what i was looking for

Our local grocery store was bought by a larger chain last year and recently changes have been happening. New store brands and products have been appearing on the shelves and other products that have graced our cupboard for years have disappeared. And at the cheerily empty question during the checkout I've taken to voice what I am missing from my search. These buns, this tea, etc. Upsetting to me but in the grand scheme of things, a mere blip. Well sometimes, when it was something my boy would eat and now I can no longer find, slightly more aggravating. But still. Recently what disappeared was a cheese thing - spreadable old cheddar to be precise which I had discovered and was my new breakfast go to in my new not working full-time outside the home life. I had it for a few weeks and then it was gone. I asked around the store and no-one knew what I was talking about and no one really cared. Frustrating. Annoying. But going back to peanut butter bagel was not going to cut it because it represents my past life and not my new one. Silly but there it is. So this week I gave it one last try. I looked in two stores and asked and it was not to be found. So I made one myself. And it was so simple. And it makes me so happy. Silly again.

Spreadable Cheddar
1 small block aged cheddar, grated
1 block cream cheese
milk to thin

Add the grated cheddar and cream cheese together in a food processor and pulse until blended, adding dribbles of milk as required to achieve a spreadable consistency (I used about 2 tbsp). Scoop into a container and keep in the fridge. Spread on crackers, bagels, or veggies and enjoy.

buttermilk waffles

For once it felt like I had a bit of breathing space this morning. September seems to have whizzed by in a flurry of forms, special events, meetings and stuff - new practises, therapy appointments, etc. I added running to the mix for me and this year, soccer for the boy means practise once a week as well as games so it's been a bit to settle into. Soccer was cancelled for the weekend, due to our holiday Monday, so after a brief spell of knitting and tea in the quiet morning (as the men were sleeping in), I took it into my head to make waffles.

Now, I've never really been a waffle fan. I've preferred pancakes to waffles and if given the choice I would always go with eggs rather than either pancakes or waffles. It is entirely down to Tara at tea and cookies that I even have a waffle iron, as she has been posting the most delicious and delectable waffle recipes all year until I finally broke down and bought one a few weeks ago. My husband always eats waffles when we are away in Oregon, every breakfast he eats his weight in waffles with berry sauce. So I made waffles. For the recipe, I went with a simple buttermilk waffle recipe from my American Test Kitchen Cookbook. Flour, salt, baking soda, butter, eggs and buttermilk (I made it using milk and 2 tbsp lemon juice) and waffle batter was ready. Ok - so you have to melt the butter, separate the eggs and beat up the egg whites until they are fluffy but it was really simple.

The recipe even said how long to cook the waffles, 3 1/2 minutes. And the waffles were lovely.

As we have a fall nip in the air in the mornings and evenings, I decided to serve the waffles with carmelized apples - 3 apples, butter, a dash of cinnamon and a spoon of brown sugar all heated together until soft and lovely.

And I have enough waffles left over to have them for breakfast tomorrow, with carmelized pears I think. Maybe I am a waffle person after all!