brunch

Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there! I am spending the day with my mom in NJ, so my friend Raija is stepping in for the day to share her uncle’s famous waffle recipe. Since these waffles are a new Cape Cod tradition for us, I thought it was appropriate timing to share her secrets. . .

Some of my happiest childhood memories involve vacations with my family.  I have lots of older cousins, and we would all vacation together, my uncle, aunt, cousins, mom, and grandma.   Vacation involved the ocean, a house overflowing with kids, and certain special foods cooked by my uncle. 

His seafood chowder is to die for, and he makes a mean meatball, but his waffles hold a special place in my heart.  Today, I vacation every summer with my college friends and have re-started the waffle tradition at the beach.  My uncle gave me his recipe, and my friends enjoy his…let’s say enthusiasm, for making a perfect, light, delicious waffle. 

The following recipe makes about 6 full waffles (using an average size waffle maker). 

1. Gently melt (not on high heat) 5 tablespoons of butter. 

2. Put 2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3 level teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt into a bowl and mix together.

3. Separate two large eggs or 3 smaller ones.  With an electric mixer (or whisk if you are an expert egg white whisker), beat the egg whites until they form small peaks when you pull out the beater.

4. Mix well the melted butter, and the 1 3/4 cups milk.  Then add the two eggs yolks.  (Doing this in this order avoids the possibility of scrambling the egg yolks if the butter is still too warm.  If the butter starts to re-solidify in the milk as you are stirring, don’t panic…its going to all end up o.k., as long as the eggs aren’t scrambled.)  Next, immediately…

5  Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients, but slowly and not aggressively leaving a few lumps to ensure you did not over-mix. If the batter is over-mixed and smooth, the waffles will be tough.

6. Gently FOLD the beaten egg whites into the mix. The whole thing will not look uniform and each batch you put into the waffle iron will have a slightly different look and configuration but that’s the beauty of it. Relax, they will be awesome. 

To top the waffles, use REAL maple syrup only (come on and support a local and delicious industry!).  The best way to serve syrup with this is to melt some butter in with the maple syrup over low heat as you make the waffles.
My friends like to top the waffles with Nutella, strawberries, or whipped cream – or all three.  I love continuing this tradition, and making new beach vacation meal memories with my friends.  I hope you enjoy them too!

Thanks for sharing, Rai!

I would love to post some of YOUR favorite summer traditions. Is it a vacation, a recipe, or  a special event? Email me at traveleatlove @ gmail.com!