Breakfast, Twice

Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal.  This is perhaps because the experts say it should be your biggest meal of the day, so I feel no guilt loading up on eggs, fruit, and my favorite food group:  carbs.  Yum.  It could also be because I always wake up starving, my stomach immediately growling for a bowl of cereal.  Anyone else here go to bed already thinking about breakfast?  It can’t just be me.

In honor of my favorite meal, I’m here to share two simple forms of homemade fruit + carb deliciousness, neither of which are required to be consumed in the morning.  At my house we affectionately call that “brinner.”  Yep, breakfast for dinner.  And as much as I love breakfast in the morning, brinner really is a beautiful thing.  Don’t you think?

Whole Wheat Waffles

Makes:  about 8 belgian waffles

• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 t. sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 t. vanilla

1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients
2. Add egg yolks to dry ingredients, place egg whites in a small mixing bowl
3. Beat whites until moderately stiff, set aside
4. Stir butter, milk, and vanilla into dry ingredients
5. Fold in egg whites
6. Pour batter into hot waffle iron

While your waffles are cooking, you can make this:

Strawberry-Peach Syrup

Makes:  about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups of sliced fruit (mine was about 1/2 strawberries and 1/2 peaches, but you can use any combination of these or other fruits)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar (depending on the fruit you use and how sweet you want the syrup to be)
• 1 T. brown sugar
• dash cinnamon (optional)
• 1 t. cornstarch (optional)

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine fruit, water, sugars, and cinnamon (if desired)
2. Stir occasionally until fruit softens and mixture is heated through
3. For a thicker syrup, mix cornstarch with a small amount of water and stir into fruit mixture

Note:  This recipe is very easy to adjust to your taste by modifying the type of fruit and the amounts of water, sugar, and cornstarch you use – it nearly always turns out well (I have to say “nearly”, just in case).

Alex loved this homemade syrup and said it was better than maple syrup or fresh (uncooked) fruit.  He even chose it over peanut butter on his waffles, which, if you know him at all, is a pretty big deal.  So, I decided to try it again the next time I was craving a carbohydrate-heavy breakfast, which is where the following recipe came into play.Whole Wheat-Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes:  8 pancakes

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 T. oil

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center of the mixture
2. Combine egg, buttermilk, and oil; pour into flour mixture and stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy)
3. Adjust to desired consistency with additional buttermilk or flour
4. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium heat; cook until golden brown

And to top the pancakes…Cinnamon-Apple Syrup

• 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. cornstarch (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, combine fruit, water, sugars, and cinnamon
2. Stir occasionally until fruit softens and mixture is heated through
3. For a thicker syrup, mix cornstarch with a small amount of water and stir into fruit mixture

Did that recipe sound familiar?  I told you it’s easy to modify!

If you’re feeling fancy, top your waffles or pancakes and syrup with a little powdered sugar or whipped cream to make them pretty.  As for me, I wasn’t feeling very fancy, just hungry.  Speaking of which, I could go for a little second breakfast right now…

P.S.  If you don’t have any buttermilk for the pancakes, don’t worry – I’ll be back soon with a quick fix for that!

P.P.S.  Been dying to know what’s going to happen with our headboard? It looks like the “tufts” have it!  I’ll share the details as soon as I finish breakfast the project.

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