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The teenage years can be awkward. Sometimes you have a bad perm and bangs that are full of so much hairspray not even gale force winds could move them. Sometimes you’re in desperate need of braces (which you get only after you’ve entered high school). Most likely all of these unfortunate events happened to me.
Being a teenager is also difficult because it’s a time when you’re trying to figure out who you are while desperately trying not to stick out from your peers. During these times, you need comfort and support, and Percy Jackson is no different.
Well, except that he’s a demigod and his father is Poseidon and he has super-cool powers. Okay, so Percy’s teenage years aren’t exactly like mine, but in The Lightning Thief, he’s still trying to figure out who he is and that’s tough on anybody.
He finds comfort in the fact that he and his mom share an inside joke about blue food. She goes out of her way not only to find blue food, but also to cook it for him. Today we’re having blue waffles, blue fried potatoes, and Smurf Punch. Cheers, Percy! Here’s hoping you find yourself out there.
“I guess I should explain the blue food. See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue.” (Riordan, Rick, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. [New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2003], 37-38)
Blue Buttermilk Waffles
Ingredients
2 c all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar 1 ½ tsp baking soda 1 ¾ c buttermilk 2 eggs, separated 4 tbsp (½ stick butter, melted and cooled) ½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp Wilton Royal Blue icing color (liquid food coloring can also be used)
Canola or other neutral oil for brushing on waffle pan
How to Make
Combine the dry ingredients.
Mix together the buttermilk and the egg yolks. Stir in the butter and vanilla.
Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it.
Stir the wet into the dry ingredients.
Beat the egg whites with the whisk or electric mixer (spotlessly clean ones work best) until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter.
Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron.
Serve immediately.
Side note: I dipped thinly sliced potatoes in the waffle batter and fried them. Nobody said these were healthy. :)
Smurf Punch
Ingredients
½ c Sprite or Ginger Ale
blue food coloring
whipped cream
cherry
ice (optional)
How to Make
In a tall glass, fill with ice, Sprite or Ginger Ale. Add 2-3 drops of blue food coloring. Top with whipped cream and a cherry.