November 05, 2007

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Everything’s easier when your oven works. I realize than an oven isn’t essential to waffle making, but I just feel better in general, knowing that my oven is functioning properly. Sparks however, are not a sign of good oven functioning. Sparks lead to fires. Fires in the kitchen are not good unless what you are trying to serve is flambéed.

Two nights ago I was sitting in the living room when I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. It was not a familiar noise. I turned towards the source and instead of the kitchen being dark like it should have been, there was an orange glow. I sent Dad to investigate and what he found was a broken oven element, arcing and sending off sparks. It thankfully died out on its own, but when it did, it took the power of my oven with it. This meant that on a Saturday morning I had to trek into town to find an oven element supplier, preferably a knowledgeable one.


The first store that I went into did sell oven elements but not the right ones. The salesperson I spoke with told me I would have no problem with a particular element and handed it over for me to be on my merry way. I was glad to have asked for a second opinion, because the second, more informed salesperson told me that the element I was holding in my hand at the cash register, would not work in my oven and they didn’t carry the one that would. Onward to a second store. Luckily they had what I needed and I returned home and had Dad install it for me.


A fixed oven meant my waffles this morning could be kept toasty warm while I completed the entire batch and I could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that if I had an urge to bake a banana upside down cake at 3am, my oven would be there waiting.



Banana Oatmeal Waffles (From Dorie Greenspan’s Waffles From Morning to Midnight)


4 T unsalted butter

1 cup old fashioned oats, (not instant)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 T double acting baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

3 T firmly packed brown sugar, dark or light

1 ½ cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 medium size ripe bananas, thinly sliced crosswise

Maple syrup or honey for topping


Preheat your waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, preheat your oven to 200F.

Melt the butter; reserve. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and brown sugar. In another bowl, beat together the buttermilk and eggs with the whisk until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Mix in the banana slices and melted butter.

Lightly butter or spray the grids of your iron, if needed. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.

Spoon out a full ½ to 2/3 cup of batter (or a little more than the amount recommended by your waffler’s manufacturer) onto the grids. This batter is thick and lumpy, so push and spread it to the edge of the grids with a metal spatula or wooden spoon. Close the lid and bake until golden and crisp. (It may need a little longer than other waffles because the batter is thick.) Serve the waffles immediately or keep them, in a single layer, on a rack in the preheated oven while you make the rest of the batch. Stir the batter between waffles to redistribute the banana slices.

Makes about five 6 ½ inch round waffles.

25 comments:

K and S said...

I'm glad you were able to find another element for your oven and that there wasn't a major fire in your kitchen.

Lola Chris said...

I can relate to your oven dilemma. My oven was out of order for a while and I couldn't cook anything that required using the oven.

Very nice presentation of your waffles with layers of oats on the side.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Okay, now I really am going to have to get a waffle maker!

Jenny said...

Nice to know I am not the only one who gets middle of the night baking urges. Course I usually ignore mine, roll over and go back to sleep. :-)

Anonymous said...

Bananas *and* oats?? Together in a waffle?? Droooool... Sounds delicious!

Manggy said...

You definitely have a waffle addiction, Brilynn! Though those do look wholesome (without the syrup, heh) :)

Cris said...

This must be heaven, love food with bananas!

Anonymous said...

These sound great! I am saving the recipe to try next time we make waffles!

Deborah said...

You are quickly becoming the waffle queen! These sound delicious!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

ooh these waffles look so yummy. i want a waffle maker too !!

Cheryl said...

Delicious gorgeous waffles.

I so know the pain of oven woes, mine is 100 degrees off at all times. Glad yours is all fixed.

Nora B. said...

Waffles! yummmm banana waffles! YUMMMM!!!!

Sorry about my lack of eloquence, I get all goofy when it comes to banana waffles.

Tarah at Genesis of a Cook said...

The combination of bananas, oatmeal and cinnamon in a waffle sounds amazing!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the oven woes, but it's a good thing it didn't explode or (worse) cause serious damage to any baked goods.

Fantastic waffles, by the way!

Stef said...

Those sound so much better than the hotel waffles I've been stuck with recently. Yum!

I made a banana oatmeal cupcake recently. Love the combination.

Graeme said...

It's like future food, where they compress things into block form. But not really.

This is way better - You're a a genius, Brilynn!

Anonymous said...

Banana oatmeal sounds like a ridiculously fantastic combination, and in waffles no less! That's a breakfast from heaven.

Susan @ SGCC said...

Those waffles look great! I love waffles, but, sadly, I don't make them often enough. I'm too busy catching up on my sleep on the weekends. These look good enough to get me up early on a Saturday, though. ;)

test it comm said...

Banana and oatmeal waffles sound really good. Must find space for a waffle maker...

Vicki said...

Same thing happened to my oven element about a week ago. But since the oven was 30 years old and had other problems (intermittent electric shocks when you touched the knobs), I got a new one. I love cooking on gas again!

Nabeela said...

oh wow....a broken oven? I can't imagine life without a working oven...we are so spoilt...

Kelly-Jane said...

It's supper time here, but what I want is some waffles like that! Mmmmm.

Annemarie said...

Healthy waffles (kinda)! I have an excuse now to eat them more often!

Lance said...

those look delicious! i was just beginning to wonder what i was going to make for dinner, and i just may end up doing these!

Anonymous said...

These are delicious! My dad and I left out the bananas and they still came out wonderfully. Thanks for sharing!