Waffles, Diego Rivera and Junot Diaz make for a healthy dose.

If you have any desire to advance yourself artistically, culturally and just not to have to slouch when you tell folks you reside in New Jersey, you will go see Diego Rivera's retrospective at the Moma. Nov 13-May 14. These are some of my favorites. The one that reeks of Frieda a bit is one Rivera collaborated with her to complete.

Now the read that should accompany this theme, besides the Communist Manifesto by Marx, is a fun and tragic read by Junot Diaz called The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. This treasure deals with nerdery, North Jersey, chivalry and a pain that we have all known at some point.

After all of this unicorn in 7-11 esque overload of gnarls heaps, you are going to want to shove these in your hole, mainly the one you consume food with. Visit www.postpunkkitchen.com for more awesome. (Sidenote: Just because it's raining does not give you license to drive like Estelle Getty receiving head, get a fucking move on retread.)Many thanks.
FUCKING CINNAMON WALNUT FIG WAFFLES!!!

This is a substantial waffle. A waffle’s waffle, if you will. Kind of homey and wholesome, what with the whole wheat, walnuts, and a touch of olive oil. Leave the figs and walnuts in larger rustic pieces for hearty bites. They’re perfect for brunch, of course, but they’re also great to slice and toast and cut into triangles to eat on the go. The bursts of figgy sweetness mean you don’t even necessarily need maple syrup. An added bonus is that they smell like a Cinnabon while cooking!

If your figs are old and dry and have seen better days, use hot water to plump them up. You can do it one of two ways – boil some water and pour the hot water over the figs (in a bowl of course) and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Or, a quickie method is to cover the figs in water and microwave for about 45 seconds. I call that the “Instaplump™” method.

And as always, waffles freeze great! Wrap in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months. Just toast when ready to eat.

2 cups almond milk (vanilla or plain), or your fave non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose works, too)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup dried black mission figs, stem nub removed, thinly sliced
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Measure milk out and add the apple cider vinegar, set aside to let curdle.

In the meantime, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add the flax seeds to the milk and mix vigorously until frothy, 30 seconds to a minute. Add mixture to the flour along with water, olive oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until mostly combined then fold in the figs and walnuts until all ingredients are moistened.

Preheat waffle iron and let the batter rest. Cook according to waffle iron directions, spraying the waffle iron liberally with oil or cooking spray between each waffle is made. Garnish with extra walnuts and fig halves.