2 Skills to Master in Prep for the next Recipe

Quote du Jour
   People always ask me, "What is the best knife?" I say, "a sharp one." 

                                                                                               ~ Jacques Pépin
Be the “sharp knife”

Get Ready to Make Plant-based Waffles

I've had a life-long battle with waffle irons. It seemed like no matter what I'd do, the waffle would stick to the waffle iron...what a disappointment! I solved this by adding lots of butter or oil to the batter to prevent sticking. Waffles became a special weekend tradition.

Then we switched to a plant-based diet! NO butter, NO dairy, how was I going to make waffles that wouldn't stick to the waffle iron? 

Canned cooking sprays work perfectly....but...

The First Skill to Master: Critical Thinking

Take a look at the Nutrition Facts listed on any of the canned cooking sprays. 

Quandary

100% oil. 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol. 

What? 

Now wait a minute (are your finely tuned critical thinking skill-meters going wacky?) All oil is 100% fat, and according to Wikipedia, 1 Tbsp of Canola Oil is 124 calories. How does the manufacturer manage to make 100% fat have zero calories? S.E.R.V.I.N.G  S.I.Z.E.

Serving size...about 1/3 second spray. Okay, how are you going to spray for only 1/3 second...geez, how would you even measure 1/3 second! 

Okay, I can't take credit for noticing this ridiculous "serving size" issue. 

Check out this video.

     Jeff Novick at the Healthy Life Expo, Los Angeles, July 2012

Now that You've Mastered Critical Thinking
Master the Second Skill: Steven's 3-Squirt Method
My son Steven loves pancakes and waffles. Everywhere he has ever traveled, 
he has ordered pancakes or waffles. His recent favorite is a savory Korean pancake...I digress...

He came up with this way to "grease" the waffle iron:

1. Pre-heat the waffle iron
2. 3 quick squirts in a Z pattern. One squirt per "leg" of the Z
3. Do this on both baking surfaces of the waffle iron 

Next Blog: Awesome Plant-based Waffles!

On the road: Driving home from the Lake Tahoe area today, the Aspen Trees are gloriously golden, everywhere! I stopped by the side of the road (actually Hwy 50) on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, just east of the California and Nevada stateline and South Lake Tahoe...and I couldn't believe me eyes! 

*There was my piggy cartwheeling! I took this photo with my cell phone, hence the blurryness, but, if you look real hard, you can see him. And just beyond piggy is

a sliver of the blue blue blue Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe, Toiyabe National Forest, October 24, 2013

*Just kidding...I'm having way too much fun with this!