A couple weeks after being diagnosed with Celiac disease, I had to see my regular doctor and she was all, “Well it looks like you’re maintaining your weight...” And I was like, well fuck you too. “Is that not normal?” I asked. And she said, “Well a lot of people just don’t know what to eat. So I guess you’re finding things to eat?”  

Now first of all, I had only been on a gluten free diet for like a week. And secondly, who are these people that just waste away because they don’t know what to eat. Have they heard of potatoes? Or cheese? Cheesy potatoes? Doritos? Peanut butter? I ate a LOT of gluten back in the day, but even I knew about other foods.

Anyway, this kind of bothered me, so I told my brother, a doctor who also has Celiac (our family is fun) and he said that it’s usually more common to GAIN weight after getting diagnosed because as a Celiac on a GF diet, your body is actually absorbing all the nutrients for a change. Either way, it was kind of obnoxious because I have definitely gained some LBs in the past year and I’m not super happy about it. Is it simply because I’m finally absorbing the hell out of all these nutrients? Maybe. Is it because Cheetos and Doritos and whiskey are all gluten free? Who knows? Is it because I live with a man who feeds me like the hobbit I am? Inconclusive.

Anyways, this is all to say that one of the many, many things Matt loves to cook is waffles. He didn’t try adapting his waffle recipe until pretty recently, because to be honest, it’s always a bit of a gamble to remove the gluten from a beloved recipe. It can be very disappointing and if it doesn’t turn out well, it might make me sad and I might cry and then you have to deal with that.

Fortunately, the great GF waffle experiment turned out very well. In fact, they’re so good that I don’t even mind listening to the same musings of a waffle lunatic every time we eat them.

Him: “I just don’t understand why raised waffles are not the standard for waffles in all restaurants!”

Me:

Him: “And they’re so easy! Much easier than other waffles!”

Me: “I guess maybe because you have to start them the night before?”

Him: “Yeah, maybe… but that’s just a little bit of forward planning! And they’re so much better than most waffles! And so easy! I just don’t understand why these are not the standard for waffles in all restaurants!!”

Me:

Him: “I probably say this every time, don’t I?”

So here I present to you, the BEST (GLUTEN-OPTIONAL) RAISED WAFFLE RECIPE.

*Requires a waffle iron and a bit of forward planning*

THE BEST EVER WAFFLE RECIPE

½ cup warm water 1 package (¼ oz or 2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast 2 cups milk ½ cup melted butter 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour OR Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF baking flour 2 eggs ¼ teaspoon baking soda

In a big bowl with plenty o’ room, dissolve yeast in warm water. Then add everything except the eggs and baking soda and mix until smooth. Cover the bowl with a lid that fits or plastic wrap and let rest overnight. Wake up in the morning, hungry for waffles. Add eggs and baking soda. Yields about 8 big waffles or 4-5 GF waffles. (I think this is from a Belgian waffle maker, FYI.)