Waffling

I almost missed it! This is National Waffle Week, and I nearly let the week slip by without a waffle. Can't let that happen, so just in time, here is a recipe from one of my cookbooks for a cornmeal waffle. The recipe comes from The Great Ranch Cookbook. From Vista Verde Guest Ranch near Steamboat, CO, these waffles were served as a brunch dish, with smoked salmon and white cheddar cheese. But I like them with maple syrup and fresh blueberries, for a sweet version. Don't let Waffle Week pass you by!

Cornmeal Waffles
(makes 8 waffles)

1-1/2 cups cornmeal
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups low fat buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
Maple syrup and fresh blueberries for garnish

Combine first 6 ingredients (cornmeal through baking soda) in a large bowl and stir. Beat eggs and buttermilk together in a separate bowl. Pour egg mixture over cornmeal mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened, and then stir in melted butter just until blended. Do not over mix. Heat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer's directions. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter over hot iron and cook until crisp. Serve with maple syrup and fresh blueberries.

Smooth Operator

Do you know how many smoothie cookbooks are floating around? I found more than 20 on Amazon alone. I only have one smoothie book (I can feel a trip to the bookstore coming on....) by those Corpening twins who owned a catering company called Thymes Two in San Francisco and went on to pen a dozen books or so.

There is even a low-carb smoothie book; which seems counter productive to me. Most smoothies are made with fruit and most fruits are loaded with carbs. I'm really sick of the whole low-carb thing anyway. I mean, cutting out white sugar and white flour is a noble thing to do, but cutting out all carbs is ridiculous. Our bodies need a healthy does of carbohydrates to function. You wouldn't run your car without gas, so why would you run your body without fuel? But I digress.... this post is about smoothies.

The temperature forecast for today is 112. It's already 97 and it's only 9 a.m. And I'm battling a cold, so this morning, I made a smoothie for breakfast. Again, I didn't specifically measure the ingredients (I just started blending and when it looked the right consistency and tasted like heaven, I stopped). It tasted so good, in fact, that I wanted to share it with you. Here goes...

Grapefruit-Orange-Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup grapefruit juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup half & half
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 ripe, frozen banana

Place all the ingredients (in order, starting with the juices) in a blender and puree until smooth, adding more juice or half & half if too thick.

[NOTE: keeping peeled, sliced ripe bananas in the freezer, along with a good supply of other frozen fruits makes for the best smoothies because then you don't need ice, which just dilutes the smoothies in my opinion.]