Getting ready

Next week, Curtis and I are taking a bit of a vacation ALONE. This is the first time we have spent more than a few hours alone since the kids were born (and by a few hours alone I mean after the kids have gone to bed we watch "Antiques Roadshow" together before I fall asleep) and we are LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!! We are going to NYC for three days (five days total including driving time). I am so totally ready for this vacation mentally, but unfortunately, not so much ready physically - I mean getting the house and all its contents organized and ready for the zillion people who are coming to watch the kids while we are away.

One thing I have managed to check off my "To Do" list is all the baking I wanted to have in the freezer to make things easier for the various babysitters. I have made muffins, banana bread, waffles, pancakes and cookies. That should take care of breakfasts and some snacks.

I LOVE this waffle recipe. Growing up my best friend's family would always have waffles after church on Sundays and I thought (still think) they were the best waffles I ever had. They are so light and crispy - yum. When Curtis and I got married, Marilyn (the mom) gave us a waffle iron and her recipe. I've tried other recipes but this is the BEST and the only one I use now.

(Marilyn wrote on the recipe card "Recipe comes from my 'Betty Crocker's Cook Book' that I won in 1955 as 'Miss Betty Crocker of Tomorrow.'")

Waffles

Heat waffle iron and spray with Pam.

Mix together:

2 eggs

2 cups sour milk

1 tsp soda

2 cups flour (leave cup a little slack)

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp oil

Note: You can sour milk with 2 Tbsp vinegar + milk = 2 cups

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then mix. Marilyn says the batter should be thin but mine never really is. Maybe that's why my waffles are really good but hers are REALLY good.

(Funny note: Once when Kathryn was little Nain made waffles and Kathryn loved them and kept asking for more "awfuls." It cracked my mother up. Kathryn loves this story and asks me to tell it every time I make waffles.)

This is our favorite pancake recipe. I forgot to take pictures of the vast quantities I made, some of which we ate, the rest of which we froze (I always triple or quadruple the recipe so I have some for the freezer.)

Pancakes

(From Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook which Curtis bought for me our first year of marriage and which has served me well.)

1 cup flour (I always use King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour for these and they are so great - not heavy at all)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons cooking oil

(I like to add a few shakes of cinnamon - just a bit - and a tablespoon or two of cornmeal.)

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then mix together.

This muffin recipe is from the Joy of Cooking and it's the one I always try to get my sister Mary to make when we are home visiting my parents. For some reason they always taste best to me when Mary makes them at home.

Blueberry muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together:

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

Beat in a separate bowl:

2 eggs

add to the eggs:

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup milk

Combine the liquid and the dry ingredients with a few swift strokes. Fold in:

1 cup blueberries

(I always sprinkle a little sugar on top, too.)

Fill well greased muffin pans two-thirds full and bake 20-25 minutes.

So, anyway, at least they'll have carbs while we're gone!