Rainy Day Baking

It’s been raining here for a good 48 hours, guys, and it has been awesome. The world looks like it’s getting a makeover. Everything is shiny and new. It’s demanding that everyone take a few moments to relax and enjoy the steady stream of drops on the roof. So far, in celebration, I have sprinted outside fully-clothed as soon as the rain started pouring heavily, slept in super late and made vegan banana-nut waffles. “Ain’t no need to go outside.”

Here’s what I used (recipe from Veganomicon, of course):

1 ¾ C soy milk

¼ C water

2 t apple cider vinegar

2 bananas

3 T canola oil

3 T maple syrup

1 t vanilla extract

2 ¼ C flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

¼ t ground nutmeg

1 C walnuts (I used slice almonds because I didn’t have walnuts… still delicious.)

Nonstick cooking spray

Waffle iron

First preheat the waffle iron (and mentally prepare yourself for the mess that is about to ensue). Then combine milk, water and vinegar in a measuring cup and let curdle - it sounds gross, but I promise it's worth it. Then mash up the bananas in a large mixing bowl, mixing in the milk mixture, oil, syrup and vanilla once they're good and smashed. Then add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg using a fork to combine. The book warns not to overmix. Then add the nuts and get ready for some experimentation.

You're supposed to cook the batter according to the iron's directions, which I of course did not have. So trial and error it was. The first scoop seemed way too big because the batter oozed over the sides and onto the counter, but it turned out like this:

Which actually ended up being the prettiest of them all. Hey, as long as it tastes good I'm not a snob for aesthetics. When I used less batter, there was less oozing, but the top half would stick to the top of the iron, resulting in the strangest of crepe-like creations. So messy counter it was.

The biggest problem I ran into was making WAY too many waffles, and I didn't even use all the batter. I was the only one home and after eating one I was sufficiently stuffed. Way to think ahead, Kens. Oh well, I'll keep you guys updated on how they taste after being refrigerated. Should be interesting. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my full belly and continue to sing this song for the rest of the day.

Happy Tuesday!