waffles!

I modified this waffle recipe from Cathy Fisher, and it is super easy to make--I make the batter up in the blender.  We had house guests three times this week, and twice we made waffles. Housemate makes traditional waffles only a few times a year, when we have house guests. So she did that for the first set of guests, and I did Cathy Fisher's recipe for myself.  It was good but I found the corn meal a little too crunchy for my tastes (I used polenta which is coarse ground).  I thought I could modify it to make it better for my tastes and easier.  I tried it out today on the kids we had over. We didn't bother with housemate's waffles because we wanted to play more instead of taking time in the kitchen.  So I made mine and everyone loved them. This is great news because my recipe is easier than housemate's and we can all enjoy them.  So here's my recipe.

Ingredients for 3 or more people (halve the recipe for 1-2 people):
2 cups non-dairy milk, or water and 1 ripe banana (haven't tried the latter but want to)
3 medjool dates
2 cups rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1.  Add 1/2 of the milk or water to the blender with the dates let soak for 15 minutes.
2.  Turn on the waffle iron.  I use this one, the same as Cathy Fisher.  It seems to work great.  I put it on the middle setting, following her recommendation.
2.  Blend up the stuff in the blender.
3. Add 1/2 the oats and blend
4.  Add the rest of the liquid and the rest of the oats and blend
5.  add the cinnamon, vanilla and baking powder, and do a final mix (very quick blend at low power, just to mix)
6.  Transfer to a bowl if you wish for easier scooping into the waffle iron.
7.  When the waffle iron is ready, pour 1/2 cup into the center, cook until ready (you have to experiment for your iron).  The longer you cook, the less the waffles will stick.  I find that wooden chopsticks work great for getting the waffles out.
8.  Serve immediately.  I top with warmed frozen berries (heat until they release lots of juice), and maybe some soy yogurt and bananas.