TK: Cornmeal Waffles with Strawberry Syrup

Calvin woke me up at 5 am today. He stared at me in the dark until I opened my eyes and then he complained that he was hungry. Now. Backstory: I'm not the kind of mom who wakes up whenever my kids deem it necessary, no matter what time of night it is. I trained them both early on to be good sleepers so, unless they're sick, I don't get up until at least 7:30-8:00 and that's just all there is to it. Say what you will, but it works. Now that you know my tolerance level for interrupted sleep, I sent his ass back to bed, shut the door, and let him throw a little fit until I assume he went back to sleep. I have no idea, I passed back out.

When the baby started squawking around 8:30 I rolled out of bed, in a much better mood, and decided to make a nice, filling breakfast of waffles and homemade strawberry syrup to satisfy Calvin's tummy. I had this recipe marked for a weekend when I had time and, once again, I had all the ingredients for it in the house already. Freaking score.

So, while the kids played nicely in the other room with my salad spinner, I got to work as the best mom ever.

 Strawberry syrup on point

This recipe went well. I have no complaints and it was really nice making my own syrup. I really like the fact that there were only 4 ingredients and it was probably the best syrup I've ever had.

I got 6 waffles out of the batter, instead of the promised 4, but even they went off without a hitch.

Not as fluffy as promised, but I'll get over it someday I'm sure

So we've already determined the syrup was amazing. The waffles tasted about what you would think a cornmeal waffle would taste like. Together, they melded into pure perfection. The waffles carry a muted cornbread-like flavor, and are offset so wonderfully by the sweetness of the strawberries that they compliment each other quite nicely. Andrew and I scarfed this down like rabid wolves while the starving child had two bites and asked for orange juice and Lucky Charms. 

Guess you can't win them all.

There is a waffle under there...somewhere

Strawberry Syrup

1 pound strawberries

2 to 4 tbs. sugar, depending on your taste (I used 3 and it was perfect)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Cut the stems off the strawberries and cut them into small pieces. Throw them into a small saucepan with the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat. Stir every now and then, but let it come to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Once it thickens up a bit, turn off the heat and let it cool.

Waffles

2 cups almond or dairy free milk (I used whole cause it's what I had)

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbs. brown sugar

1 1/2 tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp.cinnamon (I dumped a fair amount in)

2 tbs. olive oil (I swirled some in, but doubt very much that it was 2 tbs. FYI)

Cooking spray

1. Heat up your waffle iron. Mix the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Whisk together your dry ingredients. Make a crater in the center and add the milk mixture and oil. Whisk it all together until combined.

3. Coat the plates of your waffle iron with cooking spray to prevent the waffles from sticking. Pour in the batter and cook until done. Top the waffles with the syrup.