A w/paffle weekend

Mom has a new favorite restaurant. I read in the C-ville Weekly about Iron Paffles & Coffee when it opened in 2017 ("Introducing Paffles to Charlottesville"), but we hadn't made it there yet. Then on Friday I read a piece in the latest issue of Edible Blue Ridge magazine picking their favorite food items from around town, which included the Grown Up PBJ (coconut whipped almond butter topped with house-made açaí chia seed jelly) from Iron. That sounded so good I dragged Mom there Saturday morning to try some. Paffles are just puff pastry baked on a waffle iron. They also have gluten-free and vegan waffles, so Mom was game. And she was glad she went! Mom had the Choriz (chorizo, sweet potato jalapeño hash, power slaw, queso fresco) and gave it her highest rating.

Choriz on a gluten-free waffle

Mom liked it so much she was about two bites in when she started going on about how she was going to Iron after hot yoga (it's right next door to her studio), even when she pukes, on her way home from the County office building, etc. Since Mom was so gung-ho, I figured I better pick out a savory paffle for her to bring me when she orders takeout (the Grown Up PBJ is a dessert paffle), so we went back on Sunday for lunch. Mom got the same thing, of course, since that's her modus operandi. I got Chicken and Paffle with local, organic fried chicken breast, mac 'n' cheese, caramelized onions, spring mix, and sriracha mayo. I know that sounds pretty gross, but it totally worked together.

Chicken and Paffle with lots of yummy stuff

Mom also got a Cannoli dessert waffle (cannoli cream with chocolate chips and caramel sauce), which she shared with me. It's better than it looks, but not as good as the Grown Up PBJ.

Cannoli gluten-free dessert waffle

They've also got hot chocolate made with real chocolate, as well as Nutella hot chocolate and many other interesting looking things.

I expect Brad and Cass will both be making trips to Iron with us during their respective spring breaks. 

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But the w/paffle fun didn't end with Iron. I was inspired to try a new recipe for whole grain waffles from Power Plates, Gena Hamshaw's 2018 vegan cookbook. I usually make a recipe as written the first time I try it, but there were some vegan necessitated things I could obviously change the first time around, including using: a real egg instead of a flax egg; buttermilk instead of nondairy milk mixed with vinegar; and butter instead of oil (for better flavor). The waffles were good but still needed a few tweaks. I did some research in the The New Best Recipe (2004),[1] which confirmed my suspicion that I should add a second egg and swap out the 2 teaspoons of baking powder in the original recipe for half a teaspoon of baking soda to react with the acidic buttermilk and improve both the rise and the texture. So I made them again tonight, along with the banana topping, and they were a big hit, our new favorite waffles.

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[1] I've recommended The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (2011) as one of the nine cookbooks in my pantheon, just because it has so many recipes compared to the earlier The Best Recipe (1999) and The New Best Recipe (2004). But they made room for more recipes in the newer book by cutting out all of the explanatory articles that preceded each recipe in the older books. Those articles are packed with useful information, so hang on to the older books even if you have the newer one. Here are some of the nuggets of wisdom from the waffle article, for example: buttermilk + baking soda creates a thicker batter and a better texture, so "buttermilk waffles will always taste better" than waffles made with sweet milk + baking powder, which does not have enough time to lift the batter in the few minutes it takes to cook a waffle; waffles prepared with buttermilk + baking powder are "inedible"; and adding just a little bit of cornmeal to the batter adds "extra crackle" and a "pleasant crunch" to the waffles.

Whole Grain Waffles

Adapted from Power Plates (2018) by Gena Hamshaw

Time from start to finish: 16 minutes till the first waffle hits the plate, 28 minutes till the fifth

Dry ingredients
210 grams (1¾ cups) whole grain spelt flour, white whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
50 grams (½ cup) oat bran
37 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
15 grams (2 tablespoons) cornmeal, optional
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Wet ingredients
363 grams (1½ cups) buttermilk, more if needed
2 large eggs (~57 grams each in the shell)
3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Maple syrup and/or Banana Topping, for serving

    1. Preheat your waffle iron. 
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Dump the dry ingredients into the large bowl, and stir gently with a silicone spatula until nearly combined. Add the melted butter, and gently fold everything together just until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. The batter will be thick, not pourable.
    3. Using a measuring cup, scoop batter onto the preheated iron (you will need about ¾ cup of batter if you have a 7-inch Belgian waffle iron). Following the manufacturer’s instructions, cook until the waffle is golden brown and delicious, about 2:30 on our Cuisinart waffle iron set halfway between settings 3 and 4. Serve immediately, as each waffle comes off the iron, with maple syrup and/or Banana Topping. Makes five 7-inch Belgian waffles, serving 2.

Banana Topping for Waffles and Pancakes

Time from start to finish: 10 minutes

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
2 ripe but firm bananas, peeled and sliced into 1-centimeter-thick coins
40 grams (2 tablespoons) maple syrup
pinch of salt

Melt the butter in an 8- to 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in the bananas, maple syrup, and salt. Cook until the bananas are softened but not mushy, and the sauce is a little thickened and syrupy, about 3 minutes.