Spring Waffles

Two major food wins this past week.  Waffles and spring rolls.  The waffles were a win since I had been reading  a blog called Waffleizer and have been inspired to waffle things.  I forgot that I even owned a waffle iron until I was searching the depths of my airplane toilet kitchen and lo and behold there was a waffle iron.  Victory.  I made a spelt/whole wheat/unbleached flour batter, and then proceeded to have waffles for 3 mornings in a row.  They were filling, but not nearly as filling as the Belgian waffles I had last year around this time.  A little maple syrup and I nearly forgot about the lack of butter, I said nearly.  My roommate, Ben, joined me for some waffles and happened to put butter on his portion.  I nearly fainted at the scent.  But I sat strong and resisted the golden hued glory that was before me.  In the end they were tasty and I got my maple fix which important in anyones life.

 The second major win was spring rolls.  Friend and fellow temporary vegan Simon made some first which inspired me to craft my own.  Simon and I often share experiences via the Skype, and this was no exception.  I spent the better part of an hour watching Simon make spring rolls.  He first started by making a dipping sauce for these little deep fried beauties.  Here is more or less the conversation we had:

Simon: "So I have some vinegar, some sugar, some chili flakes, and some fish sauce.  I love this sauce they give you when you order spring rolls at a restaurant"

Me: "Si, repeat the ingredients to me"

Simon: "Vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, fish sauce....oh dang, are you serious, fish sauce?  That's not vegan is it?"

Me:  (laughter) "How did you miss the FISH on the outside of the bottle"

After Simon decided that it was ok for just this meal since he had already made it, he moved on and proceeded to make a large sampling of this delectable delights.  After he was finished we chatted about the process and my mouth started to really water.  A few days after this momentous convo I ventured to my local Asian supermarket.  A bad idea if you are there to look and don't have a purpose.  I was nearly swayed by the wonderful looking meats and other such animal products.  I stayed strong and finally found the spring rolls wrappers and the other veg ingredients.  I left, came home and tried it out.  They were delicious.  Yesterday I made a large number of these beauts to keep in the freezer and to eat as a snack or when I feel the desire to fill my gullet with sweet and salty treats.  The photo below is pre-fried spring rolls.

On the cravings front, I tried a soy cappuccino to aid me in my lack of textured milk.  This was a bad decision.  Not only did if fuel my desire to have a real milk cappa, but the combo of soy milk and espresso was terrible.  I don't mind the taste or texture of soy milk, but in a mixed drink I really don't like it.  So back to brewed coffee and the occasional tiny americano.