A few years ago, I read a book called Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, a collection of essays and stories about the crazy meals we make when we're just cooking for ourselves. Cereal, beans and rice, ramen, Oreo cookies, popcorn! Often my dinner alone is whatever snack food I have around--or cheese. While I'm really good about meal prepping my lunches, something about cooking dinner just for myself is unappealing. And when it comes to breakfast, weekdays it's typically a smoothie or cereal but the weekends, I like to take a little more time to myself and usually make eggs (and I don't even really like eggs but it feels lush to spend extra time making breakfast for myself).
Maybe it's because recipes are made for large quantities that it deters us solo diners from putting in the effort. Lunch meal prep typically means eating the same thing for lunch every day of the week, something I don't mind doing but I know some people get bored and want to mix it up. And while Joy the Baker has cracked the Single Lady Pancake, which at one point I could make from memory bleary eyed pre-coffee, I'm a big fan of waffles.
Growing up, my dad would make waffles on Sunday mornings, a tradition we maintain to this day when we are together. So when he came to London a couple years ago for Christmas, a waffle iron went straight into my Amazon cart to carry on this time-honored breakfast tradition (and because it also meant bacon). And since I have the waffle iron, naturally I want to make waffles! But do you realize how many waffles you end up with, even if you halve a recipe?? A lot. You get a lot of waffles.
On the slightly more philosophical side of things, maybe it's not about recipe yield/quantity at all but that we're more open to putting in effort for others than for ourselves. We'll make a cake for a friend's birthday but not for ourselves. We'll host large meals but not make one solo. Put the effort into yourself because no one deserves it more! And not to be a pessimist but if I don't do it, who will? (No one, see note on solo/alone)
So now, I bring you: Waffles for One. Because #treatyourself and #selfcare definitely applies here. Spend that extra time on yourself preparing a delicious breakfast and some fresh coffee (preferably pumpkin spice). Oh and bacon. Which I didn't do here but do on my birthday.
In retrospect, you can also make a normal batch of waffles and freeze the ones you don't eat, to be toasted at a later date. But let's not ruin the magic of single portion waffles with logic...
Recipe Yields 4 waffle squares or one giant waffle and sense of satisfaction
1/2 cup flour
1.5 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon and nutmeg to your liking (optional)
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg
Heat up your waffle iron and lightly grease
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices
In a small bowl, whisk the milk, melted butter and egg until smooth. You can also add vanilla here if you prefer
Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until combined. Some lumps is okay
Pour the batter into the hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown (usually there's an indicator light on the waffle iron)
Smother in syrup, berries and whipped cream. Enjoy with hot coffee or bacon while jamming out to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Party for One" and dancing around the kitchen in your pajamas
This isn't the first time (or likely the last time) there has been a dark age for this blog. When something, anything, starts to feel more like an obligation than a choice: red flag. If something doesn't bring you joy: red flag. If no one notices your blog has been taken down for months until your sister starts her own blog and suddenly everyone remembers you did that thing once too: just lol and move on.
I've posted on resolutions before (see 2018 and 2016 -- guess I skipped out on 2017) and there are mixed opinions about resolutions, especially as we get older. Some people think that it's a good way to set an unachievable goal and sets you up for failure in the first quarter of the year. Others feel if you really want something or to try something new or change a habit, just do it when you think of it rather than waiting for January 1st. But I think New Year's is a chance to look back on your year, how far you've come, who has been there along the way and think about what the next year holds.
Social media can be challenging at the best of times but do you really need it to tell you what your year was like through things like Best Nine (the top Instagram photos solely based on number of likes received) or Facebook video (similar premise, how much interaction you had online)? I'm a hypocrite, I love the Best Nine but I'm also a data person so love the numbers. Regardless, take a minute to see what sticks out about this year: football almost came home! It was a long, hot summer to remember! I can do crow pose in yoga! New countries were explored! The governments of the world went cray!
For 2019, my resolution, in a word: Presence. Remain in the present, in the moment. Check my phone less, ignore the tick to scroll mindlessly through Instagram when someone gets up from the table. Focus less on the future and more on the here and now.
I have a tendency to worry which is really just a kind way to say I get anxious. I've worked hard to get past the 'should' thinking: where I 'should' be in life, what I 'should' be doing based on someone else's expectations but I still [over]think about what my future holds. Am I doing what I need to be doing? (See how I just replaced "should" with "need"? Work in progress). Am I on the right path? (Right path meaning right path for me, not society's appointed path but if it's my path, why do I need to know what it is rather than just be on it?).
That's not to say I don't also have a [short] list of things I'm looking to do in 2019 but they will just add to the adventure, not define it.
