but, oh, was it good! We did end up heading out the the berry patch yesterday morning. I wanted to pick some 
simply for eating and sharing. Usually we pick berries and make jam, but with my kitchen under seige by the ants, making jam wasn’t even in the realm of possibility. I’ve also heard that the best berries for making jam are the ones that are picked a little later on in the season anyways, so we’ll likely be picking late next week for jam berries. We picked about a bucketful, and on the 2 mile ride home, all I heard from the backseat was lip-smacking as my two berry pickers helped themselves to as many berries as they could. We stopped and dropped off some for my parents who are heading out on a weekend excursion and will definitely enjoy the berries on their journey. Then we headed for home, where we gathered around the box and simply enjoyed. It took us no time at all to decide that waffles for dinner were an order, and I set about choosing the perfect waffle.
While the chosen waffle was indeed, absolute perfection, it may not have been the ideal dinner candidate. 🙂 Why, we opted to try our hands at making Chocolate Waffles, and by all the stars in heaven, did we succeed. The batter came together quickly- the only trickery involved beating one egg white into stiff peaks, but other than that, it was a fairly straightforward waffle recipe. 3 tablespoons of cocoa were added to give it chocolate flavor, and I daresay, I was mighty impatient waiting for that light to blink off on the waffle iron. I was disappointed at first. The waffles were very floppy hot out of the iron, but since I was cooking bacon in the 350ºF oven, I tossed the waffles in the oven for five minutes to crisp up. They crisped up perfectly after that- and before long I was snapping off a piece to sample. Flavor-wise it was perfect. It wasn’t a sweet waffle, but the chocolate flavor came through loud and clear. We topped them with some strawberries that had mascerated in some vanilla sugar and, of course, some real whipped cream. Clearly, this was not a balanced dinner by any stretch of the imagination. However, as a once-a-year treat, this could hardly be surpassed.
Chocolate Waffles
Serves 4
Place the egg white in a small mixing bowl and beat to stiff peaks with a hand mixer- this should take about 3 minutes or so. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the egg yolk, buttermilk, and oil. Mix well.
In another separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix well, sifting if necessary to remove lumps. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine.
Add the beaten egg whites to the bowl and gently fold into the batter until combined.
Cook in a standard waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions. If necessary, place the waffles in a preheated 350ºF oven for a few minutes to crisp up.
Make 4 16-inch waffles.
We always had strawberry-inspired less than healthy dinners also. My mom would make homemade shortcake (biscuit like, very different from some of the sweeter ones you see) and serve it with strawberries and bacon.
Good times. Your waffle recipe looks good. 🙂
Waffles, shortcake- they’re pretty similar nutritionally I suspect.
It’s the bacon that makes it a meal anyways- right? 😉