stuart james beall

I’ve enjoyed waffles since my mother started making them for our family. The basic recipe we used is NOT our invention, and I don’t know where it came from. If you’re interested, here it is:

• 1 Cup milk.
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour.
• 1/4 Cup corn meal.
• 1/8 Cup sugar.
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tablespoons corn oil.
• 1 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder.

That’s your from-scratch, not-so-quick waffle recipe. Results may vary, due to type of milk, size of egg, type of waffle iron, the way you measure things. For this recipe, I used Silk unsweetened almond milk.

For the whipped cream, I used about 3/4 Cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and 2 Tablespoons of cane sugar. It takes about 2 minutes of beating with the whip attachment on my KitchenAid mixer.

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Sourdough Applesauce Waffles

Here’s something interesting. Have you ever used a sourdough starter?

I’ve had this sourdough starter over 10 years. It was a gift from some friends in church. What is it? Basically fermented flour and water. How you refresh it and store it is important. If you’re careless about it, you can ruin it. Real sourdough starter is not the same as instant yeast, from a jar. Making it from scratch can be a pain in the neck; it’s easier to get a proven starter from a friend.

If you want to be my friend, long enough to snag some of my starter, contact me. I’m happy to share, if you come to Boise. I keep about 5 Cups of it in a tall glass juice bottle, as shown above. A brown liquid culture will separate from the flour and sit at the top. This bottle is stored standing up in the refrigerator until the evening before I make waffles, or bread.

When you’re ready to make sourdough waffles, dump the entire contents of your starter bottle or jar into a large plastic mixing bowl. Measure about 2 Cups of warm water into your bottle or jar, and shake it up to get the dregs of your starter loosened. Don’t use hot water! Pour it into the mixing bowl.

Next, measure 2 Cups of flour into the mixing bowl. I use Lehi Mills Peacock Brand, or Wheat Montana Prairie Gold. Stir it up well using a whisk or an electric beater. Cover the bowl with a towel, and leave it on the kitchen counter overnight. Keep your kitchen temperature around 70 to 80 degrees F.

In the morning, stir up the starter in the mixing bowl, and return about 5 Cups to your glass jar for a breakfast next week. I don’t fill the jar up to the lid, because the culture can destroy the metal lid. Store your starter bottle standing up, in the refrigerator. Now create your waffle batter in the mixing bowl.

• Sourdough starter – 2 Cups.
• Your favorite waffle mix – 1 + 1/2 Cups.
• Sugar – 2 Tablespoons.
• Vegetable Oil – 3 Tablespoons.
• Egg – 1.
• Applesauce – 4 ounces.

I used Brigham Creek Pancake & Waffle Mix for this recipe. I used a Breville waffle griddle, sprayed with avocado oil. I like these waffles with butter, berry jam, and maple syrup. For an over-the-top breakfast, I’ll add some vanilla whipped cream.

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Banana Cornmeal Waffles

I was surprised to learn that some cities of the world do NOT have corn. No corn in the grocery store, whatsoever. No corn on the cob, no corn in the can, no corn in a box, no animal feed corn, no hominy, no cornmeal. So sad.

If you love that corn muffin taste, and you can get a box of corn muffin mix, you could try these waffles.

• Fresh Banana – 1
• Jiffy corn muffin mix, about 8.5 ounces.
• Egg – 1
• Milk – 1 Cup.
• Flour – 4 Tablespoons.
• Olive oil, or grape seed oil – 4 Tablespoons.
• Non-stick cooking spray.

So remove peel from the banana, and discard. Mash banana with a fork, then add to mixing bowl. Add corn muffin mix, egg, milk, flour. I used whole pasteurized cow milk and Lehi Mills Peacock flour. Mix up the batter BEFORE you add the olive oil, so it isn’t stuck in clumps. Finally, stir in the olive oil.

Now heat up your waffle griddle / iron. Set the timer for a smidge longer than the medium crust setting. On my Breville waffle griddle, I used the 4 setting. It is imperative that you spray the griddle with a non-stick cooking oil, before each waffle is poured.

I like these waffles with real butter, real maple syrup, and vanilla whipped cream.

Alert: My wife did NOT like these waffles. She doesn’t even like cornmeal muffins. I like them a lot.

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Pumpkin Waffles

It seems like most pumpkins are used for Halloween decoration and then thrown into a dumpster. Think of all the wonderful foods that could be made from fresh pumpkin. It might be much easier to open a can of pumpkin purée, but for me it wouldn’t be as fun.

I rescued this fresh pumpkin that was sitting by the porch, and quickly learned it was over five times as much as I could use today. Maybe I should buy smaller pumpkins?

• 1 Cup mashed pumpkin.
• 1 Cup milk.
• 1/4 Cup olive oil.
• 1 Egg.
• 1+1/2 Cup all-purpose flour.
• 1/2 Cup sugar.
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon.
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
• 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Put about five cups of water into a large pressure cooker pot. Now cut your pumpkin into 6-inch wide chunks, or sections that will be easy to pack into the pot. Scrape off the seeds, and discard. Turn on the heat to high, and pack as many pumpkin sections as will fit in the pot, even if you don’t need it all now. Put the lid on it, to seal tightly, with a stopper.

Remember, raw pumpkin does not store well. So cook a generous portion now, and you will have some on hand next week for cookies, sweet bread, or fritters.

When the lid stopper begins rocking under the steam, set your timer for four minutes. After four minutes, turn off the heat, and allow pressure to decrease naturally.

This photo shows a section or chunk that I used in this recipe. I took it from the pot while still hot, and easily pulled off the skin. After mashing, it’s about 1 Cup of cooked pumpkin.

You will notice that the cooked pumpkin will release water as it cools. Put the skinned chunks of pumpkin into a sieve so the water can drip out. Set aside.

Begin heating your waffle iron. Using a mixing bowl, measure out these ingredients:

Stir vigorously, to disperse the spices. Add one section of soft, cooked, pumpkin. Smash it into the mixture, and stir well.

Spray some non-stick coconut oil on your waffle iron, and add some batter. Spread it out gently with a spatula, so you don’t overload the griddle and get an extra-thick waffle.

Serve with maple syrup and vanilla whipped cream.

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Apple Spiced Waffles

I re-discovered this recipe from my old bachelor cookbook.

• Grated apple ~ about half an apple
• Buckwheat flour ~ 120 ml
• All-purpose flour ~ 120 ml
• Olive oil ~ 60 ml
• Natural cane sugar ~ 30 ml
• Egg ~ 1
• Coconut milk ~ 130 ml
• Rumford baking powder ~ 2.5 ml
• Ground cinnamon ~ 5 ml
• Ground ginger ~ 5 ml
• Ground cloves ~ 2.5 ml
• Ground allspice ~ 2.5 ml
• Salted butter ~ for griddle

Measure out all moist ingredients, into a mixing bowl, then slowly stir-in the sugar, flour, baking soda, and spices.

Peel your apple with a paring knife, then grate about half of it into the mixing bowl. Stir it well, with a wooden spoon. The batter will be thick.

Pre-heat your waffle griddle, on a medium setting. Coat the griddle with salted butter, then spread some of the batter onto it. Do not expect this batter to pour like a traditional waffle batter.

This tastes much like a gingerbread, or applesauce cake.