Soccer and Waffles

On a chilly fall Saturday, my daughters and I planned a breakfast for lunch of waffles and bacon.  My 7 year old had a soccer game at 10:00.  They decided around 9:12 am they wanted waffles for breakfast which was a little to close to kick off.  I was able to hold off their desire for this comfort meal until lunch with toast and jelly.

One of my daughters likes syrup, and the other does not.  She prefers chocolate chips in hers–because who likes a plain waffle?  My dilemma then presented itself as I realized that I was out of maple syrup and did not replenish the cupboard when food shopping.  But I remembered that I had been saving a recipe for apple cider syrup for a very, very long time.  I just never tried it out because after making the pancakes or waffles, I never seemed to have enough motivation left over to make my own sugary topping.  So now I was actually excited that I forgot an item at the grocery store that week!  And as an added bonus, I always am trying to figure out what to do with left over apple cider in my refrigerator.  I mean, there’s always the option of adding a glug of spiced rum, but the jug never seems to get emptied before it “ferments.”  I don’t know if this actually happens, but this is just the term I use to refer to my cider that needs to get poured down the drain.

About a decade ago, I found this recipe in a free cookbook I received from a  subscription to “Yankee Magazine.”  (Yes, 10 years)  The so-called cookbook was actually more pamphlet sized but offered about 2 dozen recipes from inns around New England.  I do not know why I have held onto this stapled mini cookbook for so long.  I think I have only tried out 3 of the recipes.  Anyway, I had the recipe for Apple Cider Syrup from the Craignair Inn highlighted.  Even though I have never been there, and don’t even know if it still is in business, I am thanking this lodging establishment in Maine for saving my Saturday breakfast for lunch.

**I mentioned briefly above about adding spiced rum to heated apple cider.  It’s my go-to drink when taking the girls trick-or-treating on Halloween.  But my sister-in-law offered warm apple cider with caramel vodka at a recent family dinner.  Yum! **