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Visit us at one of our three store locations to find Irish Jewelry, Claddagh Rings, Irish Sweaters, Irish Foods, Guinness Products, Waterford and Belleek.

Call us at one of the numbers below or use the accompanying form to contact us.

The Irish Boutique - Long Grove, IL (847 634 3540)

Paddy's on the Square - Long Grove, IL (847 634 0339)

 

228 Robert Parker Coffin Road
Long Grove, IL, 60047
United States

847 634 0339

The Irish Boutique is an Irish import store that has been located in the Chicago land area for over 40 years.  The shop stocks a variety of products ranging from Irish jewelry, crystal, china, food, sweaters, caps, t-shirts and a wide variety of Irish gifts. 

Cooking Blog

Visit our blog to read about Michelle Barry's adventures in cooking and eating Irish cuisine and to learn about new products and upcoming events. 

 

Wholemeal Waffles

john barry

waffle.jpg

How’s your June going? We’re happy to report that the store is OPEN.  The health and safety of our customers and employees is our highest priority. We’re limiting the number of customers inside the store at once and making sure that all employees and customers wear masks. We also have contactless checkout! We’re getting used to this new normal and working hard to make sure that all of our employees and customers stay safe and healthy. Thank you to all of our staff and customers for your ongoing support. It’s such a tough time for small businesses everywhere and we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have such loyal customers and employees. 

On a personal level, it makes me extremely sad to think about all of the businesses and restaurants that are struggling right now or have closed and may not reopen due to this pandemic. My father recently sent me an email outlining the difficulties and perils of running a small business, having read numerous articles on the subject in the last few months. I know for a fact that it is not easy. Running your own small business is a labor of love, but as I have witnessed, it is also rewarding in many intangible ways. We run into people all the time who have been to Paddy’s and have a story to tell.  So many people who met my mother-in-law have very specific memories of her from times they shopped in the store and I love how that helps to keeps her memory alive.  

 As someone who has always worked for companies or the government, there are so many things I take for granted, my 401(k), health insurance, predictable income.  This pandemic has also made me realize that while I enjoy the security that a corporate job offers, I don’t want to live in a world where amazon.com is the only place to shop, one where there are no local, one-of-a-kind, neighborhood restaurants. I don’t want to live in a world where we no longer have those places and experiences in common with others in our community. I don’t think anyone else does either. So I’m hopeful that one of the lasting changes that comes out of this pandemic is that we all appreciate and support local small businesses more. I know that I can do my part to spend more locally and I’m endeavoring to do that as things begin to open up here in Chicago.

Yikes! Not sure how I went from “Yay! The stores are open!” to the future of the American community, but I’m pretty sure I’d rather talk about waffles.  My kids would eat a hot, homemade breakfast every day if we weren’t always rushing out the door. So as you might imagine, we have been making waffles much more often ever since we started sheltering in place in March. I’ve made waffles with yeast, rice flour, various different mixes and mix-ins, and lately, these amazing waffles adapted from a recipe from Deb Perlman that was published in Bon Appetit. 

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The original recipe calls for whole wheat flour and instant oats, Irish ingredients that I’ve got in spades. I substitute the whole wheat flour in the recipe for an equal amount of the Odlums coarse wholemeal flour that I’m obsessed with.  For the liquid, Deb uses plain yogurt, melted butter and an egg.  I’ve mixed that up a bit and usually use melted coconut oil, egg and either tofu or cottage cheese. I know, I know. Cottage cheese in waffles or pancakes is one thing but tofu? I got this idea from somewhere on the internet many years ago and I promise you, tofu waffles are SO good. They are also super nutritious and my kids have never noticed there is a whole bunch of tofu in there. #winning. I add a little bit of sugar and some warm spices because we are all fans of fruit, butter and syrup on waffles. The sugar and spices can be omitted if you want to make a savory version, which would be great, IMO, with eggs, bacon, cheese and hot sauce. 

Dry ingredients.

Dry ingredients.

Add a little milk if the batter is too thick to spread, but not too much, it should end up being the consistency of cooked oatmeal (see below).

Add a little milk if the batter is too thick to spread, but not too much, it should end up being the consistency of cooked oatmeal (see below).

Don’t worry if your batter is lumpy and thick and hard to spread on the waffle iron. That’s how it should be!

Don’t worry if your batter is lumpy and thick and hard to spread on the waffle iron. That’s how it should be!

This is how I weigh down my waffle maker.

This is how I weigh down my waffle maker.

Crispy tops.

Crispy tops.

Thanks to my brother-in-law John I am still on an Odlums kick. I actually had no idea that Oldums wholemeal flour came in “Coarse” and “Super Coarse” but I’m now the proud owner of a bag of super coarse, which I am super excited to try in this recipe.  I’m pretty sure I am going to love it even more than the regular coarse stuff. 

 One word of warning so that you don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t undercook these. The first time I made them, the flavor was good but they were not crispy at all and kind of floppy, nothing like what I was expecting from my Odlums flour which usually adds a ton of texture and sturdiness.  After that, I made sure to weigh down the lid of my waffle maker and cook them for a long time. Problem solved. These should be really crunchy on the outside.  In fact, when made with cottage cheese, they come out with caramelized tops from the areas where little bits of cottage cheese come into contact with the waffle grid.  

Wholemeal Waffles

Ingredients

1 cup Odlums coarse wholemeal flour

½ cup quick cooking oats

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

¼  tsp baking soda

¼  tsp pumpkin pie spice or mix of warm spices (e.g. ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice etc.)

2 tbs sugar

1 cup cottage cheese, plain yogurt or soft tofu

1 large egg

2-3 tbs melted butter or melted coconut oil

Milk as necessary to loosen up the batter

Directions

  1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine thoroughly.

  2. Add melted butter or oil to dry ingredients and mix until evenly incorporated.

  3. Make an indent in the middle of the dry ingredients, add egg, tofu, yogurt, or cottage cheese and stir. 

  4. If using yogurt, you may or may not need to add milk. If using cottage cheese or tofu, some milk will probably be needed to loosen up the batter. 

  5. In any event, the batter should be THICK, about the consistency of oatmeal.

  6. It’s not easy to spread it into the waffle maker because it should be sticky and thick so just do your best, it will be fine! 

  7. I usually put a heavy ovenproof pot on top of my waffle maker to ensure maximum crisp.