By now, I should think you know that waffles are one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods. The same way some people are obsessed with pancakes, I am obsessed with a big, fluffy Belgian style waffle. Or any kind of waffle, to be perfectly honest. Frozen supermarket waffles, while definitely nowhere near as good as homemade waffles, are a simple food that I find completely comforting and delicious. I have many delicious memories revolving around frozen waffle breakfasts from when I was little. Frozen Eggo waffles and Aunt Jemima syrup were the norm, and my go-to option. I loved my waffles in every way, shape, and form, whether they were covered in fruit jam or syrup. As long as every square had topping in it, I was good to go. My idea of the perfect waffle may have changed drastically from when I was in middle school, but nevertheless, I will admit that I get a craving for a frozen waffle with fake syrup every now and then, a craving that a homemade waffle just can't satisfy, regardless of how good it is. Sometimes, it's that bit of nostalgia that is the answer to our cravings, or at least that's how I feel. During my senior year of college, I bought a box of frozen waffles for the first time in several years. I heated them up, drizzled some syrup over the tops, and was instantly satisfied. It was such a perfect breakfast!
Once my frozen waffle craving had been satisfied, I was back on the homemade waffle game. The frozen waffles were good, but they reminded me of how much I really enjoy their homemade counterparts. Since then, I've shared with you recipes for Spiced Brown Butter Waffles and Chocolate Waffles, and I've thought that both of those recipes produced some mighty good waffles. There's so many different waffle variations that I would like to try, and since I'm sure that I would love each and every one, I know that I have my work cut out for me. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it, right? Might as well be me.
There are certain things about being home that I love, and don't love. There's mostly good things, I promise though. I love being able to cook in a fully equipped and fully stocked kitchen, I love being home for delicious home-cooked meals, driving my dad insane with my sister, and getting to take a break from the hustle and bustle of school and Manhattan (although after a couple of days, I do start to miss it pretty terribly...). Being at home is great, but it does come with its downsides.
Number 1- I never get any school work done, because baking, taking photos, and editing photos is time consuming, and just plain more interesting.
Number 2- My eating schedule gets a little wonky. You see, I like to wake up early and get my baking started literally the second I get up. I can't be wasting precious moments of daylight, inspiration, and creativity on making myself an omelette (although it probably wouldn't hurt if I took ten minutes aside to make myself some breakfast), and then there's the inevitable necessity of sampling of my less-than-healthy (but delicious and hard to resist) food....
Number 3- I get lazy about working out, which is a problem. I love working out, and at school, I have no problem with fitting in 5-6 good workouts a week, but when I come home...that's a whole other story. I just have a hard time getting myself to exercise on my own when I'm home for some inexplicable reason that is completely beyond me....ugh.
I never learned to eat white bread when I was growing up. My mom only bought whole wheat breads for our lunchbox sandwiches when my sister and I were in school, and I grew to just love the flavor of whole wheat. As a matter of fact, the only time I remember having regular sliced white bread was at my aunt's house in Colombia. She always bought Bimbo brand bread, and while I loved it, I wasn't sure what I loved more, the white bread or the the cute little white bear on the packaging! Regardless, to this day, whole wheat and multigrain breads are my breads of choice, whether it's for making a sandwich or to enjoy for breakfast with a little salted butter and fruit preserves. Hearty whole grain breads are so satisfying and filling, not to mention delicious!
I'm still kind of new at baking with yeast. There's a couple things that I'm pretty comfortable with making, like pretzels and cinnamon rolls, but I've always found baking bread to be a little more challenging for some reason. I can't exactly explain why, but bread is something that intimidates me just a bit. This year, I definitely want to challenge myself some more, and really learn to work with yeast and explore bread making further. I think it'll be fun, and bread is the one thing I know I can make in abundance that won't go to waste in my house. I usually have to think twice before I decide to make a batch of cupcakes or cookies, because I need to figure out if I can actually distribute them to people so that they all get eaten and won't go to waste, but I don't think that I will ever have that problem with bread. My dad is a fiend for bread, and loves trying all new kinds of breads. He would happily eat bread and coffee or hot chocolate for every meal, so at least I can know that if I decide to experiment with baking bread, it'll definitely be appreciated and eaten!
