Pink Waffles and a Big Girls Day

Well I did it, I made Apple Beet Waffles.

I also took my daughters to Claire’s and let them get their ears pierced. Yep, I did.

When I was a kid I wanted to get my ears pierced so bad, but my parents wouldn’t let me. It was all I wanted every Christmas, every birthday.

As my Grandmother would warn after listening to me beg my mom, “First she’ll get her ears pierced, next thing you know she will be riding in cars and sleeping with boys.”  Wow, was that what happened?  At nine years old I had never seen a girl have a reaction to 14K gold like that!

Finally, when I was in 8th grade, after I read 30 books and wrote 30 book reports (no joke), my mom took me. It was a big deal in our house. And contrary to my Grandma’s beliefs I didn’t run out of the mall afterwards wearing a mini skirt and gothic cross earrings, I didn’t steal a car while yelling, “Come on boys, jump in!”

I just had pierced ears like all the other girls.

Here’s what I did end up doing, I pierced my eyebrow twice, my nose once, and my ears lots. I also vowed that someday when I had kids I would let them pierce their ears whenever they wanted.

So when Tiare came home from school six months ago saying, “Mom, so-and-so in my class just got her ears pierced,” I knew what to say. “Really? Cool! Do you want me to take you?”

“Well, does it hurt?”

“Yes, but just for a second.” My daughter is terrified of pain, I figured the chances of her willing inflicting any pain on herself would be none. I suppose one should never underestimate the things we do for beauty.

“I want to, but I’ll wait until I’m seven.” She said with such resolve it surprised me.

Fast forward to the day after Tiare’s seventh birthday.

“Mom? Remember how you said you would take me to get my ears pierced when I was seven?”

“Yes…” Wow, she didn’t forget.

“Well, I’m seven, can you take me?”

Never one to be left out, my four year old wedged herself between Tiare and I yelling, “I want to do it too, Mommy, I want pretty earrings too!”

“OK, go get ready.” The second the words came out of my mouth I began to doubt myself. Was I making a terrible mistake? Was there something my mom and grandmother knew that I didn’t? Was I taking away the ceremony and the specialness of some sacred ritual by being so nonchalant or was I avoiding a teenage piercing disaster? And most importantly, were my girls going to leave the mall looking like Monster High dolls!!!!

I had butterflies in my tummy and I couldn’t shake the ridiculous feeling that I was going to get in trouble. But a promise is a promise. As we were driving to Claire’s I looked at my daughters in the rearview mirror and said, “If you change your mind just let me know, you don’t have to do this, you can wait until you’re older, you know?” I was secretly hoping they would chicken out.

No one chickened out, no one cried, they both hopped right up on that stool with big smiles, they both got their ears pierced, and they both look absolutely darling!

When we got home, to celebrate our big girls day, I made pink waffles. I happened to have a leftover roasted beet from dinner the night before so I threw it in the batter. Delicious!  The flavor of the beets is very subtle, my girls couldn’t taste it, but they loved that the waffles were pink. The sweetness of the apple slices is really what steals the show in this dish. The apples cook into the batter creating beautiful, flaky, croissant-like layers. Except it’s a waffle. A yummy, pink, healthy waffle!

Did I do the right thing today by taking my girls to Claire’s, by being the “cool” mom? Who knows, time will tell. I can say with confidence though that I made the right choice on these pink waffles. At least some things in life are cut and dry.

Apple Beet Waffles

Ingredients

2 eggs, seperated

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1 1/4 cup AP flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 beet, roasted, cooled, peeled

1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Directions

Whip egg white to stiff peaks and set aside. Add egg yolks, sugar, beet, milk and oil to a blender and puree until smooth. It will be bright pink!

Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and wisk until just incorporated.

Fold in your egg whites. Spray your waffle iron with nonstick oil and preheat. Ladle the batter onto the waffle iron and quickly add sliced apples to the batter before closing and cooking. My waffles took 4 1/2 minutes to cook, but the time will vary depending on your waffle iron.

Top with maple syrup and more sliced apples if you like.

Isn’t it awesome how the apples cook into the batter! If you have leftovers, freeze them in a freezer bag then pop them in the toaster to re-crips whenever your kid requests waffles.

Aloha,