Tangerine Waffles (Fruit Fundraiser #1)

When you open up the fridge and see this, it's time to find recipes that put your Fruit Fundraiser produce to work for you.  I got an early start with the 'I've got a case of oranges what do I do?' phase when my young son's wheelchair basketball team did a fundraiser so they could buy equipment. (A basic pair of court shoes costs $50, a basketball chair costs $2K!).  Over the years I've gathered a few recipes for using citrus fruit and, now that I've got Band Fundraiser fruit filling up the fridge I am compelled to share them.

Let's start with breakfast, shall we?

This recipe takes its start from this waffle recipe, and its finish from this waffle recipe. The bright tangerine flavor really comes through but is not overpowering.  If you have a blender that crushes ice, don't knock yourself out seeding the tangerines, just pick out any obvious ones and the rest will get ground up.  I particularly liked this with pear butter, but the kids preferred maple syrup.  I think it'd be great with mini chocolate chips tossed into the batter too!

This is where I decided I was making waffles, not pancakes, and I needed a bit more cowbell buttermilk, so 1 1/2 cups.

Why yes, my guest photographer is back in action!  She was hungry and anything to speed the process along . . .

Tangerine Waffles (officially Tangerine Buttermilk Oatmeal Waffles but who's asking?)

2 tangerines, peeled, obvious seeds removed

1 cup rolled oats

1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk, divided (here's how I make mine)

3 Tablespoons butter, melted or softened a lot

3 large eggs

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 and 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Place tangerines, oats, and 1/2 cup buttermilk in a blender (mine is this one's great-grandpa).  Liquify.  At this point you could continue in the blender, but I prefer to pour/scrape the mixture into a bowl and continue by hand.  Easier for me to clean my blender right away than after it sits for a while.

Whisk in eggs, sugar, softened/melted butter, and the rest of the buttermilk.  Add dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk to combine.  Then, to paraphrase Alton Brown, "Walk the dog!  Just walk the dog!"  After you've walked down to the local grocery store to pick up the Sunday paper, or found something else to do for 30-60 minutes, it's time.

When your family is starving you're ready to cook, preheat your waffle iron and follow the manufacturer's directions on how to cook your waffles.  My waffle iron uses about 1/3 cup batter per square, so this recipe fed the 4 of us plus a pair of waffles for each kid, now in the freezer waiting for a weekday breakfast (the waffles, not the kids).

Ok, we've used Band Fundraiser fruit for breakfast, what else?  Stay tuned!

Leftovers!  Love!