The Personal Part
Hello again loves! It’s been a while!
If you remember, last time we touched on self-care and how important it is to balance your responsibilities with your mental health. But what if you don’t want to balance? What if you don’t want to do anything? What if you just want to lay in bed and hide from your responsibilities? It’s halfway through the school year and I’ve noticed a trend with myself and the people around me — we’re losing motivation.
This is not an uncommon phenomenon here at Pine View, but it’s really unfortunate and inconvenient when it happens before you’ve accomplished your goals. I love cooking and baking, but for a while, I didn’t want to exert the effort of experimenting with new recipes. I didn’t want to do anything, whether it was for fun or to pass a class. It’s so easy to commit to something and think we’ll manage fine, but how do we prevent ourselves from losing our love for something? How do we stay motivated?
The answer is simpler than you’d think. Start small. Set goals for yourself throughout the day, such as studying for a half hour or spending 15 minutes practicing an instrument. Reward yourself for accomplishing things, even the little things.
And remember, you are not alone in your struggles. Encourage your friends by organizing study sessions or supporting their hobbies. By pushing each other along, you’ll find momentum much easier. Shout-out to our Sports Editor, Kasumi Wade, who gave me a waffle maker for Christmas and inspired this recipe! Thank you.
The Tricky Part
This time, we’re making gluten-free vegan chocolate chip waffles! The recipe yields enough for 15 waffles, but keep in mind, waffle makers come in different sizes and it may be different for you. To make them, you will need…
1 1/4 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
3 tablespoons of vegan cane sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups of non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of non-dairy chocolate chips (Enjoy Life has fantastic vegan chocolate chips)
Whatever toppings you choose
Waffle maker
Cooking oil spray to grease the waffle maker
- To start, mix together the vegetable shortening, the vanilla extract and the non-dairy milk in a bowl.
- Plug in the waffle maker so it can preheat.
- In another bowl, mix together the sugar, the flour and the baking powder.
- Slowly mix in the flour mixture with the wet ingredients.
- When thoroughly mixed, add the chocolate chips and stir it well.
- Grease the waffle maker with the cooking oil.
- Evenly spread batter into the waffle maker.
- Close the waffle maker and wait for the beep to signal that your waffle is done.
- Repeat until you run out of batter.
- Top your waffles with whatever you want and enjoy!
The Fun Part
We did things a bit differently this time around, and instead of just three judges, I opened up taste-testing to all of our incredible staff!
Gwyn: What do you think of the waffle?
Melissa: Really good!
Grace: Fantastic! I don’t like waffles, so that says a lot!
Zoe: These are really yummy!
Elizabeth: Delightfully crispy with a soft, warm center. Perfect contrast!
Peyton: Ten out of ten!
Final Rating- 10 out of 10
In Summary…
As always, this recipe isn’t difficult to make, so it’s perfect for those just learning how to cook. The one thing I will say is that the waffles take a little while to cook or they turn out a bit doughy. Tried and true, this is a Torch staff favorite! If you try out this recipe, feel free to email me at gwyn.petersen@pineviewtorch.com and send me your results!
Until next time, stay hungry kids!