Buttermilk Waffles with Bacon

Because bacon makes everything taste better, even waffles. The fact that the waffle maker was a $2 garage sale find makes it even more awesome. But, the prep and ingredients required to make the batter for the waffles is why I don't make waffles that often.

Buttermilk Waffles with Bacon

Ingredients

1.75 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1.5 c buttermilk
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 lb bacon, any variety, cooked and drained

Directions

Preheat waffle iron (turn on the waffle maker; I set mine to light waffles)

0. Fry the bacon. For this I used 1/4 lb applewood smoked bacon. Reserve bacon lard.

1. In a 2-cup measuring cup, beat eggs until frothy and combined. Add vanilla extract and beat again. Add buttermilk and melted butter. Mix to combine.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

3. Add wet to dry and stir together until no dry bits remain. 

4. Add waffle batter to hot waffle maker. Add strips of cooked bacon, then cover bacon with some batter. Close the waffle maker and cook until golden brown.

Workday Breakfasts to Go

This year I am trying something new. Every Sunday I make breakfast for work all at once. That's right. 5 days of breakfast stuffs that I trek to work. Between baking and eating, sometimes I'll have four dozen eggs in the fridge.

The basics

Hard-boiled eggs. I try to stay around $0.20-0.25/egg. This can range anywhere from bulk white eggs or brown eggs. I prefer brown eggs, but only because they're not white. And, I hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as "free range" for eggs nor chickens that bear them. Those happy chickens you see in all the farm-to-table marketing ads are just that.. marketing. In fact, a factory farm can still mass produce eggs and still call itself a "free range" farm. Anyhow, that's a topic for another day.

Put your 10 large eggs into a pot, fill it with enough water to cover, and put a lid on the pot. Bring the pot to a boil then let it simmer covered for 8-10 minutes. Once the timer is up, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the eggs into a large bowl filled with cold water. 

Some people like to wait. I do not. Immediately shell all the eggs and put them into a lidded container in the fridge. 70 calories per egg.

Next item.

Oatmeal with dried fruit. The dried fruit can be anything from chopped dried cherries, raisins, dried blueberries, or dried cranberries. This is one of the simplest recipes I have managed to replicate from Pinterest without a fail. About 136 calories.

1/3 c organic old fashioned oats
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp nonfat dry milk
5-8 raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, or whatever (it's less than 1 tbsp)
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Put this all into an 8 oz mason jar. Put a lid on it and set it aside. Calories will vary by fruit used but not by much. At work, simply fill the jar with hot water, replace lid and screw the band so that the lid stays in place. After 15 minutes or so, the oatmeal will be done. I just eat it straight from the jar.

Organic yogurt. I am not so savvy that I own a yogurt maker. So, this is one of the many organic varieties that Trader Joe's carries. I am partial to the organic vanilla yogurt; though, the quart will only provide four days of yogurt (at 8 oz a day). 213 calories.

I supplement the fifth day with Trader Joe's mango/apricot Greek yogurt. Sure, it's a whopping 300 calories but it's also protein.

Plus coffee (50 calories). A little jolt of caffeine to start the day.

And there you have it. My weekly breakfast is just under 540 calories per morning. This lasts a lot longer than coffee and a bagel that's for sure.

Homemade pancakes

Ever look on a store brand box of pancake mix? Look at what they ask you to add: an egg, some oil, some water or milk. So, do you know what you are really buying? A box of pre-packaged, pre-mixed flour, baking soda, and baking powder. The material requirements to make your own pancakes is extremely inexpensive, compared to the $4 most people dish out for a box of mix. Plus, what happens if you're left with a small amount of mix? You could go out and buy another box, but with this method you can make what you want. 

This recipe feeds 3 somewhat hungry people or 2 very hungry people. 

1 c. unbleached white flour 
1 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. baking soda 
1/2 tsp. cinnamon 
1/4 tsp. nutmeg 
1 tbsp. unbleached cane sugar 
2 eggs 
2/3 c. organic milk 
1 tbsp. olive oil 
1/4 c. dried blueberries (optional) 

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a large bowl. 

2. Whip eggs together in a small bowl. Add vanilla extract, olive oil and sugar. Beat until combined. 

3. Combine egg mixture into flour mixture. Mix while adding milk. Beat until not lumpy.

Basic Congee Recipe

This is a rice porridge with stuff in it.

If you had leftover steamed rice (white or brown), you can also use this as well. It will shorten the cook time. When the water boils, add cooked rice, then turn heat to low and simmer for 60-90 minutes, depending on thickness desired. If it's too thick, add more water. Congee has a consistency between soup and stew, appearing thick and creamy. Do not reheat this on medium or high heat, the starch in the rice will burn.

Yields:
4-6 servings, depending on how much rice and water is used

Main Ingredients:

1 c. short grain or 1/2 c. long grain rice
8 c. water, or unsalted/low sodium chicken stock

Any of the following additions:
shitake mushrooms, chopped
Up to 1-2 cups, coarsely chopped bok choy or napa cabbage
1-2 hundred-year-old egg, cubed/chopped
1-2 salted hard-boiled duck egg, cubed/chopped
dried scallops, reconstituted and chopped
salt, pepper to taste
sweet potato, peeled and diced
preserved salted/spicy turnip, thinly sliced
dry roasted peanuts
chopped green onion, as garnish
chopped cilantro, as garnish
finely shredded ginger, as garnish
soy sauce to taste, about 1-2 tbsp
Chinese rice wine or sherry, about 1-2 tbsp

Meat (choose one):
Up to 2 cups, cooked chicken/turkey/duck meat, chopped or shredded
1/2 lb boneless pork loin, cubed or minced

If using uncooked chicken:
Marinate the chicken with the 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp Chinese wine/sherry, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp white/black pepper, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Chop chicken into small bite-sized pieces. Marinate for 30 min or longer. Add after rice has come to a boil.

(x-post to LJ Foodporn)