Often on this blog, I talk about my husband. For starters, he is one of my favorite topics. Second, no matter what I say about him, I know he’ll just roll with it and won’t sue me, what with Washington State being a community property state and all that.

One of the many things in a very long list that I love about Jim is that he isn’t picky about what I make for meals. Where some people have very strong opinions about what they eat, Jim’s feeling has always been “if I don’t have to make it, I don’t care.” In an effort to get his ideas on menu’s, I will often ask his preference, but they rarely yield much input. Those conversations usually go something like this: “Do you care if we have leftovers tonight?” “No, I love leftovers.” “How about spaghetti for dinner?” “Sure, sounds great.” “Would you rather have salmon or chicken enchiladas?” “I don’t care. Whatever is easier for you.” Just to see if he’s really paying attention, sometimes I’ll throw him a curve ball. “How about fried Spam, Top Ramen noodles, Lima beans, and okra with spicy mustard?” “Sounds wonderful!”

Our restaurants have been closed due to the Coronavirus, and we miss our favorite places and the people who work there. Even though our stores have a wide selection of food, I have been treating this isolation period like an episode of Iron Chef, where I’m given a secret ingredient from my pantry to build a menu around. So yesterday, I went into his office to see what he thought of my latest brilliant idea. “How about waffles for dinner?” His eyes perked up like he’d just won three cases of toilet paper from Costco. “Sounds delicious!”

Using my favorite Snoqualmie Falls Lodge pancake and waffle mix (we are in Washington State after all), I made the waffle batter according to package directions. Many of you probably have a favorite waffle recipe, but if you don’t, I would highly recommend the Snoqualmie Falls brand. It make a lovely batter and great tasting waffles. And, by the way, their oatmeal is equally as great, and makes up my breakfast most mornings.

For syrup, it was like a trip from one side of our country (and Canada!) to another with Canadian Maple, Oregon Marion and Blackberry, and Hawaiian Coconut that we brought back from our last trip. As you can see, we like mixing it up with our syrup:) Just to give the meal a little more heft, we had a low fat grilled sausage patty, and for a little integrity, some fresh berries.

When the kids were little, we would periodically have pancakes for dinner, as the morning rush didn’t allow for much more than cereal or yogurt. Other times I would make a scrambled egg, hash brown, sausage, and mushroom frittata-type concoction that was also a favorite. Recently, I have been making a variety of yummy quiche’s, something it turns out real men really do eat. Since it has been just the two of us, waffles have not been on the dinner menu rotation. We might have to change that though, because as it turns out, they are most excellent!

Good tidings,

Diane