When my husband and I married, our friends Chris and Melanie gave us a waffle iron as a wedding gift. Waffle irons, along with toasters, are often the butt of wedding jokes, but for us, this was a perfect gift. We adore waffles and make them nearly every weekend.

At first we struggled to find the right recipe. Sometimes the waffles would come out wet and eggy; other times they were as crisp and dry as fall leaves. We even gave boxed mixes a try with disappointing results. Finally, we found the perfect waffle recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. He gives two recipes: one for raised, which include a bit of yeast, and a quick version without yeast. My husband and son prefer the taste of the quick version, and since I’m the one whipping these up in our cold, early morning kitchen, so do I. The trick is the folding in of two whipped egg whites, which give the waffles their airy constitution. Sometimes I get lazy and don’t bother whipping the egg whites, and you know what? They’re just as tasty, although not quite as light. These waffles freeze beautifully, too, making it easy to have a waffle breakfast during the week.

Quick Waffles
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
Yield: 12 waffles

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk (sometimes I substitute buttermilk)
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
4 T butter melted or 1/4 cup oil
1 t vanilla extract

In a large bowl, preferably one with a pouring lip, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.

In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla together. Stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined; do not overmix. It’s okay to see little clumps of flour at this point.

Whip the two egg whites until stiff. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the waffles to lighten them up. Then fold in the remaining whites. Cook the waffles according to your waffle iron’s directions.

I was horrified when I learned the Verrill’s farmstand burned down last weekend. Today, this was forwarded to me from the Massachusetts Farm and Market Report. Normally I don’t blog press releases, but I’m making an exception:

A Note From Steve Verrill of Verrill Farm, Concord:

We want to thank everyone in this community and beyond for the over whelming support after our devastating fire at the farm stand on last Saturday, September 20. Fortunately, the fields were untouched. We are harvesting our crops daily and will be selling corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, mums and more from our wagon and tents along Wheeler Road from 9 am - 6 pm every day. In addition, a temporary building has been put up here. Although the selection will be smaller than at the farm stand, you will find familiar items including our own baked goods, produce and other items. Many of you have asked how you can help. One important way is to shop at our temporary stand which supports both the farm and our employees. And, for those of you who would like to contribute to the rebuilding of the stand, we have set up a special account, the Verrill Farm stand Fund, at the Middlesex Savings Bank, 1208 Main Street, West Concord, MA 01742,  Steve Verrill.

Opportunities to Support Verrill Farm:    http://www.verrillfarm.com/fundraising.html
Fund Raising Events

Thanks to all of you who are planning benefits for the Verrill Farm stand Fund. Events will be posted here as we learn about them. We appreciate your thoughtful support.

Saturday, October 4
Acton Oktobertfest
The Acton Farmers Market group is setting up a raffle at the Oktoberfest. Proceeds will go to the Farm stand Fund.

Sunday, October 5th from noon - 3pm
The Old Manse on Monument Street
Farmers Market: A cooperative effort of over a dozen local farms. Proceeds will be donated to the Farm stand Fund.

Sunday, October 19, 2 - 5 pm
Main Street Market & Cafe
Musical group Two for the Show, which regularly performs at Verrill Farm events, is arranging a benefit of musicians. Proceeds will go to the Farm stand Fund.

Loweco Polar Fleece Clothing
Betsy Lowe of Loweco will donate some of the proceeds from her December Barn Boutique Show to the Farm stand Fund.

Verrill Farm is operated as a partnership between Stephen and Joan Verrill and daughter Jennifer Verrill Faddoul. Our farm consists of about 200 acres in Concord and Sudbury. One hundred acres are prime farmland and 100 acres are wildlife habitats, woodlands, and wetlands. Steve’s father and mother moved to Concord in 1918 and started a successful dairy business. In 1957, upon graduation from Cornell University, Steve assumed operation of the farm. In 1982, after years of planning and negotiations, about 200 acres were placed under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction, thus preventing development of this land. This long term commitment gave sharper focus to our agricultural enterprises.

In 1990, the dairy herd was sold and plans began to replace the existing tent retail space with a new farm stand, which was built in 1995. Our location at 11 Wheeler Rd. in Concord now includes retail space for produce, specialty foods and gifts, and a large kitchen/bakery providing high quality baked goods, entrees, homemade soups, and salads.

***

So if there was ever a reason to go out of my way to shop at Verrill’s, this is it. They’ll be seeing more of me this fall.

I’m not a big reader of essays, but earlier this year I was pointed to an essay at the Washington Post written by Lori Hall Steele, a freelance writer I know from Freelance Success. By the end of her essay, my heart felt as if it were going to break in two. Go ahead. Read it. I’ll be curious what you think. And don’t read any more of my post until you go read it.

Ok now. Here’s the deal. A few months ago, I was stunned to learn that Lori had been diagnosed with a particularly brutal case of Lyme Disease. She couldn’t work, and when you don’t work as a freelancer, you don’t get money and you can’t pay bills. Her friends in Michigan held a benefit for her. I thought things might get better, but recently I found out they were only getting worse. Her doctors were now leaning toward a diagnosis of ALS, or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative illness.

Lori’s financial resources are exhausted. She’s gotten funding from ASJA (the American Society of Journalists and Authors) and just got another emergency grant from them, but it’s not enough. (You can read more detail about Lori’s plight here.) She’s days away from losing her home. At this point, Lori not only can’t work, she’s bedridden and using a ventilator to breathe.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out a way to raise more money so that Lori doesn’t have to worry about losing her home, not when she’s fighting for her life. My suggestion was a blog-a-thon, which I’m starting here. Below is a PayPal button where you can donate directly to Lori. Please please please click on it and give generously. (There’s also a button on the blog started by Lori’s friends in Michigan.) If you blog, consider adding this button to your site and blogging a bit about Lori … let’s spread the word and see what we can do for her and her son. Right after I post this, I’m going to write to every writing blogger I can think of. I know that the power of virtual communities can do good things. My heart breaks thinking about Lori’s words in her Washington Post piece:

“I tell him I’ll always be here for him, one way or another. Always always always. Just like my mother is here for me. Just like I was there when he was 3. It is an impossible promise, a gamble with his trust. I secretly pray I don’t let him down, not on this.”

Please, give what you can spare. $25 is a week’s worth of fancy coffee drinks for some of us. I know times are tight — they are around here — but they’re nowhere near as bad as they are for other folks.

[db]

Earlier this summer my husband and I drove into Cambridge on a Saturday afternoon to catch a film. Afterwards, we were vaguely hungry, but not knowing for what, we prowled the neighborhood. We found ourselves in Inman Square at East Coast Grill, where we were told there’d be a half-hour wait. No thanks. So we stepped out onto Cambridge Street and there was Christina’s and suddenly I had to have an ice cream. My husband wasn’t too hungry, so he said to go ahead (he doesn’t eat ice cream … yeah, can you believe it?) and he’d wait to get something at home.

I got a small dish of mango ice cream. It was perfect. Creamy, a pale chiffony yellow, and the right balance of sweet and tropical. In the late afternoon heat, we wandered down Cambridge Street past the Brazilian churrascarias and Portuguese social clubs, then turned toward MIT and Kendall Square when I was done scraping out my bowl. “I have to make mango ice cream when I get home,” I said. My husband smiled. He’s heard this all before.

It took me a couple months, but here it is. Not quite like Christina’s, but damn good — even if only got around to it after the summer weather turned.

Mango Ice Cream
Yield: 1 quart

The flavor of mango here is subtle, tantalizing — your guests may even find it difficult to place the flavor. If you’re looking for more mango flavor, try a mango sorbet. Here, because of the cream and vanilla, you just get a whisper of the tropical fruit. Of course you can use fresh fruit — it’s just that good frozen mango is easier for me to source.

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 whole vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
16-oz. frozen mango cubes, slightly thawed
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 egg yolks

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk, cream, and sugar until just about to boil. This will take about 5 or 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add scraped-out vanilla pods and seeds. Let sit for 10 minutes to steep.

In a heavy-duty blender or food processor, puree the slightly thawed mango until perfectly smooth. Stir in the lemon juice and set fruit aside.

In a small bowl, stir the egg yolks together. Then take about a cup of the hot milk/cream and stir it into the eggs quickly. This tempers them so that when you add the yolks to the cream/milk on the stove, they don’t curdle. Ok, now slowly stir the tempered eggs into the hot cream mixture.

Turn the heat under the saucepan to medium and stir the mixture until it starts to coat the back of your spoon (or spatula). Do not stop stirring, or else you chance your ice cream base turning into scrambled mango-flavored eggs. If you’re unsure of what the base should look like on your spoon, attach a digital thermometer to the side of the pan, and stir/cook until the mixture hits 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Stir in the mango mixture.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over a clean bowl and pour the base into the strainer. This will get rid of any stray bits of cooked egg or mango fiber. Pick out the vanilla pod from the strainer and when cool enough to handle, rinse and set aside to dry. Stick the used pod in some sugar to make vanilla sugar; or cut it up and add it to a bottle of vanilla.

If you’re meticulous about food safety, chill the ice cream base in an ice bath. I’m not religious about this, so what I usually do is cover the surface of the ice cream base with plastic wrap and stick the bowl in the bottom half of the fridge overnight. I haven’t lost anyone yet, knock wood.

Process the mixture according to your ice cream maker’s directions.

We took the class at Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, just south of my in-law’s home. Sylvia Casares is in her 50s, although she looks more like 40. Hailing from Brownsville, Texas, down on the U.S./Mexico border, Casares learned to cook from her mother and grandmother.

I was curious to learn the difference between Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. As I suspected, I’m more of a fan of Mexican food than I am of Tex-Mex, after I learned Tex-Mex includes more beef, flour tortillas, and yellow cheese. (Mexican food is generally more pork, corn tortillas, and white cheese.)

Casares made a half-dozen breakfast recipes for our group: atole, which is like Cream-of-Wheat made with corn flour and flavored with cinnamon (yum!); flour and corn tortillas; gorditas, which were absolutely delicious on their own, but are typically filled with beans; salsa ranchera; quick refried beans; a tomatillo-based salsa; and migas con huevo. At the end of the demonstration, students could practice their tortilla-making. I’d not planned on doing this, but when I could see students eating their practice tortillas, I went for it. Afterwards we were served a delicious lunch that included some of the dishes “we” created, along with some potent margaritas. (I had to take a nap when I came home — I can’t hold my tequila like I used to!)

Here I am, rolling out a flour tortilla.

It was a fun afternoon, and it rekindled my interest in cooking more Mexican dishes. I’ve been reading Discover Your Inner Economist, and one of the things I agreed with is that one should learn to cook a cuisine that’s not readily available in one’s neighborhood. His example is LA — it would be best to learn to cook German or Scandinavian cuisine if you lived there, since great Asian and Mexican foods are readily available. Thus in Boston, learning to cook fabulous Mexican food is a good investment of my time. Hey, I’m game!

Tonight I served up a humble meal. We had a pound of grass-fed beef in the fridge, which I mixed up with a pre-made seasoning mix for tacos (my 6-year-old’s favorite meal). These were served with shredded lettuce (from CSA), chopped beefsteak tomatoes (ditto), and shredded Mexican-style cheese (Trader Joe’s — cheese needs to disappear by Wednesday!). I boiled up four ears of corn (today’s CSA basket), and sliced up chilled watermelon and Asian melon, both from last week’s basket.

It was a simple meal, but delicious. The melons were sweet and juicy, the corn flavorful, and the tacos, well, what can I say, were beautiful because I didn’t have to slave over a hot stove for too long.

Sorry I haven’t posted much — I got another case of nasty strep, my third infection this year, and am only recently starting to feel back to my energetic self. My mother-in-law has some food-related sites mapped out for us while we’re in Texas, so I plan to blog during our trip.

One important point Gomes alludes to in his essay but doesn’t spell out is why ingredient weights deserve, well, more weight in the kitchen. It’s this: a cup (or a tablespoon or a “pinch”) isn’t always a cup, a tablespoon, or a “pinch.” It’s why your cereal box includes the message, “Sold by weight, not volume” or warns “Settling may occur.” A recipe tester’s measuring cup might be slightly bigger than the measuring cup you inherited from your Aunt Matilda. Or the cookbook author may have baked in his dry New Mexico kitchen and you’re baking his bread in your humid Houston home. Humidity can definitely affect volume measurements of ingredient like flour and sugar (as well it does weight, but still, weighing gives you a better chance at accuracy).

So, long story short — you’ll get the best result from a recipe when you know the precise weights the recipe developer/cookbook used. (And always be wary of recipes that specify a “pinch,” especially when it comes to cayenne pepper — one cook’s pinch is another cook’s pain in the ass!!)

I’ve never seen eel on a U.S. menu, except in sushi restaurants. Eels seems to be more popular in Europe, where I occasionally see it on menus. Next time I’m in Europe, I want to try two new-to-me eel dishes: jellied eel when I visit London (which won’t do much to quell the slime factor) and deep-fried elvers, or baby eels, a Basque specialty.

Until then, you’ll have to look for your eel recipes somewhere else on the web — or order this book from Jessica!

Yesterday I picked up a quart of organic blueberries grown about a mile away. It’s a self-serve/honor system place. You drive up to the stand, where boxes of berries are on display, pick the one you want and leave your $7 in a metal box. Next time I’m there, I’ll take a picture. Some people are amazed places like this exist. They’re all over New England. What about your neighborhood?

As I mentioned, this recipe come from the Times. I haven’t made any changes to the recipe, so you’ll have to go there to look at it. If you start making the crust very early in the a.m., you can have a chilled slice of pie for dessert; otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the next morning for your slice. (And yes, we eat pie around here for breakfast. Sometimes for lunch and dinner, too. Don’t you?)

ETA: The pie contains raw egg whites. Since we get our eggs, fresh, from local farms, I’m totally comfortable eating raw egg whites. I’d be more cautious with battery chicken eggs. And you’ll notice the crappy crust on this pie — it was so hot yesterday that the crust kept melting under my fingers. No worries — it might look messy, but it sure is good.

I noticed this recipe on the Boston Globe’s “Dishing” blog last year. I could tell it was going to taste great, what with the coconut and Indian spicing, although I think their version doesn’t include the cayenne. The zucchini is my twist. It’s a good way to slip more veggies into my family’s diet.

You can used canned beans for this; I happen to cook dry beans in bulk with my pressure cooker and freeze them in small containers. Also, I’ve used small white northern beans and kidney beans in this recipe, but earthy black-eyed peas taste best, IMO.

Curried Black-Eyed Peas
Adapted from The Boston Globe

2 tsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. black mustard seeds
12 fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. whole cumin seed
1 tsp. ground coriander seed
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 shallot, chopped finely
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (sometimes I use fresh tomatoes and eyeball the amount, maybe a cup and a half)
1 small zucchini, diced into 1/4″ cubes
1 cup reduced fat coconut milk
1 cup cooked black eyed peas
Salt, to taste

1. In a medium saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add mustard seeds; when they finish popping, about 30 seconds, add curry leaves. They, too, will pop and sizzle. Immediately reduce heat to medium; stir in turmeric, cumin seed, coriander, and cayenne pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add shallot, stir into spice mixture, and cook for about two minutes until softened. Stir in ginger and cook for another minute.

2. Add tomatoes and zucchini and cook until softened and the tomatoes begin to lose their moisture, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and cook for another five minutes or until sauce has thickened a bit. Stir in black-eyed peas and warm through. Add salt to taste. Serve curry with cooked rice, preferably basmati.