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!
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