Breakfast with the Brinsons: Wholesome Banana Waffles Sweetened with Molasses

I had the pleasure of attending William and Susan Brinson’s photography workshop yesterday, which was nothing short of delightful. Located in a funky loft in midtown, three of us shared a good time, learned much, and enjoyed some of Susan’s delicious cooking- vegetable and cheese tart and spectacularly lovely hand pies for lunch. The two of them have a real easy grace about them that was warm and inviting, right down to the floury belly Susan got when rolling out the dough for the lunch.

Susan and William have a beautiful blog House of Brinson which I frequent regularly if not for the recipes but also for the gorgeous photography. So when the opportunity came up to get a peek into the magic, I jumped on it.

Susan pulled out fabrics and plates and shared with us their virtues and utilities (look how beautiful the texture on this inexpensive napkin is, and it photographs SO beautifully!), while William walked us through the different aspects of creating light, balancing light- basically teaching us how to cajol it into behaving for us. They also gave us insight into the thought processes of composing and story telling leading to the end product. Honestly, I believe learning to think like a photographer is half the battle sometimes.

My first foray into practicing some of my new skills is this recipe that I created: Banana Waffles. I am not particularly a breakfast person. Cold cereal is utterly completely unsatisfying and for some crazy reason causes me to be mad hungry by 10:30am. Not sure why that is, but it’s scientifically proven (in this lab anyway). I am also a morning gym person, so I do like to eat something relatively substantial but not too heavy before I head out.

I packed a ton of punch into these babies. Wheat Germ, protein powder, whole wheat flour, coconut oil and molasses. The result is a waffle that is so delicious and not too sweet. The grains and the molasses give it warm Fall undertones that was just what I had in mind. The coconut oil especially added a mellow note which is more of a hint rather than a statement. I am becoming a big fan of coconut oil in baking just for this quality. Please don’t be alarmed by the reports on the saturated fat of coconut. It’s not the same fat configuration as say bacon, it’s in fact quite good for you. A serving of these waffles offers up less than 18% of the daily need for fat and this fat is a good one.

 The batch came together quickly and while the waffles were baking, I had time to straighten up the counter. Those I don’t eat this morning are going into the freezer for future mornings.

I prefer my waffles served with Non Fat Greek yogurt and a drizzle of fragrant honey. Hot crisp waffles, cool tangy yogurt and mellow sweet honey. Oh yes…

Enjoy!

In separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients. I warm my milk first so not to harden the coconut oil, and things just bake better at room temperature. Make sure egg mixture is well incorporated, and get the molasses well stirred in.


Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.