• 1/2 cup peanut butter (may be smooth or crunchy)
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring constantly. Continue 1 to 3 minutes, or until peanut butter is melted and mixture is well-blended and thoroughly heated. Spoon over your favorite vegan waffle, and do a little dance around the table. To add tartness and texture, top with thinly-sliced fresh apple.

• 1 cup barley flour
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspooon salt
• 2 1/4 cups soymilk
• 1/4 cup barley malt syrup
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the soymilk, barley malt syrup, canola oil, and flaxseed in a medium bowl. Pour the soymilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Cook on a waffle iron for 3 to 4 minutes, generously spraying both grills with oil before each waffle. Makes 4 to 5 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles.

Note: You can substitute molasses if you don’t have barley malt syrup on hand, but the flavor will vary slightly.

• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups canned coconut milk (full-strength, not the watered-down variety)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Sift or whisk together the bread flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the coconut milk, water, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Pour the coconut milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Pre-spray waffle iron with one coat of oil spray. Use exactly 1/2 cup batter on a 6-1/2 inch round electric wafflemaker. Cook 15 seconds past “done” on medium setting. Makes 8 (6-1/2 inch) round Belgian waffles. (Yielded 5 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles on Dave’s waffle maker, using a little more batter for each.)

For a treat, drain a single-serving of Del Monte Cherry Mixed Fruit, layer the fruit on top of one waffle with Grade B 100% maple syrup, put another waffle and syrup above that, and cut the whole sandwich into 1″ squares and eat.

Nutrition

Serving size: One 6-1/2 inch round vegan waffle (excluding toppings)

Calories: 270

Protein: 5.5 grams

Fat: 10.76 grams

- as Saturated Fats: 7.1 grams

Carbohydrates: 36.3 grams

- as Sugar: 2.08 grams

- as Fiber: 1.37 grams

Sodium: 460 grams

Calcium: 70 mg

Our plan was to set up a small vegan waffle serving station alongside several groups who were to hold demonstrations and workshops on environmental and climate-related issues. Alongside the vegan waffles, we planned to distribute some literature about the environmental benefits of plant-based diets and lifestyles to some of the activists. Seemed simple enough.

On Wednesday, the city announced that the park where they had recently granted permits for the environmental activism groups would be closed by the Secret Service that evening through Thursday. One of the main events of the G-20 was to occur at a secured site adjacent to the park, in a building chosen partially due to its recent ultra-green renovations. The environmental groups reported soon thereafter that their tents, tables, and chairs were confiscated.

We were thus without a location, audience, waffle iron energy source, or time to formulate another plan. Without knowing all the behind-the-scenes details and decision making parameters, one can only speculate why the above events occurred.

During the G-20, thousands of individuals voiced their opinions peacefully, without any issues. However, some of the negative interactions that did occur reinforced certain vegan and vegetarian philosophical underpinnings. For example, our behavior and attitudes toward one another as human beings often parallel our behavior and attitudes toward other animals. The cyclists and pedestrians in this widely disseminated video are being prodded along like factory farm cows; a female student reacts violently after being struck from behind with police batons at least twice, and is arrested. Even slaughtering experts acknowledge that herding behavior creates great stress in other animals, so it should be no surprise that it also creates great stress for people.

YouTube and the G-Infinity Indymedia site include various videos and commentary on other “human herding” interactions during the G-20 in Pittsburgh.

The idea of twenty of the world’s important leaders coming to town probably placed great weight upon mid-level leaders’ shoulders–and as anyone with a background in leadership or management knows, stress is often passed down the line. There were also a few cases where demonstrators openly taunted and provoked police, and caused property damage, which is asking for a reaction. However, this doesn’t justify the cases where non-confrontational individuals were assaulted. For everyone’s sake, I hope that better training and preparation occur on both sides the next time one of these meetings occurs. Many leaders, demonstrators, and law enforcers did a wonderful job, but it takes only a bit of blood to spoil the pot of veggie stew. Or the First Amendment.

In the meantime, we can still choose to eat peacefully and sustainably.

First, we very much hope for a violence-free event, where various groups have ample opportunity to peacefully and safely vocalize their suggestions before the media and the world. We hope that the thousands of military, police, and other security professionals also find their work here to be relatively easy and uneventful, and return safely to their families.

Secondly, we hope for a productive session for the world leaders, including generation of next steps in some of the same areas that veganism seeks to address, e.g., environmental sustainability, food security, energy use, human/animal rights, conflict, and public health.

To express our support in these areas, we’ll be serving up vegan peace waffles here in Pittsburgh on Thursday, September 24, from 6-9 PM. Anyone participating in Pittsburgh G-20 activities (including visitors from other states/countries) is welcome to attend. Because we can accommodate only around 20 people, please RSVP here if you plan to attend.

And if you plan to join us by hosting your own G-20 Vegan Peace Waffle Summit in your city/country, please let us know via contact form or comment below this post.

Thanks, Cornelius!

Jen. C at Devious Soybeans writes,

“The waffle party was a hit. There were 12 of us and we turned it into a brunch thing with mimosas. I made three different kinds of waffles: the yeast ones from your site, chocolate and banana nut. I did a mini post about it here: http://devioussoybeans.com/?p=241 .”

Below is a pic from Jen’s party, posted with her kind permission. (Bigger version on her blog.) They almost look too good to eat!

Vegan waffles from Devious Soybeans party

In Braddock, PA, Jeanine Hall and others held a “Delicious Donations” waffle fundraiser for artistic endeavors, including vegan waffles and toppings among their offerings. She sent a few pics of some very creative vegan waffles baked on a custom-made iron. The pictures were taken by Jenny Fremlin, and the waffle iron was created by Gavin Kenyon. I’m not sure that baking or eating vegan waffles makes me feel like a woman, but I would like to know how the iron was built! Very impressive.

Vegan waffle from a custom-build iron

Vegan waffle from a custom-built iron 2

Christine “Peanut” Vardaros again held a small but authentic Belgian waffle brunch, cooking up some tasty coconut waffles and using some fresh cherries from a backyard tree. If you’re connected with her on Facebook, she’s posted some pics on her page there. She noted, “I gave the leftovers to regular street waffle-eating Belgian relatives here and they all agreed that they were exactly like the street waffle style but much more tasty!”

Elaine Vigneault shared that she threw a small Las Vegas vegan pancake party with Diner Style Pancakes, posting both a pre-party vlog and some pancake pics.

Thanks to all those who reported on their gatherings, and I look forward to more fun in the future! Vegan waffle party wouldn’t exist without your participation.

This year the multi-talented Vance Lehmkuhl at Vegcast.com interviewed me about vegan waffles and waffle parties. I may post some highlights about it in the near future, but in the meantime you can listen to the full interview (look for Vegcast #63, May 22, 2009).

As shown in the list and map on the right hand side of this page, several more cities (and countries!) threw vegan waffle parties this year. I’ve already received a few brief reports and photos, but I’m looking forward to getting a few more so I can post them here.

In Pittsburgh, participants included practicing vegans and vegetarians, individuals curious about veganism and vegan food, and others simply looking to try something different and have fun. The delicious vegan waffle toppings included eggplant and onion, sambar, nut-based gravies, green mango chutney, fresh fruits and jams, multi-layer bean dip, sloppy tofu, vegan ice creams, fresh homemade salsa, baked apples, and many others. Out of respect for privacy, I’ve blurred faces in the pics below with the exception of mine and Jen’s.

Wafflers congregate around vegan waffle toppings

Guests chat between bites

We enjoyed beautiful weather the afternoon of the party, so some of  the wafflers sat outside…

Fresh air aids digestion of vegan waffles

…While others relaxed in the living room.

Wafflers eat and enjoy conversation

As for the vegan waffle recipes, I served slight variations on the yeast-raised vegan waffles which have always been popular in the past, banana-spelt waffles, a rice-based waffle, and some “gourmet” waffles with fillings.

To make the party more environmentally friendly, we took a few additional steps to reduce waste. We didn’t want to use a bunch of disposable plates and cups, but we also didn’t want large stacks clunky, breakable plates and unstackable cups-especially given that we’d have limited room with a large crowd in our relatively small dining room. As a compromise, we invested in some recycled Preserve plates and cups, which are lightweight, stackable, and dishwashable on gentle cycle. They’re initially much more expensive than disposable plates, but should pay for themselves as we reuse them over time. A few of our neighbors also allowed us to borrow some plates and cloth napkins.

To simplify collection of used items, we set up several labeled bins for the following: plates, cups, silverware, non-recyclable trash including food scraps, recyclable trash, and compostable items such as lightly soiled paper napkins.

Jen with the vegan waffle party recycling system

Roughly 45 people attended over the course of the evening, and we ended up with less than half of a 13-gallon bag of non-recyclable, non-compostable trash. If you try a system like this for your party, I’d love to hear how it worked!

Our neighbor Gary Crouth dropped by with some of his MOO (no dairy products; stands for “Make Our Own”), a homemade laundry detergent placed in reused bottles, along with a message on the benefits of making certain items at home. This can not only save money (costs less than 10 cents a cup to produce), but can yield environmental benefits by reducing shipping, and can even form the foundation of local/neighborhood bartering systems. Pretty innovative stuff-so cool that we let him bring MOO in lieu of a vegan waffle topping. He doesn’t have a website up yet, but you can get more info by emailing MOO (at) digbybooks (dot) com.

MOO "Make Our Own" samples

Even though we’ve already had our annual waffle party in Pittsburgh, it’s not too late to have yours, especially if you’re doing a waffle-related event in conjunction with the first Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. If you’re hosting something along these lines in June, or plan to do something in 2010, please let us know.

Finally, I’ve been asked whether I’m involved in a secret marketing conspiracy with Isa Chandra Moskowitz, as her Vegan Brunch cookbook was released within a few days of the Vegan Waffle Party, and its front cover features her holding a stack of vegan waffles. While these may be interesting coincidences when taken together, I must deny these speculations. We simply set this year’s Multi-City Vegan Waffle Party on the same weekend it was held last year. Nor can I speak to whether the Vegan Waffle Party impacted how her book was designed or released; I can only say that I’m extremely flattered if it actually did. I hope that vegan waffle parties inspire even more people to buy her book. Although I haven’t yet seen it, I have no doubt the recipes are delicious. And, of course, I hope that her book inspires even more people to throw vegan waffle parties. Our efforts can’t reach everyone, so any assistance from others is welcome!

And thanks again to our neighbors and friends (Jen and Kevin, Anne Lynch, and others), who helped us out in various ways.

Happy vegan waffling!

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups soymilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the soymilk, canola oil, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Pour the soymilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Cook on a waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes, generously spraying both grills with oil before each waffle. Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles.

We’ve adopted “Vegan, Green & Delicious” as the theme for Pittsburgh’s 2009 vegan waffle party, to promote awareness of the connections between environmental responsibility and reduction of animal product consumption. Tell us about your May or June party plans so I can email you the Vegan Waffle Party Host Primer, with several vegan waffle cooking tips and recipes not found on this site.

Vegan Waffle Party Host Primer

And if the budget’s tight, see if your event may qualify for assistance through VegFund! While “being green” has dramatically increased in popularity, some very important areas of environmental stewardship remain largely ignored. Among them is the need to reduce our animal product consumption drastically.

When people eat animal flesh, they obtain only a small portion of the plant nutrition, water, and other resources originally consumed by the animal – after all, any living creature needs to use much of its food energy just to sustain itself. By consuming plant-based foods directly, we eliminate the “middleman” (or middlecow) and reduce our impact upon Earth’s resources. By some estimates, it takes five pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to produce each pound of beef (Kostigen & Rogers, 2007). And this one example is just the beginning – practices such as the use of antibiotics and hormones wreak further havoc upon the environment, and many concentrated animal farming practices increase the likelihood of dangers such as species-jumping viruses.

This year, we’re also striving to make our party greener in other important ways beyond the food itself. We’re not trying to be perfect, but are doing things like borrowing dinnerware from neighbors and friends so we don’t have to use so many disposables.

If you’d like to blaze the trail by hosting a vegan waffle party this year, we’d love to hear about it!

Sources

Kostigen, T. & Rogers, E. (2007). The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time. New York: Three Rivers Press.