Waffles!

I've talked before about how everyone should own the Joy of Cooking, and one of the many reasons is because when you wake up in the morning and realize that you're out of pancake mix and you have no internet, you can turn to the pancakes and waffles section and find many many great recipes for waffles, from scratch. This is their classic one, and I've halved it to make the perfect amount of waffles for two people - one and a half each.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2. 1/4 plus 1/8 cups white flour
   
3. 1/2 tbsp baking powder
   
4. 1/2 tbsp sugar
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 1 egg
7. 1 egg white
8. 1/4 cup oil
9. 3/4 cups milk

Equipment:

1. 2 mixing bowls - one small, one large
2. 1 waffle iron
3. 1 spatula

Procedure:

1. Plug in waffle iron to heat it up.
   
2. Mix all dry ingredients in the large bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients together in the small bowl and pour into the large bowl.
   
4. Mix all ingredients until combined.
   
5. Pour 1/3 of batter into waffle iron. Allow to cook for ~5 minutes.
   
6. Eat. Enjoy.
   

Equipping the Kitchen

So - lets talk measures. Measuring is important when it comes to cooking, although I've been cooking long enough that I'm able to Rachel-Ray a lot of things and approximate. But for baking in particular, I do like to measure.
My boyfriend and I just moved in together and decided to buy good measuring cups, cutting boards, and a few other good items.
We went with these measuring cups and these spoons, both by OXO. The measuring cups are great because not only do they come with a 3/4 cup and 2/3 cup measures, they have half-measures marked on them, making it particularly easy to halve a recipe, particularly one that calls for 3/4 of a cup of something. They are really good - I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to upgrade their measuring cups.
We also picked up some bamboo cutting boards - one large, one small. I love a good wood cutting board - because they take the chopping action much better then a plastic one and feel better.
We also picked up a slow cooker at Value Village for $4 - brand new, still with instructions - don't ever forget to look in strange places for lucky finds like that :-).

Calzones

Sometimes I can't make stuff well. One of those things is Calzones. I've tried once or twice to make them, and what happens is well, they don't come out right. Mostly because I like to make them healthier with whole wheat flour. This works really well in pancakes and chocolate chip cookies, recipes I'll post later.
But don't do it with calzones. Otherwise, this recipe will be pretty good - try substituting any of your favorite pizza toppings for the stuff.

CALZONE

PIZZA DOUGH: 1 env. active dry yeast 1 1/2 c. warm water (105-115 degrees) 4 c. all-purpose flour 1/4 c. olive oil FILLING: 2 c. pizza sauce 1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, diced 1 c. mushrooms, sliced 1 green pepper, chopped 1 sm. can olives, chopped 12 sq. slices boiled ham Salt and freshly ground pepper Olive oil Oregano For pizza dough, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water and let stand 10 minutes. Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Make well in center and pour in yeast mixture, remaining water and oil. Mix with fingers or fork until dough can be gathered into ball. Transfer to floured board and knead until smooth, shiny and elastic, about 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and damp cloth and let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Punch dough down and divide into 6 equal parts. Roll out 1 part at a time (keep remaining dough covered with damp cloth) into 10-inch round. Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over half circle and sprinkle with 1/6 of the cheese and mushrooms. Lay a small amount of peppers, onions and olives on. Cover with 2 squares ham and season with salt and pepper. Fold turnover fashion and pinch edges together to close. Repeat for each calzone. Bake directly on oven racks until nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes. Brush each hot calzone with remaining pizza sauce and a few drops of olive oil. Sprinkle with oregano and serve immediately.