First, thanks to VegNews for recently spreading the love of vegan waffles to other occasions. Their most recent newsletter featured some yummy-looking Mexican Hot Chocolate Waffles for Cinco de Mayo. They appear to provide a different texture and experience than the Hot Chocolate Molasses Waffles and South of the Border Dark Chocolate Syrup,* because they creatively incorporate the cocoa via the syrup blended right into the waffles, and also utilize egg replacer powder. Thanks to Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup Member Rachel Z. for the heads up!

VegNews’ November-December 2011 (print edition) “Wild Waffles” brought our beloved food to the winter holidays. Its waffle and topping recipes featured dill and beets respectively, both flavors I love. And the poetic description of a vegan waffle-topping event is plenty to get one amped up:

“Without the syrup, waffles’ complex, subtly sweet flavor begs for savory experimentation, limited only by your global culinary imagination. During the holiday, brunch offers a superb opportunity for a casual yet lavish affair, with guests mingling in the kitchen as one freshly made waffle after another gets served up.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself! And of course, the recipes would work just as well for a May or June waffle party.

SheKnows Miso Vegan’s Five-Spice Vegan Waffles recipe, also incorporating grated lemon zest, presents an interesting flavor for a waffle. And I imagine the kitchen smells quite nice while baking them. Given the amount of waffle I like to have at one sitting, I might question the “serves 8.” And I’d probably dump even more spice into it, as I like a good kick in the tastebuds.

Perhaps the most interestingly named vegan waffles posted recently are “Padgett Waffles with a Fullerton Twist.” Quite a noble-sounding waffle! I’d love to see all the suggested vegan modifications incorporated into an actual recipe, especially as posting the readable page photo of a cookbook, unless it’s in the public domain, may ruffle some feathers. I appreciate the author’s recognition that one can still publicly explore and support vegan and vegetarian cooking without proclaiming a fully vegan lifestyle—it’s indeed a continuum, not a dichotomy.

The First Mess’s Banana Coconut Waffles (or pancakes) recipe stood out for a few reasons. First, I like that it emphasizes oiling the grids between each waffle—I’ve seen a few people get turned off by vegan waffles right off the bat because they often do require more frequent oiling than non-vegan waffles. That, of course, doesn’t make the vegan waffles inferior; it’s just a simple fact. The other interesting point is the use of either ground chia or flax seeds. I’ve talked to a few runners over the years who swear by chia pancakes as a great energy source (per the discussion of chia in Born to Run), but haven’t yet tried it as a waffle binder.

The above led me to an earlier (May 2010) Pre-Race Pinole and Chia Waffles recipe on No Meat Athlete—which also has a cool Vegetarian Guide to Conquering Your First 26.2 Miles. Do you know how many additional waffles you can gobble down while training for a marathon? Yum!

Also in March, Vegansaurus featured a guest post for “the greatest vegan waffle recipe in the world!” The title made me chuckle, and I really loved some of the instructions, like, “When mixing all the ingredients, be gentle, as if you were stroking a tiny kitten’s head.” The only change I might make is that I tend to prefer a slightly lumpy batter over a smooth and consistent one. The author’s waffle maker review site, mentioned at the bottom of the post, could be a very helpful resource once it’s developed. This would include comments based on real-life experience with vegan waffles. Although the GVWC also includes a short guide to waffle makers, I’m unable to answer questions about specific models that I sometimes receive, outside of the Waring Pro WMK300 and a few others.

While it goes back a few years, Go Dairy Free posted a brief but useful list of Global Vegan Waffle Party Approved Recipes.

If you’re planning vegan pancakes rather than waffles, particularly fitting for this year’s theme are some of the delicious-looking recipes in Chocolate-Covered Katie’s “Pancake Pandemonium.” And she has plenty of recipes that would work as vegan chocolate waffle toppings as well. Some, but certainly not all, pancake recipes will work as waffles either as-is or with adjustments including a bit of extra oil; I’m unable to comment on any specific recipe I haven’t actually tried.

Hopefully this gives you some additional resources for your vegan waffle event!

*From The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook and Vegan Chocolate Seduction

If we have at least 25 Global Vegan Waffle Party 2012 hosts signed up by Friday, May 11, I’ll randomly select a winning host for each of the following three prizes. Hosts who have already signed up are included:

• $30 Amazon gift card to be used toward the waffle maker / waffle iron of your choice
• $20 Amazon gift card to be used toward the waffle maker / waffle iron of your choice
• cookbook two-pack: 1 copy of The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook, and 1 copy of Vegan Chocolate Seduction

Technical, drop-dead, zombie-police-state-enforced deadline is 11:59 PM Eastern (GMT -5), Friday, May 11. But I probably won’t actually be awake then, so if a few last-minute hosts sneak in before I get up the next morning, I may have to let it slide.

Winners announced in comments here and on Facebook Vegan Waffles page by Sunday, May 13. So tell your friends to host a party, too! Per the 2012 Host List, we’re about halfway there as of the date of this post.

I realize that many waffle makers are much more than $20 or $30, but we’re low budget here, and this is just an extra little way of saying thank you for helping with meaningful causes!

If you’ve been craving a vegan waffle topping recipe that’s a cross between fudge and chocolate cheesecake, dark and moderately sweet with a slightly fermented and savory edge, I can totally relate.

That’s exactly how I came up with this waffle spread recipe, building upon Russell James’ basic cashew nut cheese recipe from his Raw Nut Cheese Recipes ebook. You can spread it on waffles, or after it’s thickened and ripened a bit more in the fridge for a few days, slice it into bite-sized pieces and eat it alone as a dessert.

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1 cup water (for a slightly more fermented flavor, you can also use rejuvelac as described at Sunny Raw Kitchen)
• 1 teaspoon probiotic powder*
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar**
• 2 tablespoons molasses (preferably blackstrap)
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Soak the cashews in room-temperature water for 20 minutes. Drain the cashews and place in a blender with the 1 cup of water (or rejuvelac prepared in advance) and probiotic powder, mixing at high speed until smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides of the blender pitcher as necessary.

Put the mixture in a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth (I used extra-fine cheesecloth and doubled it), placed over a bowl to catch any water. Then put a weight on top to help push out water. I use a jar filled with water as James suggests, with one addition: I then place the jar atop a flat-bottomed plastic bowl with a diameter just slightly smaller than that of the sieve. The bowl helps to distribute the weight for more even pressing. Don’t worry if that much water doesn’t drip out, as the cheesecloth itself will absorb some of the water.

Allow to culture at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. I chose the midpoint of James’ recommendation, allowing it to sit between 36 and 40 hours. Then remove the cultured mixture from the sieve or colander, and place in a medium bowl. Add the cocoa powder, brown sugar, molasses, nutritional yeast, and salt. Stir until well blended and smooth.

If you simply can’t resist, enjoy at this step, spread atop your favorite vegan waffle, alongside a glass of pinot noir. (Some wine recommendations at Barnivore or Veg News.) Otherwise, place the remainder in a small bowl in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the veggie crisper) for 1-2 days, where it will thicken just a bit more and the tartness from the culturing will become slightly more pronounced. We finished it within a week, so we didn’t get a chance to experiment with any serious aging.

Jo Stepaniak’s now-classic Uncheese Cookbook originally got me interested in homemade dairy-free cheese possibilities–including desserts similar to cheesecake. While some of her great recipes utilize miso to add a bit of that fermented flavor, the actual culturing of the nuts with probiotics takes things in another direction. (This is how Dr. Cow vegan cheeses does it, but with a bit more practice and know-how.)

I am curious to try a variation on this recipe as well: vegan chipotle chocolate cheese. I do have a bit of raw smoked chipotle cashew cheese aging in my new “cheese cave”–a re-purposed wine refrigerator that I got a good deal on–and may try a cocoa + chipotle hybrid spread in the near future. If you try something like this and it turns out well, please let me know!

*Note: You’ll need to check each brand of probiotic to confirm whether it comes from a non-dairy source. I can’t comment on the different results that different probiotic strains/blends may produce–sources I’ve read so far suggest that most probiotic powders will do the trick. I used New Chapter All Flora, a non-dairy-derived blend of several strains that James includes in his examples. If you buy capsules instead of powder, you’ll need to break open enough capsules to get a teaspoon of the powder, and then discard the shells of the capsules.

**Note: If you’re not a big fan of dark chocolate (i.e., with a cocoa content of above 50%) you may wish to experiment with adding a bit more brown sugar.

The great photo is from friend and very cool Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup Member Lisa Tirmenstein, who captured the colorful array of some of the ingredients prior to mixing. Add savory Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and yeast-raised aroma. Enjoy!

Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian vegan waffles

Because the dough needs time to rise, begin at least 3 hours in advance of baking the waffles or 1 1/2 hours in advance if you are using quick-rise yeast.

• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup pitted and finely chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, preserved in olive oil or rehydrated
• 1 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light or chickpea miso
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large non-metal bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt until well blended. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm location until the flour mixture has almost doubled. (You can use your oven for this. Make sure the oven rack is low enough for the bowl to fit. Turn the oven on for one to two minutes at 200 degrees F. Turn off the oven, place the covered bowl on the rack, and close the oven door. If you wish to let the batter stand overnight, covering the bowl and leaving it at room temperature will work fine.)

After the flour mixture has risen, chop the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and set aside. Combine the soymilk, oil, nutritional yeast, miso, flaxseed, sugar, garlic, baking powder, basil, onion powder, oregano, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly, breaking up any clumps of miso. Pour into the raised flour mixture and stir until well blended. Fold in the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat the waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes while the batter is standing. Spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil. Pour or ladle the batter into the center of the iron, covering no more than two-thirds of the iron’s surface for the first waffle. Adjust the amount as needed for subsequent waffles. Bake each waffle for 4 to 6 minutes, or until it can be removed easily.

As always, there’s no requirement to follow the theme, or you can modify as you prefer. Please sign up to host and share/like/tell your friends.Why chocolate and cheeze? First, I really enjoy these two food categories, having started to explore them in more depth over the last year. Secondly, they’re relatively popular in general, but many people are hesitant to try vegan versions of their favorites.

If you’re in need of ideas for yourself or guests, a few sources immediately come to mind. Chocolate Covered Katie, to my knowledge, is the go-to site for vegan chocolate recipes. Not to mention great photos that will make you want to start each meal with dessert. There are also a few noteworthy topping recipes in both the Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook and my recent Vegan Chocolate Seduction, alongside recipes inspired by Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and Liz Lovely’s Chocolate Moose Dragons.

As for cheeze-related topping recipes, Jo Stepaniak’s Uncheese Cookbook remains one of my favorites, especially as her spice combinations inspired a few of the savory waffle recipes in the GVWC. Alisa Fleming’s comprehensive Go Dairy Free
also includes recipes created from several bases.

I’d also like to experiment with some cultured (strong and sharp if possible) homemade vegan cheeses that would spread nicely on vegan waffles, and I’m hoping we can entice some creative guests of our local party to do the same. The Sunny Raw Kitchen has a basic cashew cheeze recipe that looks promising, along with several delicious-looking variations. I have yet to try some of the recipes from the Raw Nut Cheese ebook I recently purchased.

I look forward to hearing about your event, and your own vegan chocolate and cheeze waffle topping adventures!

Entries due by 11:59 PM Eastern (UTC -5) Sunday, Feb. 12, with winners announced by Feb. 14.

*If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can comment here on the blog below this post.

We needed a dish to take to a potluck recently, and chocolate pumpkin cookies quickly came to mind. I looove dark chocolate, and we had several cans of pumpkin on hand. However, we were already taking some cookies from Vegan Chocolate Seduction, and I was in the mood for mousse. This fall or winter holiday topping is great served up in a fancy glass or dish, or of course, on top of a vegan waffle.

• 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 12 ounces firm silken tofu
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons rum (optional)
• 2 tablespoons molasses (preferably blackstrap)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or mace

Combine the chocolate chips and vegan margarine in a small bowl,  and heat in the microwave at 45- to 60-second intervals just until the chocolate is melted and most lumps can be stirred out. (Time may need to be adjusted depending upon your microwave’s power.) Alternately, melt the mixture in a small saucepan over low to medium heat, heating just until the chocolate has melted and stirring constantly to avoid burning the chocolate.

Combine the softened chocolate chips and margarine with all other ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth. This is a thick mixture, so you may need to stop the blender several times to push the unmixed portion down near the blades with a large spoon or spatula before replacing the lid and turning the blender back on. If you sense you’re maxing out your blender’s power and size capacity, you may find it easier to divide the mixture into two portions, blend them separately until smooth, and then blend them back together at the end.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, as the mixture will thicken a bit as it cools. Serve on top of freshly baked vegan waffles, or in a pompous-looking serving cup or dish.

To make it extra fancy, top the topping with finely chopped candied ginger and chopped chocolate chips or semisweet baker’s chocolate.

To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post’s link at the Facebook Vegan Waffles page * with an answer to the following: For whom would these two books make great gifts, and why?

You’re allowed to include yourself as the potential gift recipient, and the gift-giving occasion could be Christmas, Winter Solstice and Yule, a birthday, etc.

I’ll pick the one I find the most convincing, and if I just can’t decide after checking the list twice, I’ll randomly select from the finalists.

Deadline is noon Eastern (UTC -5) on Saturday, and I’ll be sending them out USPS Priority Mail on Monday. Best wishes!

By the way, Seduction is now also available in epub format through Barnes and Noble.

*If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can comment here on the blog.