CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Remember the "wamelet" recipe from a few columns back? In it I gave the directions for making an omelet on your waffle iron.

Well, bring that iron out again because we're now making corn bread. And to go with it, what else but potato soup?

OK, I haven't perfected soup on a waffle iron ... yet. Until I do, this one is blended in a standard saucepot, but it's as quick and easy as the bread.

I had to give them both after I ran the nutrition and found the numbers didn't jump off the chart. If they had been a little too much for "Healthy Bites," I was going to pass them along to Julie Robinson for her consideration for placement on her Wednesday food page in the Gazette.

Everyone wants a simple recipe with taste satisfaction, few ingredients and even fewer prep moments. These qualify as good, last-minute, what-to-fix when just home from work, school, practice, travel, shopping.

The crispy, crunchy waffle is good just as a side bread, but it can be used (as I did) as a base for a taco (instead of a corn taco shell), or for a sausage gravy or light cream chicken. Of course, it can be spread with butter and drizzled with a little maple syrup.

If you have leftover mashed potatoes, they can be transformed into the soup, same as the purchased. Just remember to adjust the amount of seasoning and milk needed to flavor and thin the soup in proportion to amount of leftovers you have.

Where to get squash relish

In response to requests for locations to purchase the Bonnie Blue Blue Ribbon Squash Relish from my last column, here is the new website of relish producer Bonnie Crouse: www.BonnieBlues.com, which has a list.

Closer to Charleston, Tamarack stocks her item and can send it down to the Culture Center gift shop for payment and pickup. The relish also soon will be on the shelves in the West Virginia shop of Capitol Market.

Cornmeal Waffle

Makes about 6 servings.

     1 1/2     cups white self-rising cornmeal mix

     1 1/4     cups low-fat buttermilk

     1/4  cup canola oil

WHISK ingredients until well blended.

HEAT waffle iron; coat with cooking spray and drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto iron, cooking until golden brown and crisp.

SERVE hot.

Nutrition information: Per serving (based on 6): 220 calories, 100 calories from fat, 11 grams fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, 27 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 3 grams protein.

Super Easy Potato Soup

Makes about 6 cups.

     1 1/2     cups of 2 percent milk

     1     teaspoon dried celery flakes

     1     teaspoon dried minced onion

     1/2     teaspoon salt

     1/4     teaspoon pepper

     1    24-ounce package Bob Evans original mashed potatoes

SIMMER milk, celery flakes, onion, salt and pepper 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to blend flavors. (Don't simmer too hard or too long because you don't want to reduce milk volume, only meld flavors).

WHISK in mashed potatoes until blended, smooth and heated through. Optional: May sprinkle top of servings with low-fat cheddar cheese.

Nutrition information: Per 1/2 cup serving: 80 calories, 25 calories from fat, 3 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 10 milligrams cholesterol, 260 milligrams sodium, 11 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams protein.

Reach Judy Grigoraci at ...@suddenlink.net.