I'm going to Carolina in my mind...

hello!

so, things have been crazy around here (what else is new?)...currently the crazy-inducing things include:

- trying to get back into the groove of cooking at home 

(which we love doing, but haven't really been able to in the midst of this busy season)

- getting ready to head down to NC!!! 

(can you tell I'm excited?)

- encountering a sudden onslaught of eight-legged visitors around the house

(i HATE spiders - why couldn't we be plagued by anything else?  but it's forcing me to be brave, so that's good at least)

- packing, packing, packing...

(I'm the sort of person who wants to start packing for a trip 2-3 weeks in advance - even if it's just a weekend away!  its more of an excitement thing than a planning thing...I usually restrain myself until the week leading up to the trip, because it's just too messy to keep random piles of clothing, carry-on items, etc lying around)

- eating through the entire contents of our fridge ...makes some pretty interesting meals!

(i hate wasting food ... or letting things go bad while we're gone, so we've had to be a bit creative)

- helping my parents prepare a space for a refugee family who's immigrating here

(it's really eye opening and rewarding - makes you so grateful for the blessings in your life)

- meetings, birthday parties, long walks, appointments, bbq's, coffee dates, etc

(must.learn.to.say.no - but i just love being around people...)

- making to-do lists...then making to-do lists about those to-do lists...

(i maintain a love-hate relationship with my lists)

- staying up late watching movies that we've already watched a thousand times

(i know, this is totally ridiculous when there is so much to be done, but it just keeps happening!)

ok, i'll stop there - no need to bore you with any more details  ;)  next time i post, it will probably from a much warmer, vacation-ier, in-law-ier, place...and i'm practically vibrating with excitement!

Whole Wheat Waffles

I used to hate waffles.  But that was before I tried the non-frozen kind.  And before I realized how easy they are to make from scratch.  This is our go-to recipe - its easy, fast and yummy.  Even a non-breakfast-for-dinner-eater like Daniel enjoys them every once in a while, which makes me one very happy lover-of-breakfast-for-dinner.  Try them tonight ...or right now!

Hearty Whole Wheat Waffles 

(slightly adapted from a cooks.com recipe)

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey* (Tupelo, if you can get it, is the BEST)

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups milk (we use 1%)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
*Tupelo has a great texture and doesn't tend to seize up when added to cold liquids...if you can't get your hands on some, another option you could look into is agave syrup - it's runnier so it tends to incorporate into things better than honey.  

- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, honey, milk and olive oil. 

- Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined.

- Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.  

Makes about 4 huge waffles on our waffle iron - enough to stuff the two of us!   

Top with fruit, honey, [natural]PB+[homemade]J, maple syrup, mascarpone/other cheeses -- whatever your waffle-loving heart desires!  Sometimes I just swirl berries & other "toppings" right into the batter just before cooking - sooooo good!  (just make sure they're not items that will melt or burn on your waffle iron)  Oh, and if you've got extra batter kicking around, just throw it in the fridge and use it for breakfast the next morning for a no-effort, but still special breakfast.

July Long

Wow - I've been MIA for quite a while now.  We've been super busy - lots of little things here and there ...it's taken me two weeks just to pull this post together!  We did manage to carve out time to go camping over the long weekend, though.  The trip brought much needed rest and relaxation - we loved every minute of it.

 

Now counting down to camping is behind us, the countdown for our trip down south is in full gear - less than two weeks to go!  I have been looking forward to this one for a while - SO excited to spend time with friends, enjoy warmer weather and see family again!