WHEN IN DOUBT - WAFFLE!

I was casting about for something quick for lunch, and I came up with this:

Wild Blueberry Belgian Waffles with Meyer Lemon Curd.



Quick, you say? Why, what is Elisson smoking? Whatchoo mean, quick?

It took all of three minutes to throw it all together...but only because the two key ingredients - the waffles and the Meyer lemon curd - had been prepared in advance. Otherwise, it would have been a lengthier undertaking.

There’s something about Meyer lemons that can brighten the dreariest February day. They have a more subtle flavor than the bright yellow everyday lemons we get in the Stupid-Market, and their thin, orange-yellow skin makes a potent, aromatic zest. I saw a pile of those bad boys at Fresh Market the other day and couldn’t resist.

Making the lemon curd requires some patience because you have to cook it slowly in a double boiler over simmering water - otherwise, you end up with a heap of lemon-flavored scrambled eggs. The recipe is one that I grabbed from the Bakerina last year, and it is the finest lemon curd I have ever put in my mouth. I had run up a batch last night, figuring on finding any number of uses for it. Besides simply eating it right out of the bowl with a honkin’ big spoon, that is.

As for the waffles, I had made those a couple of weeks ago when Eric, the Princess Fiona, and Zonker came a-calling. I had used the basic recipe that came with our Belgian waffle iron, substituting melted butter for the vegetable oil and throwing in a pile of wild blueberries to give ’em some extra flavor and color. But I had doubled the recipe - you do not want to be short of waffles when dealing with partially hung over, ravenous bloggers - and as a result there was a small mountain of leftover waffles and plenty of unused batter. The extra batter ended up in the sink, but the surplus waffles ended up in the freezer in a Ziploc bag, whence they could be extracted one or two at a time whenever the Waffle-Mood struck. Not as good as fresh-made, but a lot quicker...and way better than those frozen Mini-Manhole Covers they sell at the local Foode Shoppe.

Two frozen waffles, thawed out in the Nuke-Machine for one minute, followed by a quick run through the toaster to crisp ’em up, and they were the perfect base for a couple of healthy dollops of lemon curd and a few spoons of Dickinson’s Wild Maine Blueberry Syrup. Yowza!

About two hours in the gym oughta be enough to work it off...