Waffle Fail to Waffle Perfection (with some adjustment!)

I am totally not ashamed to admit and share my cooking/baking failures complete with photos!!  I think they are worth a giggle and if they help someone else, well then my kitchen flubs are useful! :)  So as my family ventures into a healthier lifestyle and I attempt to do more of the making and baking, I hope to share some more ROTFLMBO (rolling on the floor laughing my but off!) moments.

This morning's adventure begins a week ago, in which I wander into a hair brained idea!  I've been scouring the web for ideas for lunches that we can use, either to pack and store in the fridge or on the counter - so when the lunch crunch comes, I have something ready made that is healthy and I just need to put on the table, or on days that are crazed with adventure - we can pack up and picnic wherever!!

A couple days ago I saw a site where someone had some strawberry shortcake waffles made from a homemade waffle iron!  Lightbulbs flash in my brain... OMGosh! I have one of those!  I bought one nearly 9 years ago, and after a few visual successes and flavours to my liking, FrogGirl (my oldest then 3) announced she preferred the store bought ones ... she told me a couple days ago that the issue was not taste or flavour - but the mere fact that they were square and not what she was used to!!  

My hope was restored! The waffle iron was collecting dust in my house somewhere and I knew just where too!  So I dug it out.  I then found a recipe for Gluten Free (because I'm trying go 'less' gluten) and top 8 allergen free waffle batter.  Easy Breezy right!  HA!  This is me we are talking about!  Pictured left here is the very first waffle hot off the iron after 9+ years of no use! *GRIN*

My girls now 12, 7, and 3, looked on and laughed when I wanted to cry.  My 7 yr old clamoured... "But mum they smell awesome and I want to eat it anyway!"  So I rolled it off and handed it to her! Not before snapping a picture and facebooking it first... which was met with the very first response: "I would never, with a million guesses, guess that was a waffle."  This made me laugh

The 12 yr old came next and said "I want some!" - she then proceeded to try and make a sugar glaze dipping sauce for hers!

Attempt #2 was then demanded by the 3 yr old, who ate it with lots of mmmms and nnnmmms.  By now I'm questioning the recipe which told me not to spray, it simply would not stick!  (um I begged to differ!)  So I figured I'd use some margarine - which I had hoped to avoid!  I'm also starting to suspect that there is something missing from my iron - namely a little clip which didn't seem important - and had broken off sometime in the last 9 years!

Multiple questions are running through my head now.  Is the recipe a dud?  Is the clip really necessary.  I ate the other half of GiraffeGirl's waffle, and while tasty it seems a little on the soft/undercooked side.  Since there are no eggs in it, I'm not worried, but made a mental note to try it longer next time!  So this time I decide to hold the iron closed which I believe the clip would do.  I did not add more margarine, but did let it cook a little longer.

Attempt #3 was scoffed by the 12 and 7 yr old.   And it is starting to look like it should!  YAY Me!

So Attempt #4.  I broke out the Olive oil cooking spray and doused that baby with all it's chemical laden badness, all hopes of today's success blowing out the window in a fit of "THIS THING WILL NOT BEAT ME!"  (yes I flickered a Jekyll and Hyde image!)  I then took a towel and squeezed that sucker shut -growling the whole time! Until BirdGirl (7) yelled "It's oozing out the sides mum!" and her two sisters came to inspect a mid a flurry of "eeewwwws" and "gross-es!" Like a killed it!  The light flickered off, and on a couple times, and the girls asked if I was gonna take it out.  I said "Not yet!"  I think they were scared at that moment! LOL! (kidding)  I gave it long and then slowly popped that sucker open and YES!  After 4 attempts and in a fit of total Lunacy - I won!  Bird Girl and I split the last waffle - for now I can call it a waffle!

I learned a few things!

1. Despite what the recipe says - you will need a spray!  (so I will find a non chemical spray to use!)

2. The clippy-thing, just might actually be important!  (but not so much that I'll buy a new iron until I master this!)

3.  The auto-timer on the waffle iron isn't really a timer, it's just a heat indicator that tells when the element is on, so I'll need to figure out how long to cook those beasts for real! :)

4.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Taste doesn't give a fig if it looks good!