(not so perfect) Vegan Banana Chia Waffles with Peanut Butter Honey Topping

I've been searching diligently for the perfect waffle recipe.  I want waffles that are crisp on the outside, fluffy inside.  I would prefer that the waffle is vegan, and that it fit the bill for both a "healthy" and "indulgent" treat.  This, it seems, is is a highly elusive recipe. 

After trying dozens of recipes, I thought I would try to create my own.  Why, I ask, do I think that I can master a perfect waffle recipe after the failed attempts of so many who have gone before me?  And, let's be honest, if all these waffle recipes are too soft, too chewy, too sticky, perhaps it isn't the recipes (or their creators) that are failing, perhaps I am. 

Or, perhaps it is the very fact that I consider these overcooked, undercooked, dense, wispy waffles to be, somehow, failures.  The fact is, I (and Jordan) have enjoyed eating all of the "failed" waffles.  The beautiful think about working with food is that, inevitably, something will go awry.  You've creamed the butter and sugar, added the eggs and vanilla, sifted together the flour, salt and...Wait, where is the baking soda?  Oh, right.  You ran out of baking soda four days ago and forgot to get some when you went to the grocery store.  Now what?

Or, perhaps you're making macarons.  You have all of the ingredients, you diligently separated the egg whites from the yolk the night before and left them at room temperature.  You painstakingly whip the whites with a whisk rather than in your mixer, ensuring that you add the sugar at just the right moment and fold in the almond meal when stiff-but-not-too-stiff peaks have formed.  Carefully, you pipe the batter onto the baking sheet and gently set them in your oven.  When you pull them out of the oven, however, they have not formed feet, their tops are not shiny, they are lopsided. 

Cue the panic attack. 

Do you experience this in the kitchen?  I find that, for me, the kitchen is something of a microcosm of life.  No matter how hard I try to perform every task with precision and consistency, something reminds me that I am entirely out of control.  The air is too humid, the oven temperature is off, the butter hasn't softened, the spatula breaks.  With every unexpected twist, my anxiety heightens.  It would seem that my identity is an ingredient in the recipe, and that it is inextricably tied to the success or failure of the dish. 

So, when I set out to create my own waffle recipe and this happened,

I was tempted to melt into a puddle of tears and self-loathing on the floor.  But, on this particular occasion, I set my teeth and resolved to more heavily coat the waffle iron, let the waffles cook longer, open the iron very slowly...

Julia Child once said, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure.  In cooking, you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."  She also said,

"...This awful American syndrome of fear of failure.  And if you're going to have a sense of fear of failure, you're just never going to learn how to cook because...well, lots of it is one failure after another and that's how you finally learn.  You've got to learn to develop a sense of... 'I don't care what happens, the sky can fall...I can overcome.'"

I have a hunch that if I can learn to maintain this attitude in the kitchen, it just might spill out into the other parts of my life. 

So, that is why, today, I am sharing with you a not-so-perfect waffle recipe.  It is one that requires you to spray your waffle iron heavily and to very, very carefully open the iron so that the waffles do not pull apart. It is a recipe that produces rather chewy waffles.  Or, so I thought.

 The trick is to let the waffles sit for several minutes before eating them.  They will soften and take on a consistency somewhere between banana bread and waffle.  Drizzled with peanut butter and honey sauce, they are a healthy, vegan, indulgent breakfast.  Sure, we're missing the crisp outside and the fluffy middle, but, hey, these are good.  Let's eat them!

Vegan Banana Chia Waffles with Peanut Butter Honey Topping

For the waffles (yields 8 4-inch waffles):
     3/4 cup whole wheat flour (for lighter waffles, use whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour)
     1/2 cup unbleached white flour
     2 tsp baking powder
     1/4 tsp salt
     1 Tbsp ground chia seeds + 2.5 Tbsp water
     2 overripe bananas
     1 cup milk
     1/2 tsp vanilla
     1 Tbsp coconut oil

- Heat waffle iron.
- In a small or medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk together ground chia seeds* and water.  Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash banana thoroughly with fork.  Mix in milk, vanilla, coconut oil, and chia seed mixture. 
- Once wet ingredients are well incorporated, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- When waffle iron is ready, spray generously.  Add batter.  Allow the waffles to cook just a bit longer than usual.  Remember!  Lift the waffle iron top very carefully.  If you need to, use a fork to help pull the waffle away from the iron. 

 *The chia seed mixture here provides the structure that eggs generally provide in a waffle recipe.  Flax seeds may also be used in the same proportions.  Chia seeds are high in protein, omega-3 fats, and fiber.  To grind them, place 3/4 tablespoon in a coffee grinder until they become a soft powder.

 For Peanut Butter Honey Topping:
     2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
     1 Tbsp water
     1-2 tsp honey
     1-2 Tbsp milk (I used unsweetened almond)

- Heat the peanut butter and water together in a small pan on the stove or in a small bowl in the microwave.  If in the microwave, heat for 15 seconds, or until peanut butter has softened.  Whisk together until smooth.  Whisk in honey.  Whisk in milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture reaches a pourable consistency.  
    

Here's to finding the beauty in a less-than-perfect Monday.