Weekend Waffle Making

This was my Sunday morning project.  I had decided I wanted waffles (mostly because most recipes make at least 12 waffles, and that means easy leftovers for the rest of the week), but wasn't sure what recipe I wanted to use.  I had Biscquick, so I could have gone that route, but I wanted them to be home made.  I turned to my trusty laptop, and her database of thousands of recipes I squirrel away, but never use.  After doing a quick finder search for "waffles," I came up with this recipe...

Classic Waffles:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons white sugar

2 eggs 1 1/2 cups warm milk 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.
2.	In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.
3.	Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately. How did they come out?  Meh.  They were waffles.  Which brings me to something I've been thinking a lot about lately.  As we get older, our tastes change.  Some things, like dunking everything in ketchup or ranch dressing, we grow out of by our teenaged years.  But somethings are more subtle.  For instance..... I have always been a bread person.  But as I creep into middle age, I now want the bread to be a platform for other things.  Well- except for hot, fresh bread, straight from the oven.  That I'll take with a slathering of slightly salted butter and nothing else.  But most other breads I use as the base for other, tastier ingredients.   I think waffles are headed down that path for me- maybe even pancakes.  But you know whose fault that is?  CREPES.  Ever since I rediscovered crepes, I have been thinking of filling combinations.  And that, I think, is the genesis for my theory about filling pancakes.  I love simple, home made, buttermilk pancakes.  And really, they are nothing more than thicker crepes.  Why couldn't I fill them with savory or sweet things?   But back to my waffles.  I have them individually wrapped and waiting in the ice box for whatever lovely combinations I come up with for breakfasts this week.  I'm thinking open faced ham and gruyere melts one morning.  Or maybe a shallot, wilted spinach, sun-dried tomato, feta combo.  Sliced strawberries and nutella?  Canadian bacon and scrambled eggs with cheddar?  BLT?  THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS I TELL YOU! Wow- I'm hungry.  Maybe I'll have one for lunch.....