There’s an old story in our family surrounding egg cakes. The story centers around a hired man – a man who worked hard all day on my Grandfather's farm, and sang songs all evening, accompanying himself on an old guitar. "Drifting along like a tumblin' tumbleweed. . ."; "I Don't Hurt Anymore" and other Hank Snow favorites.

One morning, so the story goes, this hired man with the squinty eyes, the slow drawl and the quiet manner, announced that he was going to make breakfast. Without looking at a recipe, he put together a mixture of milk (from the cow in the barn) and eggs (from the chickens in the coop) and produced what he called "Egg Cakes." Said they were like his mother always made. She was Norwegian.

The third in this series of waffle posts (see previous posts on Best Waffles and Hard Waffles) is Krum Kake. Pronounced "KROOM kah kah", this is a favorite Norwegian treat. The word "Krum" means "bent" and "Kake" means "cake" so Krum Kake is a "bent cake". Baked on a type of waffle iron, the Krum Kake is coiled around a wooden cone as soon as it comes off the iron. As it cools, it becomes crisp and can be slipped off the cone.

In my grandmother’s family, which was Norwegian, one of the specialty foods that was often served at afternoon coffee gatherings was what was known as "Hard Waffles" (as opposed to what was called "soft waffles" shown in my previous post).

These Hard Waffles were served cold, with a generous layer of butter spread on them. They would be eaten first, with cookies, shortbread, fruitcake and homemade chocolates to follow.

Waffles: a Sunday Brunch family favorite. Served with vanilla ice cream and strawberries is how we like them, but whipped cream, Canadian Maple Syrup and even Nutella are favorite toppings too. They are best eaten right off the waffle iron, work well on those lazy weekend mornings when there is lots of coffee flowing, a good newspaper to read, or better yet, lively conversation while you await your turn for the next hot one to be served.