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The Waffle Iron Lives Again

May 26, 2008

I made waffles again this morning, and it reminded me that I need to write down this story and post it.

I'm the sort of person who believes that things should work. You buy a lawn mower, it should work. The blender? It should work, too. I comprehend that things need to be cleaned and maintained and cared for. But, properly cleaned and maintained and cared for, things should work.

I'm also the kind of person who isn't fond of non-stick surfaces. I won't go into it, but suffice it to say that I avoid non-stick pans when possible.

That is, apparently, impossible when it comes to the waffle iron. Years ago when we needed to buy a waffle iron, we tried one that was not non-stick. It was a disaster. We gave it up and bought a non-stick waffle iron and had a few years of great service from it.

A few years. Granted, warranties run only a year on most things. Mechanisms wear out. Wires break. Surfaces get scratched. But barring all these things, wouldn't you expect a non-stick waffle iron to continue producing non-stuck waffles?

I would. Maybe I'm living in a dream world (maybe I long for the perfection of heaven), but I wanted my $50 waffle iron to work for longer than a few years!

I was actually patient when the stuck waffles happened. I went into problem-solving mode and worked at fixing any deficiencies my poor iron was experiencing that prevented it from doing its job.

No luck. The pathetic piece of equipment continued to rip waffles apart in the middle. It clung to the baked batter like burrs stick to your socks. I had to pry the waffle out of the iron, crispy charred bit by crispy charred bit. Yep, it took awhile. My boys got to eat crispy waffle crumbles for breakfast on numerous occasions.

Numerous occasions. You see, I tried turning down the heat. I tried oiling the surface. I double-checked that I hadn't changed anything in my recipe. I tried jiggling the lid before I opened it. I opened it carefully. I even cleaned up the outside of the iron...like that was going to do any good.

No matter what I tried, over the course of numerous waffle-making occasions, nothing helped. So I gave up. I went to the store and started looking for a new waffle iron.

The problem is that all the waffle irons I saw were made for people who don't really like waffles. They make these two piddly little pieces of waffle that either one of my boys could have devoured in a single minute, only to wait five for the dinky little machine to produce more.

No, I needed a heavy-duty, large size waffle iron. Problem is, I didn't want to pay the heavy-duty, large size price. I thought $50 several years ago was outrageous enough.

I even looked online. In the meantime, my family--who really loves homemade waffles--was growing faint from want of their beloved waffles.

Now I really do like shopping online. (I mean, when I have to shop, I like doing it online. I don't really like to shop.) Anyway, when it comes to something like a waffle iron, when it would really be to your benefit to take the machine in hand and look it over carefully, well, the internet leaves something to be desired.

That reminds me of the sign we saw at a pizza place last night. It said, "Order online."

"Hmm," I mused. "I wonder how that works."

Knowing exactly where I was going with that, my husband replied, "Yeah, it's pretty messy when you print out your pizza..."

...well, that's probably enough of a digression for you to get the idea...point being that the waffle iron shopping online wasn't going well.

So we went--literally--weeks without waffles. It was tough.

Then my boys came to me--when they knew I was good and calm--and very quietly and timidly said, "Mom, do you think we could try the waffle iron again?"

No! I had been ignoring the waffle iron all these weeks, and now here it was, back in my life again.

I sighed. "I suppose," I relented. "But don't complain if all you get is crispy waffle crumbles."

Off to the kitchen we went. Mixed up the batter. Heated up the iron. Light off, iron ready. And then I stopped.

I thought.

And then I prayed. "Father, I know it's a little thing, but we'd be so grateful if our waffle iron would function properly again. I've tried everything I can think of to take proper care of it, and I can't see a single reason why it's not working. If you are willing, would you please help our waffle iron to work right again?"

That was several months ago, and we haven't had a single waffle crumble since.

My husband came to me this morning while we were making waffles and said, "I thought the waffle iron wasn't working."

"It wasn't," I said.

"What'd you do?" he wanted to know.

"I prayed," was all I said.

---

Chantal L. DeYoe
Products For A Good Life

I am a Christian and a homeschooling, homesteading mom who endeavors to continue moving along the path toward becoming a full-time writer.
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