Frozen Dumplings in Waffles Are Ideal Food for Depression
I’ve been having mood issues lately, which isn’t really all that unusual or surprising. A lot of people now feel shitty because everything shitty. Both anxiety and depression can affect attitudes towards food, and my work as a culinary writer does not exempt me from this.
For me, a bad mood manifests itself in a complete lack of interest in cooking for myself, so I order a lot of takeaway food or put cottage cheese in my mouth, standing in front of an open refrigerator. When I can cook a small amount of food, I usually reheat something frozen, but even that might seem like too much.
Ironically (?), Chatter remains completely controllable. It’s quick, requires very little prep work (if any), and the only thing that’s dirty is the waffle iron itself and can usually just be wiped clean. That, combined with the cottage cheese fatigue, is how I came to waffle a box of frozen dumplings.
I confess that at first I was not impressed by this waffle. He looks anemic, tired and boring. Unlike most things I’ve done waffles, it doesn’t brown very quickly or well, but dumplings don’t always need a golden crust. I was totally prepared not to be impressed by the waffles with dumplings, but they were surprisingly delicious. Although the spots were not brown, they were crispy, providing a pleasing textural contrast. Some of the potato filling flattened, but the mashed potatoes tasted pretty good, so that wasn’t a big tragedy either.
But most importantly, I was in awe of how evenly they cooked. Typically, filled frozen delicacies are prone to what I call the “hot pocket dilemma,” a phenomenon in which the filling becomes frighteningly cold to the teeth and scalding to the tongue at the same time. But the gentle smoothing provided by the waffle iron takes care of this: freshly removed dumplings are soft and warm, but crunchy in places – and can be reached in just a few minutes.
There is no need to defrost the dumplings first – just toss the steam straight out of the freezer. Set the waffle iron to a medium-high level, then carefully close the bowls so that the top is flush against the dumplings. After about 30 seconds, lightly press down on it and repeat until the waffle iron is about half an inch from its fully closed position. Allow the dumplings to cook until well-defined square dots remain on the surface. A small amount of filling may squeeze out; that’s ok because you love those lace little bits of filling. Once you start to notice browning, remove the dumplings, then dip them in sour cream or curry ketchup, which will gently lull these characteristic waffle wedges. These divots are really that important.