My first time

Look!

First waffle ever!
A year or so ago I decided I wanted to make waffles. So ever since then I've been shopping around for a waffle iron. I live in a shoebox and I swear I hardly have room for one more pan never mind a waffle maker, so I didn't want an electric waffle maker.

So I find cast iron waffle irons. Camp cookware, basically. But I like the looks of them. I *love* cast iron. Nothing cooks like cast iron. But the cast iron waffle irons are surprisingly expensive. So I've been waiting for a bargain. I finally decided one of these days I'm gonna drop dead without having made a waffle trying to save 3 bucks.

So I got a waffle iron off the web.

Rome's #1100 Old Fashioned Waffle Maker
This is a basic 6 inch cast iron waffle iron. It doesn't come pre-seasoned. Because of the obvious way in which batter will stick here I was very careful to season it well.

How do you season cast iron?

I scrubbed it good with soapy hot water. Twice. Then I dried it thoroughly. Then I heated it up on the stove top just a little bit. Then I painted it liberally all over with canola oil. I let the excess drip off and put it in a 350 degree oven for an hour. I turned the oven off and took it out the next day.

Seasoned waffle iron
I based my batter on this recipe. I used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour, I used canola oil instead of butter and I used powdered buttermilk instead of milk.

I had no idea how to evenly heat both sides of my waffle iron. I decided to put it in a 400 degree oven. When it was well heated I painted the cooking surfaces with canola oil and used maybe a cup of batter. I lightly oiled it every other waffle.

• Cast iron tip: oil a hot pan. Always wait until your cast iron is hot before oiling it.
• Another cast iron tip: oil the food. When I do steaks, chops or fish I usually rub the food lightly with some oil before I season it. Then I put it in a hot dry pan.

I baked it for about 7 minutes and got good waffles. I'm sure butter would have made better waffles! Butter makes everything better. And nothing came close to sticking. I got 5 waffles from that recipe. They freeze really well.

Ready for Winter
Product review: Love the waffle iron!