Swedish Waffles and AIP/Paleo Waffles for Lady Day

St. Patrick's Day on the 17th, St. Joseph's Day on the 19th, my husband's birthday on the 24th (today!), and then the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on the 25th... So much to celebrate lately and it's been a nice little break right in the middle of this year's lenten season. I shared these recipes over at Shower of Roses a couple years ago and I am finally getting them added over here at Catholic Cuisine too for tomorrow's Lady Day feasting. Scroll down to find an AIP/Paleo version as well. Enjoy!

The Annunciation from Rosary Flip Book

"This is Våffeldagen or Waffle Day in Sweden. One website said the name Vaffla, meaning waffle, originated from Var Fru, Our Lady, and that in time the two words became slurred and corrupted, first into Vaffer, then to Vaffla. The waffles are served with whipped cream and lingonberries (or cloudberries)... " 

You can read more in Jenn's post found in the archives on Lady Day Feasting. 

Originally I always served Belgian Waffles, since that was the only waffle maker we had at the time, using various recipes or mixes. (One year we made these delicious Organic 6-Grain Waffles and you can find that recipe here.) Once I finally purchased our heart shaped waffle maker we started making the delicious thinner Swedish style waffles. We love topping our waffles with marionberries, maple syrup and occasionally whipped cream.

Lady Day Swedish Waffles

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 oz butter
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 eggs

Directions:

In a bowl or blender (I used my Vitamix) whip together flour, baking powder and salt with half of the milk until you have an even batter. Pour in the rest of the milk, eggs and the melted butter, whip until thoroughly mixed.

Heat the waffle iron and brush with butter. Pour in 6 tablespoons of batter and bake until golden brown. Makes 8 waffles. Top with berries. (Lingonberries are traditional in Sweden. We used Marionberries in honor of Our Lady!) 

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After baking waffles for everyone else, I was really craving a waffle too... I decided to try to adapt an AIP Belgian waffle recipe to use with our waffle maker and the Cassava Flour I recently purchased. It turned out great! I'll definitely be making these again.

Autoimmune Protocol Waffles for the Annunciation
{gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, egg-free, dairy free, nut-free, seed-free}
Vegan, Paleo-friendly, AIP-friendly, and still delicious! 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup cassava flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 water
• 1 13.5 oz can full fat organic coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (alcohol-free for AIP)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well.

Place all the wet ingredients in blender (I used my Vitamix) and blend until well combined. Add dry ingredients and blend again until well combined. The batter will be thicker than pancake batter but should still be pourable. You may need to add a little additional water or coconut milk.

Lightly brush waffle iron with coconut oil. Add about 1/3-1/2 cup of batter to your pre-heated waffle iron and cook until done. I use this waffle iron, preheated and very hot, with setting number 4.

The recipe yields 5-6 Swedish style waffles, using approximately 1/3-1/2 cup of batter for each waffle.  Be sure to cook the waffles long enough or they can turn out gummy.

Top with marionberries. Next time I'll make some Coconut Whip too! Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven.

O God, who didst will that Thy Word take flesh in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary at the message of the angel: grant us, we pray, to be aided before Thee by her intercession, whom we believe to be truly the Mother of God.  

- The Holyday Book by Father Francis X. Weiser

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Organic 6-Grain Waffles for the Annunciation

The feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25th. The main food associated with this feast is waffles. You can read more in Jenn's post on Lady Day Feasting in the archives. A couple years ago we made these delicious Organic 6-Grain Waffles using a Belgian Waffle Maker and topped them with Marionberries and Maple Syrup!  This year my girls are planning to make the thinner Swedish style waffles using our heart shaped waffle maker and may try the recipe Charlotte shared for Annunciation Waffles which can also be found in the archives.

Organic 6-Grain Waffles 

with Marionberries & Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Milk
• 3 tablespoons Oil
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/2 cups Organic 6-Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix 
• Marionberries (optional)
• Maple Syrup (optional)

Directions: 

Place milk, egg, and oil in a medium bowl, stir with a wire whisk until smooth.  Add pancake mix and store until the large lumps disappear. Do not over mix. Let stand for 1 or 2 minutes to thicken while you heat waffle iron.  Be sure to spray waffle iron with pan spray so your waffles don't stick before cooking. Enjoy! 

Note: I purchased a 5 pound bag of the mix made by Central Milling Company (for a great price!) at our local Costco. It can also be found over at Amazon. 

You can find additional recipes for the feast of the Annunciation in the archives. 

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Authentic Liege Waffles for the Belgian Saints

Belgium is famous for its waffles. So if you are looking at celebrating a feast with a Belgian connection, look no further than the glorious waffle. I have some family members who are currently very excited about waffles and wanting real Belgian style. I did some research and found that there are two primary distinct styles of waffles in Belgium and both are different from the Americanized version most of us are familiar with. Even the name "Belgian waffle" came from the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. There is the gaufres de Liege (Liege waffle) and the gaufres de Bruxelles (Brussels waffle) - gaufres is French, wafel is Dutch. Some history of the Belgian waffles can be found here, here and here.

Both are distinguished from the Americanized version by a yeast batter with a delicious amount of butter. Liege waffles are made with a thick, sticky batter with added vanilla and large sugar crystals called pearl sugar. When the waffles cook in the iron, the sugar crystals melt and caramelize on the surface, contributing to a crunchy sweetness. They also have uneven edges. These are the common waffles sold by street vendors in Belgium. Brussels waffles were made with a thinner batter which makes them lighter and crisper with smooth edges. These are closer to the American version.

So I splurged on a new Belgian waffle maker and some pearl sugar with Christmas money we got and put it to work to recognize the feast of Our Lady of Banneux, January 15. This commemorates the apparitions of Mary to a young girl, Mariette Beco, between January 15 and March 2, 1933 in the town of Banneux, which happens to be in the province of Liege in Belgium. It was very similar to a series of apparitions to five young children in nearby Beauraing from November 1932 to January 1933. Both were investigated and approved by the Church in 1949.

So if you are interested in celebrated Belgian saints with Belgian waffles here are a few of the more well known options:

Our Lady of Banneux - apparition, January 15
St. Colette - March 6
St. Juliana of Leige - April 6
St. Damien of Molokai - May 10
St. John Berchmans - August 13
St. Arnold of Soissons - August 14
Our Lady of Beauraing - apparition, August 22
St. Hubert - November 3

And there are the connections of waffles to celebrating the feast of the Annunciation in Sweden as mentioned in these past posts - Our Lady Feasting and Annunciation Waffles. And in my online reading I am finding was common to sell waffles as treats on the streets after Mass for feast days throughout parts of Europe. Another common feast day for this is mentioned in this past post - St. Michael's Waffles

Celebrate with waffles!

Liege Sugar Waffles

Ingredients:

1 package yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup butter (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Belgian pearl sugar

Directions:
Mix yeast, granulated sugar, salt and water. Let stand 15 minutes for yeast to activate. In mixing bowl mound the flour and make well in middle. Pour yeast mixture into well and mix, adding eggs and melted butter. Mix until blended. Batter will be thick and sticky. Cover dough and let rise in warm spot 30-60 minutes to double. After rising add half cup of pearl sugar and mix in.

Spoon onto hot, greased waffle iron. Cook until golden - time depending on temperature and temperament of your particular waffle iron.

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Annunciation Waffles

The children informed me that we had to have waffles today. Why? Well, it said so on their Learning Calendar. Why? Because it's International Waffle Day. Why? According to the calendar, it originated in Sweden where it is known as Vaffeldagen. March 25 is "the day where Swedish women set aside their winter tasks of chopping wood and knitting, and begin their spring tasks by preparing waffles". Again, I asked... why?

Because it is the Feast of the Annunciation (known as "Our Lady's Day" or Varfrudagen).

Truly!

Isn't that just the best? When you discover a holiday's holy origins!

Now, if you didn't know this tidbit of information in time to make waffles for breakfast, don't worry. According to this website, Swedish waffles are closer to their Belgian cousins and are often served as afternoon treats or for dessert. And since it is a solemnity and we are "fairly commanded to celebrate" my kids say...break out the whipped cream!

Here is a recipe for traditional Swedish crisp waffles or Frasvafflor which is another variation of the one Jenn posted below:

Frasvafflor (Swedish Crisp Waffles)
(from Emma Olsson)
about 10 waffles
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3 T. butter, melted and cooled

Stir together flour, water and salt. Let rest at room temperature for about an hour. Add the butter and mix well. Whip the cream and fold into the batter.

Give the waffle iron plenty of time to warm up before you pour in the first waffle. Be prepared to spoil the first one. Think of it as priming the pump or firing a test shot, and you won't be as anxious. The reliable key to when the waffle is done is not when the iron's light goes out, but when steam stops emerging from it. Heat your regular oven to 200 degrees F and set a rack inside. As the waffles are baked, lay each one on the rack in a single layer to keep them warm while you cook the rest.

For a Swedish presentation, serve with more whipped cream, perhaps with some blueberries stirred in, or with lingonberry jam.

* I wasn't going to post this here when I saw that Jenn had already covered waffles in her Annunciation post, but Jessica thought that the posts were different enough to be distinct. I had never heard of the tradition of eating waffles today until my kids pointed it out. Our learning experience went from there!

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Lady Day Feasting

March 25 marks the Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord, another of our highest feast days, a Solemnity, right in the middle of Lent. We bring to mind the Incarnation, the exact moment when the WORD became Flesh. How beautiful the message of our Faith that we revere God in Mary's womb at the moment of conception.

The main food associated with this feast is waffles. Just like pancakes or doughnuts, waffles (or wafers or gaufres) are usual feast day fare. This is Våffeldagen or Waffle Day in Sweden. One website said the name Vaffla, meaning waffle, originated from Var Fru, Our Lady, and that in time the two words became slurred and corrupted, first into Vaffer, then to Vaffla. The waffles are served with whipped cream and lingonberries (or cloudberries). You probably have some lingonberry preserves left over from St. Lucy's feast.

In our house I'm serving those special frozen waffles that are safe for my son's allergies, and put a good dose of safe whipped cream. But for those that can make them, Evelyn's Vitz's Swedish Waffles recipe from A Continual Feast would be perfect:

Swedish Waffles

Here are Swedish waffles for the Annunciation. Light and crisp, these make excellent dessert waffles. They are traditionally eaten with whipped cream and cloudberry preserves. Cloudberries are first cousins to our raspberries.

1 3/4 cups heavy cream, well-chilled
1 1/3 cups flour
1-2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold water
3 tablespoons melted sweet butter

Whip the cream until stiff.
Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the water to make a smooth batter. Fold the whipped cream into the batter. Stir in the melted butter.
Heat the waffle iron. (If it is well seasoned, it will not need to be greased.) Fill the grid surface about two-thirds full of batter. Bake until golden brown.
Place on a rack to keep crisp while you make the rest of the waffles.
Yield: about 8 waffles

Another interesting food tradition is found in Britain, the Tichborne Dole, which is a form of charity or dole started by Lady Tichborne and given every Lady Day.

Seeds plays a large role on this feast. Father Weiser's The Holyday Book explains the connection:

In central Europe the farmers put a picture representing the Annunciation in the barrel that holds the seed grain. While doing so they pronounce some ancient prayer rhyme like this one from upper Austria:

O Mary, Mother, we pray to you;
Your life today with fruit was blessed:
Give us the happy promise, too,
That our harvest will be of the best.
If you protect and bless the field,
A hundredfold each grain must yield.

Having thus implored the help of Mary, they start sowing their summer grains on the following day, assured that no inclement weather will threaten their crops, for, as the ancient saying goes,

Saint Gabriel to Mary flies:
This is the end of snow and ice.

Thinking of the "seed" planted in Mary, a seed cake is also another traditional food. Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church shares a good recipe for a seed cake, with a variety of options for the seeds.

Another approach is presenting foods is the theme of wreath or circle forms. A Cook's Blessing by Demetria Taylor (1965) points out how this feast is one that falls in the Temporal (Time) Cycle, not Sanctoral (saints). Traditionally this feast was pivotal, marking the beginning of the year, occurring nine months before the Solemnity of Christmas. Father Weiser elaborates on how important marking the time:

In the early Christian centuries March 25 was observed in a special way as the Day of the Incarnation. In order to make the Lord's life on earth an exact number of years, even down to the day, an early tradition claimed that it was also the date of the crucifixion. This fact is mentioned in many ancient martyrologies (calendars of feasts) and in the sermons of various Fathers of the Church. Soon other events of the history of our salvation were placed on this day by legendary belief, and thus we find in some calendars of the Middle Ages the following quaint "anniversaries" listed for March 25:

The Creation of the World
The Fall of Adam and Eve
The Sacrifice of Isaac
The Exodus of the Jews from Egypt
The Incarnation
The Crucifixion and Death of Christ
The Last Judgment

It was an ancient custom of the papal Curia (executive office) to start the year on March 25 in all their communications and documents, thus calling it the "Year of the Incarnation." This practice was also adopted by most civil governments for the legal dating of documents. In fact, the Feast of the Annunciation, called "Lady Day," marked the beginning of the legal year in England even after the Reformation, up to 1752.

Recalling the year as a circle of days, reminders of eternity, the cycle of the Year of Our Lord, serve foods in the shape of wreaths or rings or circles. Wreath cookies, Angel Food Cake (double duty, reminding us of the Angel Gabriel), doughnuts with a hole, cakes baked in tube or Bundt pans, Coffee Rings would all be appropriate to serve today. Last Annunciation, Michele posted a Annunciation Pineapple Upside Down Cake with this same theme.

With the tradition of seed cakes and the circular form, I thought this recipe from The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland would be perfect:

Ukrainian Poppy Seed Cake

We like to bake this Poppy Seed Cake for Easter because it reminds us of the whole lesson of Lent, the seed thrust into the ground to die, that it might live. The circle of the cake, baked in the tube pan, is like the circle of eternity — and that is the point of death to self: to live forever.

You may sift powdered sugar over it, or ice it with a thin confectioner's sugar icing, or serve it plain. It is nice plain, rather like a pound cake.

3/4 cup poppy seeds
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup shortening (or butter or coconut oil)
1-1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Soak the poppy seeds in milk 5 to 6 hours. Cream shortening and sugar. Add 1 egg yolk at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla, milk with poppy seeds, then flour sifted together with baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add egg whites beaten stiffly. Bake at 375° about 30 to 40 minutes in 9" tube pan.

I have a few non-food traditions and ideas on my blog, but not exhaustive. I also have a post at CatholicCulture.org. Today is such a beautiful feast to contemplate. A happy Lady Day to you all!

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