Waffle Weekiversary

Yes, "weekiversary" is not really a word.  But I'm well-known for abusing the suffix -iversary.

After an absolutely whirlwind 7 day period (which began with gettin' hitched and contained a two-day inter-province road trip avec UHaul), I figured Hubs and I deserved something a little special for breakfast.  Among the many things we'd moved from Windsor, I found the Belgian waffle maker that my mother graciously "loaned" me... and that I haven't given back.

Her loss, clearly.

I have great memories of these waffles.  They'd make an appearance for birthday breakfasts,  the morning after a girls' night, or on lazy Saturday mornings.  I credit our Aunt Sue with introducing them to us many years ago during a family visit.  We all loved them (and it was relatively simple for us kids to "help" by pouring in the required amount of batter).

So, I took it down from the top of the cupboards and got crackin'.  Initially, our family just used prepared boxed pancake batter... but I always found those waffles to be a bit too heavy and cake-like (plus, I haven't bought pancake mix since I learned how simple it is to make batter fresh).  I graduated to using a recipe from my mom's "Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery", a truly behemoth ~20-volume hardcover set from the 1970s.  While tastes in haute cuisine and food photography have certainly changed since that day (thank goodness!), it still contains a wealth of good basic recipes.  Alas, I have no such thing here... Internet to the rescue!!

You know I'm thinking of Mom when I break out the math symbols...

I found this batter recipe at Allrecipes.com; it showed promise (and saved me the step of whipping egg whites separately, which can be a pain).  The waffles were, I kid you not, PERFECT.  Crisp on the outside, but soft and fluffy and moist on the inside with a perfect golden brown colour.  You can't beat these puppies.

It was all I could do to take pics before devouring.

So, we ate them in a very standard fashion.  I mixed up some Dream Whip (yup, I'm that lazy... but honestly, I love the flavour of the stuff!), made a quick mixed berry syrup from some frozen fruit, and poured the syrup over.  Mmmm.  A lovely sit-down breakfast for us newlyweds!

Hubs' creation... with an extra quarter of waffle for good measure.

 The only problem: this recipe made 6 waffles.  We are only two people... and we weren't QUITE that hungry.  The solution?  Dinner waffles!

This isn't your Aunt Sue's waffle, that's for sure (though she has excellent taste and would more than likely approve!)

Savoury waffles aren't a new thing.  I remember seeing (probably in that same encycolpedia), a recipe for waffles & chicken à la king.  The Southern combo of waffles and fried chicken with syrup and gravy also works here.  I had been perusing Nemmie's back entries again, and came across her huevos rancheros post... and the inspiration hit.

Fried eggs...

Plus black beans with bacon, onions and spices...

Get that waffle in there...

Top with some shredded cheese and broil until melted...

...aaaaand top to your heart's content.  Mine has avocado, diced tomatoes, black beans, green onions, more shredded cheese, cilantro, and sour cream.

Hubs doctored his with a liberal dash of habañero hot sauce.  Very appropriate.

Deliciously messy.

I'm stuffed!!

These were absolutely FANTASTIC.  I couldn't even eat my whole dinner waffle; I took the rest to work the next day for lunch (and got some puzzled looks from my coworkers... So worth it).  I've since made "real" huevos rancheros (with tortillas instead of waffles) and those were also delicious.  I think they'll become a new staple!

 

Different carb for the base, but same basic idea.  Yummy!!

Wondering if she can convince enough people that waffles are the traditional one-week wedding gift,
-Honeybee

Black bean florentine enchiladas, or "What should I do with this spinach?"

My mother, always strongly opinionated, has a very firm stance on wasting food.  During my Catholic upbringing, we were always taught it was a sin, right up there with stealing or coveting your neighbour's toys.  Granted, in a house of six, it was pretty easy to get rid of leftovers before they were past their prime.  In my new single-person dwelling, however, this has proved a little more difficult.  I will spare you any pictures.

This picture, on the other hand, shouldn't be too offensive

I do look for ways to use up perishable foods in the fridge before buying new goods.  This is what led to the following recipe: black bean florentine enchiladas.  Yup, florentine.  Spinach.  Not exactly what comes to mind when you think Mexican food, but I had a bag of baby spinach that was looking less-than-prime, at least for crisp salad applications.  I also had some tortillas in need of some lovin'.  I wanted something tasty, low fat, and high fibre with at least a couple servings of veggies... mission accomplished!

Mmm.  Melty goodness.

I basically decided to alter my standard hummus recipe by adding black beans instead of chickpeas, lime juice and zest instead of lemon, and tomato paste instead of sesame paste (tahini).  Olive oil and cumin stayed the same.  The enchilada sauce is based on Rachel Ray's original 30-Minute Meals book (published before her widespread fame), and is a staple for me.  I added the fresh baby spinach to both the sauce and the filling (I had quite a bit to deal with), and topped it all off with low-fat cheddar cheese.  Mmmm!!!  It seems like a lot of steps, but everything comes together quickly (particularly if you start the sauce before blending up the filling).

I call this one, "Enchilada cross-section, with cilantro and lime".

Black Bean Florentine Enchiladas

Cobbled together by me, for once!

Makes 4 servings (trust me, one enchilada at a time will do ya!)

• 19 oz. can black beans
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (more as needed)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• About 1 1/2 to 2 cups of baby spinach
• Small handful cilantro (if you like it)
• About 1 Tbsp water (I just fill one of the juiced lime halves with water and chuck it in)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (or your favourite kind, to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste (OR, add one packet of OXO beef bouillion.  Gives that nice beefy flavour without the actual meat)
• 4 large whole wheat tortillas (or your favourite variety)
• Enchilada sauce (either store-bought, or made as below)
• About 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used low fat)
• About two green onions, sliced thinly

1. Set your oven to 450ºF
2. Stir together everything up until the salt and pepper and using an immersion blender or food processor, process until smooth.  Add a little more olive oil if the mixture is too stiff or dry.
3. Divide the bean mixture into four portions.  Add to tortillas and roll up.
4. Put a small layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13" pan.  Place your rolled-up tortillas in the pan, and top with remaining sauce (save some for another time if it gets to be too much).  Top with green onions, then cheese (in that order, to prevent burnt onions).  
5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or so, until cheese is melted and filling is heated through.

Florentine Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small white onion, grated
• 1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Coarse salt, to taste
• About 1 cup baby spinach leaves (or omit, for a more authentic version)

1.  Heat garlic in olive oil in a pot over medium heat until it starts to sizzle.  Add the onion by grating it directly into the pot.  Cook onion and garlic for about 2 minutes.
2. Add pureed tomatoes and seasonings.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  
3. Add the spinach to the pot and stir until it wilts in.  If you want, you can puree it up further with an immersion blender or food processor; some people like to have the full leaves in there.  Keep at a simmer until enchiladas are ready to top.

 

So, I'll be the first to admit that the green spinach leaves made the sauce and filling look a bit... funky.  At least in terms of colour.  But honestly, I was just happy knowing I was getting Popeye-approved nutrients without the foremost flavour being the spinach.  Also, if I'm not much mistaken, this dish is pretty green-light!  Low fat, high fibre... hooray!  A feel-good meal all around.

Off to do some healthy jogging before delving into decidedly unhealthy peanut butter brownies (more on that later!)

-Honeybee