Since I started making my own kefir at home about a year or so ago I have been substituting buttermilk with kefir in every recipe. Souring the milk by stirring some lemon juice into it and letting it sit is another wellknown substitute for buttermilk but somehow I think kefir gives a better taste at the end.

The original recipe taught me one thing that made me shake my head and wonder how I could not think about it before! You know when you make waffles, as they come out of the waffle iron you stack them on top of each other (or at least I did!), and before you know it the crispy waffles are gone and you are left with the soggy ones. Well, how about sticking them in a warm oven as a single layer? That was the trick that now makes me want to make waffles again and again as they just are perfect when it is time to eat them as well as when they come out of the waffle iron.

The original recipe also has a way of making glazed bananas; for me that ended up as a big mush of bananas which was not all that good ;) We reverted back to our favourite jams and sauces.

Halving the recipe makes a perfect enough waffles for 2. Saving you a trip to Epicurios.com here is the recipe with my little changes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup of kefir
• 3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 egg

1. Put oven rack in middle position, preheat to 250°F (120°C) and preheat waffle iron
2. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl
3. Whisk kefir, melted butter and the egg in another bowl, then mix with the dry mixture until smooth
4. Cook in your waffle iron following the directions given by the manufacturer — for us 1/2 cup of batter was good for one batch. Transfer cooked waffles to the oven, in one layer to ensure crispness
5. Enjoy!

I realize it is not the season for quince for most of us, living in the Nothern Hemisphere, but here is a quince jam recipe for those who lives in the Southern Hemisphere. Last time I was in the Bay Area I bought some quince (grown in Chile) and made that jam from two of them. Quite easy to make and tastes, smells just wonderful. It is not one of those fruits that most adore; very hard to eat even when ripe, hard to come by etc.

Turkish cuisine has a very special dessert made with quince that I would like to share with you later in the year, hopefuly when I have more quince in my hand. :)

For the quince jam, here is what you need:

• approx 1lb quince (2 quinces)
• 1.3 lbs (600gr) sugar
• 2 cups of water
• 1 Tbs lemon juice

While waiting for the water to boil, grate the washed and halved quince. Drop all the grated quince in the boiling water and let them cook until soft. I do not recall how long that process took but apparently not too long to remember ;) Mix in the sugar and let it boil until the jam consistency is reached. Mix the lemon juice and let it boil once more. Careful ladle into sterilized jar and enjoy your jam!