(If you’re looking for the registration page for the Pittsburgh October 5 party, it’s here.)

In the worlds of politics and democracy, waffling can be a great thing! We’re still waffle-ironing out the details, but on Oct. 5,  we’re hosting a second 2008 waffle party here in the ‘Burgh. This is just after World Vegetarian Day on October 1, one month before the U.S. national elections, and one day before voter registration deadlines in Pennsylvania and a number of other states. This will be a fundraiser in collaboration with the Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania grassroots endeavor Everybody EAT, which supports voter engagement activities of Everybody VOTE and Pennsylvania Voice. The result: Everybody EAT Vegan Waffles! Half the proceeds will go directly to the Sierra Student Coalition, because we’d hope to see even more dialogue and collaboration between vegans/vegetarians and environmental advocates in the future.

So if you’re looking to promote a better world in multiple ways at once, this is a great time for a vegan waffle party!

If you live in Pennsylvania and want to host a waffle party fundraiser to support these civic participation endeavors sometime before November 4, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the appropriate people. I’d also love to include some info about your event on this site, and am happy to provide logistical suggestions if you need any.

If you live in another state, and take the initiative to support one of your local voter engagement endeavors with a waffle party (or even if you do it just in honor of World Vegetarian Day!), please let me know so we can mention your efforts on this site!

First, many thanks to those of you who also hosted waffle parties on the weekend of 5/24/08, creating the first-ever multi-city international vegan waffle party–or multi-city waffle party of any kind, for that matter! I enjoyed reading about your parties, toppings and recipes, and look forward to hearing more if you haven’t already posted. We’ve already heard from Belgium and Washington, DC.

We were quite excited with the turnout here in Pittsburgh, as more than 50 guests showed up for vegan waffles, toppings and conversation in our cozy rowhome. They included several neighbors, members of Pittsburgh’s growing Vegan Meetup Group (now over 200 people–thanks again to the founders of that group!), as well as friends from several other settings. Some were long-term vegans, and some were friends and neighbors who aren’t vegan or vegetarian at all. It was great to have this diversity in a setting where everyone can enjoy food and company. We even met a few new people who heard about the party from other websites including PETA. The food was delicious, and the conversation was even better.

Alongside prepping a beautiful veggie plate and a few of the toppings we supplied, Jen worked her usual magic with other logistics such as creating the “party atmosphere”–candles, lighting, and even incense for a “mood room” where a few guests enjoyed board games while digesting their waffles. Vegan personal chef Anne Lynch (a.k.a. “Vegan Goddess”) arrived a few minutes early and volunteered to help us with some last-minute touches. We’re glad she decided that her delicious cookies could count as a waffle topping.

For the waffles, I made additional adjustments to the modified vegan waffle recipes I used for WP9: buckwheat-oat (two tripled batches), yeast-raised whole wheat (two tripled batches), and spelt-oat-banana (two doubled batches). I’ll note the exact adjustments in the near future. I also enjoyed showing off the waffle apron I made on Zazzle, where I feature the RB People Gear. (I’ll likely be adding some WP-related items in the future.)

Some of this year’s vegan waffle toppings, in no particular order, are listed below. The pictures above, taken early in the party before the tables literally started to overflow, show a few of them:

• raw vegan chocolate sauce (from Pittsburgh’s Love Street Living Foods)
• guacamole
• cranberries in sweetened brandy syrup
• a whole watermelon
• cajun beans and greens (collards)
• savory brown rice medley
• marinated bean salad
• baba ganoush
• raspberry rhubarb sauce
• spicy peanut sauce and creamy raw spinach sauce (both brought by a Pittsburgh vegan cookbook author)
• fruit salad with mango, grapes, banana, cherries, apples
• vegan ice creams: Temptation peach cobbler, vanilla, homemade cashew-based chocolate/peanut butter, homemade coconut milk-based coconut/vanilla/almond
• Soyatoo vegan whipped cream
• vegan ambrosia
• chewy chocolate chip cookies
• hot maple syrup
• vegan cheez sauce
• vegan chocolate chips
• mango with lime, ginger and mint
• roasted red pepper basil sauce
• rice syrup
• banana in mango sauce
• spicy tempeh
• mixed berries
• mushroom medley
• no-bake mini cookies
• tropical oatmeal moist “brownies”
• crock cheez

I’m making myself hungry again by thinking about all the great things our guests brought!

The next evening, we even had an opportunity for a “mini follow-up party,” as a two friends showed up with a maple-currant-fig topping made with homemade syrup from a friend’s farm. While they were disappointed to have missed the party by a day, we happened to have one remaining batch of batter to mix up and cook–as well as some delicious leftover toppings. We enjoyed conversations about their endeavors to grow an entirely edible yard and other fascinating topics.

Thanks also to sites including Godairyfree, Veganhacker, Soystache, Vegan Recipes at Blogspot, Vegan World Network, the Vegan Society, and anyone else I’ve forgotten for helping to get word out about WP10.

Until we have the next “big one,” please keep us posted of any wafflicious events you have in the meantime! I’m sure we’ll find a few excuses to eat waffles. If you missed this year and would like to host one for your city/state/country in ’09, let me know and we’ll add you to the list.

Vegan waffle parties are off the grid! It is time to get the word out to the world. This will happen only with your action and creativity–and your willingness to join us in having a great time.

We’re hosting Waffle Party 10 here in Pittsburgh on the afternoon/evening of Saturday, May 24, 2008. We think it would be ultra-ultra-cool if adventurous people in several other cities around the globe also threw vegan waffle parties on 5/24. This would promote more sustainable, healthier, compassionate eating in a fun way! Please comment on this post if you’re interested in hosting one, so we have an idea of how many others will be waffle-partying that day. Whether you’re hosting 50 people for a big evening party or five people for a small brunch, we’d love to know.

This also happens to fall right at the end of the UK’s National Vegetarian Week, and according to some organizations/sites, World Vegetarian Week.

I’ve set up a blogroll category for sites of those who are also planning to host waffle parties on 5/24, and may look into something like having info/pics from the parties posted afterwards–I don’t know if this latter piece will happen, but I’ll let you know if it looks like a possibility. (Privacy of guests is always a consideration for us.) If it’s not okay to contact you with any relevant updates using the email you submit with your comment, just let me know. I anticipate only a few, with most major ones being through site postings.