Many years ago, I believe in 1988, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about a doctor and his wife who had (I think) 17 children. She said that her requirements for husband were that he be willing and able to support a dozen kids....bold! Anyway, a number of things she said stayed with me. One was, "Your socks are not your own unless they're on your feet. Otherwise, they're in a basket in the laundry room." Believe me, my dearly beloved, who is the laundry master here in my little corner of the world, has hung onto those words to this day. Another was that life is too short to sort silverware, and she just dumps it into a drawer. I can't live by those words; some day I'll show you a place setting of my everyday flatware (which I found on clearance). But, to each her own!
Finally, when I read this, my oldest son was under 5 years of age. She said that breakfast cereal was just too expensive, so everyone was required to eat pancakes or eggs. I filed that in the back of my brain, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me at that time. Fast forward nearly a decade. Minimum of $5 per day for Cheerios, and people gripe about them? Time for a waffle maker.
I developed a very easy waffle recipe, keep batter in the fridge at all times, and they're always available. Here's how it goes:MARJIE'S WAFFLES
5 eggs
2-1/4 cups milk (or 1/2 cup powdered milk and 2-1/4 cups water)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4-1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
(optional) finely diced fruits, such as strawberries or banana)
Break the eggs into a refrigerator container and beat with a whisk. Stir everything else in with the whisk, and beat until smooth. Cover and store. (You can use a mixer and bowl if you'd like, but why dirty another bowl? Give your dishwasher a small vacation!) Most waffle irons use 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup batter per waffle. The kids can make this while they're getting dressed or gathering their school things and coat. A dusting of powdered sugar makes these portable, or, if you have time, serve on a plate with syrup to feel like you've had a fancy breakfast!
I'll try to publish more about our breakfasts later in the week. Meanwhile, everyone go enjoy a waffle!
(And Tony the Tiger is my cookie jar. I earned him by eating many boxes of his cereal in 1968, and mailing them off with a couple of quarters. My youngest son has loved him best, so Tony's probably going to my little guy some day.)
12 comments:
this whole post makes me want to hug you and ozzie....plus the bit about the cookie jar - damn - I know how old you were then...amazing!
My husband and son LOVE waffles. When we travel, we only stay at hotels that include breakfast. My two guys hang out at the waffle station, making waffle after waffle. You have the really nice waffle maker that they like. I should break down, be a good wife and mother, and get one. Orrrr ... move next to you and come over for breakfast! Five more won't matter, right? :-)
I just made waffles for my kids this morning. I add cinnamon and vanilla to the batter and they gobble them up.
Loving the Tony the Tiger.
We have waffles all of the time. Jacob thinks it's a special treat when we prepare them out on our patio like a fancy brunch. Sometimes it's the simple things that make life fun. ~ Robyn
I bought a new waffle maker a while back- the new ones are a vast improvement over the really old ones!
Tony the Tiger! Toured Kelloggs HQ(Battle Creek, MI) many times-
I love the cookie jar!!
Waffles are an excellent breakfast...and one that I haven't had for a hot second! I might have to try your recipe--I like that you can just store it in the fridge.
The Knight does his work clothes, but the rest of the laundry is mine, despite an order from the doctor not to do laundry.
Since I don't eat breakfast foods, our waffle maker went to live with Cherry Pie. He makes waffles regularly.
I only make waffles on the weekends and rarely at that. I love your waffle iron. I also rarely eat breakfast, much less a hot one during the week. I'm with Paula - we're moving in next door. g
What a great idae to keep the batter in the fridge! You have some great ideas, Marjie...but guess you have to with 9 kids!
Love that tiger too!
I love waffles, but I've never had success with them. They always make a huge mess of my waffle maker.
This post just struck a nerve. It wasn't even 5 minutes ago when I hung up with my daughter who lives in Idaho. I was asking if the kids were ready for their first day of school tomorrow (kindergarten, 1st grade) She said all was well. I said, what are you going to do about getting them out the door with a good breakfast in their bellies. She said cereal. I said UG, expensive, not very healthy. She said well, if my "mommy" could find it in her heart to buy me a new waffle iron I'd Have their dad make waffles. I said, I'll find YOU a recipe for when he is at work for two weeks at a time. THIS is the perfect recipe Marjie. I'll be passing it along. Hopefully, fingers crossed, she will try it. I know Jason will:) Thanks for sharing...P.S. I'll be mailing off a waffle maker very soon:)
I remember that article! I remember thinking she might have been at my church when I was a little girl in Michigan. I loved her attitude! She was the same way about the silverware drawer: she dumped it all into the drawer and if you wanted to eat, you took a moment to FIND a fork or a spoon -- she said life was too short to spend precious time organizing silverware. Thank you for reminding me of that -- I surreptitiously and "unawares" have adopted her laundry system, except mine sits on the loveseat for weeks until my husband gets sick and tired of it -- I NEVER do.
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