and waffles.
The batter is ready to go!!!
I brushed a little oil on the grids, but realized this is not necessary at all if one has a non-stick waffle maker. Use a small measuring cup to fill the grids. I used a scant half a cup for each waffle. I used the edge of the cup to gently push the batter to the sides.
I love my new waffle iron. It was not expensive but batter does not leak out the sides and there is a neat light on the front that tells me when the waffles are cooked. No more guesswork, no more lifting the lid only to separate the top of the waffle from its better half.
When the handy dandy READY light went on, I lifted the lid only to find that my waffles were not square. Yikes!! That won’t do. I was afraid of overspill but don’t need to be, so for the next batch, I spread the batter to the edges and Voila!!
Square waffles.
This is what happens if there is not enough batter in the iron. The top of the batter does not reach the top grid and the waffle is kind of thin, kind of light and kind of funny looking.
The finished product ready for Easter Brunch.
The beauty about making waffles ahead of time is that they can be frozen and then reheated. I love making stuff ahead of time!!!GRAMMIE ANNIE’S HANDY DANDY WAFFLE MAKING TIPS
1) If possible, invest in a non stick waffle iron with a READY button on the top. I think I paid 24.00$ for mine.
2)Preheat the waffle iron-no need to oil if iron is non-stick.
3)Use a measuring cup to pour batter.
4)If waffles are not as crispy or golden as you would like when the READY light goes on, leave in for another five minutes so-this is what I did and it worked very well.
5) Fat free waffles I have read, are not as crispy as their counterpart. I know, I know, fat free is best, but sometimes I fudge on this. Here, the recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil, which is a little more than five tablespoons. That comes out to about 550 calories of fat. For a yield of 16 waffles that comes to 35 calories of fat per waffle. Now I don’t know what the total calorie count is per waffle, but I deemed this treat acceptable for Easter Brunch.
6) Often, waffle and pancake batter can be interchanged. It is worth experimenting with.
7) Make ahead and freeze ahead. It makes things so much easier on the day of when hungry tummies are clambering for sustenance.
8) Thaw and reheat on a cookie rack at 325 degrees for about ten minutes. Enjoy with maple syrup, fresh fruit, fruit sauces and whatever else strikes your fancy.
Until next time,
May all beings be happy and free.
Anne
VEGAN WAFFLES FOR EASTER BRUNCH!