Back to School Waffles

There was once a time when the first day of school was poignant. A new outfit was chosen, an elaborate lunch was made (perhaps with note tucked into the Tupperware), pencil cases were filled and binders were labelled with the utmost organization. I can remember my past first days of school like a flashbulb memory.

In grade three, I spent the walk to school convincing my dad I was entering grade four. In grade four, I had him believing I was entering grade five. I was elated on my first day of grade 6 to wear my new uniform. And by grade seven, realizing I looked like a broccoli, I was not.

Once you’ve hit university, the first day of classes is more or less anticlimactic. Your parents are no longer waiting, camera in hand, to take a picture of you and your siblings fully equipped with backpacks and nervous smiles. Nevertheless, the first day back feels more like a new year than does January 1^st.  As such, I always try to accomplish certain resolutions: make my bed with hospital corners, wear matching socks, and eat a hearty breakfast. 

A back to school breakfast should be more exciting than cereal, but less time consuming than breakfast flambé a la mode. The preparation should not interfere with hospital-corner making, or matching sock finding time. It should be nutritious with an element of guiltless je-ne-sais-quoi. The final product? — banana-oatmeal waffles with a dash of choco chips!

Banana-Oatmeal Waffles

1.5 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup oats

1 cup flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

cinnamon, nutmeg

1.5 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup milk

½ cup sour cream

2 eggs, separated

2 bananas, finely chopped

¼ cup chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together milk, sour cream, and yolk. Pour wet over dry. Stir in bananas and chocolate chips. Stir in melted butter. Fold in egg whites. 

Recipe note: Although quite tasty, in consistency, these waffles were not the epitome of perfection. They were, for lack of a better word, saggy. They were not soggy (an issue I’ve faced before); but they were not crisp. Solution: after removing from iron, place directly on a cooling rack, then, in a 250 degree oven while making the rest.