I wanted to make something special today for the Solemnity of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. But what do you traditionally have for the Annunciation? Is there any food associated with it like lamb for Easter?
A little Googling suggested waffles as a traditional Annunciation food because the name for Waffle Day (Våffeldagen) in Swedish sounds similar to Our Lady’s Day (Vårfrudagen). Great, everyone loves waffles! But I made a Lenten promise not to eat anything sweet, even fruit, until Easter. Even though it’s a solemnity, I still don’t want to break my promise because I already broke it and these last two weeks of Lent are a time when I really want to lean into this penance.
So, savory waffles it is! I settled on using the waffles as bread for a sandwich featuring ham, Swiss cheese, and a fried egg with a runny yolk. Optional veggies are tomatoes, mixed greens, and seasoned chopped avocado.
The condiment is sour cream with harvest blend seasoning and salt. I really don’t like buying salad dressings or condiments. They often have high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. There’s no need for that when it’s so easy to make your own better tasting versions.
I used a waffle recipe that is my go to from an old Betty Crocker cookbook I have but I made the following adjustments to the double recipe:
- Instead of white flour, I used one and a half cups of wheat flour, two cups of white flour
- I added 1/2 a cup of ground flax seed
- I added 1/4 a cup of Harvest Blend salt free seasoning
- I didn’t separate the egg yolks and whites because it was okay if the waffles were a bit denser since they were to be used a bread substitutes.
- I used just 3 cups of milk and added 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to help give them chemical lift due to the reaction with the baking powder.
A tip for better waffles and pancakes- don’t be too precious about mixing them. It’s okay if they have little lumps. If you mix them too much they’ll end up tough and flat.
I cooked the waffles on the longest setting so they would be nice and crispy and I kept them warm in the oven at 175oF so they stayed nice and crispy.
The sandwiches turned out really yummy. The egg yolk running when you bit into the egg was a nice touch and kind of acted like a sauce to tie the whole thing together.
I’ll definitely make savory waffles again!
Chicks
In other news, we got chicks today. When I was working so much, we sold all of our adult hens on Facebook Marketplace because Stuart was the only one taking care of them and it’s was too much for him to do alone. I have more time and promised to help with them, so we’re rebuilding the egg laying flock.
I really wanted to get Faverolles from Murray McMurray but by the time I got around to it, they were sold out. Foiled again! Someday I’ll get my act together and order them in time.
I had some errands to run in Rensselaer after Mass this morning so Midi and I stopped by Tractor Supply to see what was on offer. With Stuart’s blessing, we got four Americanas, two Light Brahmas, two Olive Eggers, and two batam chicks of unknown breed. I think one of them might be a white dorking, but time will tell.
They are all happily installed in the chick brooder in the garage.
