Dad's Best Waffles and G.I. Pancakes

My dad, Ed Prather, was imaginative and inventive with his culinary skills. He loved to cook and created a lot of wonderful recipes for every meal of the day — and moments in between.

I remember him as a master of breakfasts — cooking eggs every which way, frying bacon or making pork sausage patties with his own special blend of ingredients. He liked hot cereals of all kinds and often served them with cream instead of milk. There would always be buttered whole-wheat toast to go along with those steaming bowls of filling, nourishing porridge made from corn, oats, rice or wheat.

A friend and I reminisced recently about his distinctive French toast. She recalled that he would add cinnamon to the egg mixture, which was usually made with evaporated milk. He dipped white bread slices into the egg and milk mixture and then in crushed cornflakes on both sides before frying them.

He frequently made pancakes and waffles — adding extras like mashed bananas, raisins, blueberries or oatmeal. And, he always made his own syrup from Mapleine, sugar and water, serving it warm with his outstanding French toast, pancakes or waffles. It’s an honor to share a couple of my dad’s mainstay recipes with you today — perhaps you’ll try one of them for your Father’s Day breakfast tomorrow. CJK

Dad’s Best Waffles

(Edward H. Prather)

Waffles

3 egg whites

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup oil

Preheat waffle iron.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks, set aside. Combine egg yolks and buttermilk. Add flour sifted with salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the oil. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Bake on an ungreased waffle iron. Serve with honey butter sauce or syrup.

Yield: 10 to 12 waffles

Honey Butter Sauce

1 cup honey

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

Mix ingredients and cook on the stovetop or in a microwave, stirring occasionally until fully combined. Serve warm.

Dad’s G.I. Pancakes

(Edward H. Prather)

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

6 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

3 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat the griddle.

Beat the eggs. Add milk. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together and stir into the egg and milk mixture. Add the melted butter last to combine with the other ingredients.

Grease the griddle. Cook pancakes on griddle over medium heat.

Yield: 8 to 10 pancakes

A note from Carol: Dad had a unique way of greasing a pancake griddle. He would cut a small potato in half and stick it into a fork, with the cut side down. He’d dip the potato into vegetable shortening or butter and then rub it over the griddle before each batch of pancakes was cooked. 

I can still hear him saying “only flip the pancakes once or they’ll get tough.” I follow that advice to this day.