Cornmeal Waffles

In Maine, we are blessed to have access to locally grown foods, like Abenaki Flint 

A stack of cornmeal waffles. 

cornmeal from Songbird Farm in Unity.

One of two heritage cornmeals sold by Adam Nordell and Johanna Davis, Abenaki Flint is a native New England corn revived in recent years by Songbird Farm and others in the region. It makes delicious journey cakes and cornbread, but I thought it would be delicious as waffles, which can be made in batches, frozen, then popped into the toaster when needed.

The beauty of these unsweetened cornmeal waffles is that they can go sweet

BBQ fried chicken sandwich w/apple-spring greens slaw.

or savory. Eat them for breakfast with butter, banana, and maple syrup, sop up the juices from a plate of baked beans, or build a sandwich on top of them, like a BBQ fried chicken sandwich with tangy apple-spring greens slaw. 

Cornmeal Waffles (makes five 7-inch round waffles)

1.5 cups boiling water

6T vegetable oil or butter

½ cup cornmeal

3 egg yolks

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 egg whites

Mix the boiling water, oil or butter, and cornmeal in a small saucepan, cook over low-medium heat, stirring, till the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Beat the yolks and buttermilk in a large bowl. Quickly stir in the cornmeal mixture. 

In one small bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients. In another small bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Mix the dry ingredients into the cornmeal mixture, then fold in the egg whites till incorporated. Cook in a preheated waffle iron. (One cup of batter makes a 7-inch round waffle.) Eat immediately, or cool and then freeze for future use.