waffle irons ready for waffle party

I don’t know what an eager waffle iron looks like, but ours are freshly cleaned and seem ready to go. Luckily, I was able to repair one that lost two screws during a very busy day of waffle baking and photo taking a few months ago.

Belgium, Canada, England, Japan, and the U.S. will be having vegan waffle parties going on this weekend, as part of Global Vegan Waffle Party IV. I’m looking very forward to hearing about them, getting some highlights and photos to share, and so on! Lots of fun.

We’re excited to have some newcomers adding to the energy as well as returning hosts from one or more prior years, as can be seen on the finally-updated “past years hosts” page. One of them (other than us) has even participated all four years. In some cases, individuals within the same city or Meetup group have rotated hosting so their area continues to have an event. And some hosts have kindly contributed over multiple years in other ways, e.g., mentioning the event on their blog.

working the waffle iron & 12" iron pancake skillet

All right, so I’m not as “ripped” as serious vegan bodybuilders. I accept that. However, I still keep myself in decent shape by running and pumping iron regularly. Oh, and there’s that plant-based diet thing.

The Global Vegan Waffle Party recognizes the links between kindness, health, and ecological sustainability, all of which vegan practices help to address. As we’ve emphasized through prior years’ themes, certain aspects of our consumption practices, such as our use of other animals, are often understated in the environmental equation.

For these reasons, I was especially excited to hear that Robert Cheeke had been planning to focus some marketing endeavors for his Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness around Earth Day 2011, April 22. The last I heard, he was  asking others to buy his book that weekend, helping to boost it to the top of the Amazon charts. This, in turn, will help others to discover his work. That’s triply cool, because it really links kindness, health, and sustainability.

We would like to join Robert (and any other authors who may be doing something similar) in efforts to pump up veganism on Earth Day. What better way to do this than with a giveaway!

Here’s how this one will work: If you buy a copy of any vegan-related book from April 22-24, 2011, from any website or bookstore, simply comment with the title(s) below this post for a chance to win one of two copies of The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook. (You can choose between paperback or ebook format.) Important catch: At least 20 different people must respond for the giveaway to occur, so spread the word!

Should you end up with two copies of the GVWC, you’ll have one to give away to a friend or relative!

Comments must be posted by noon Eastern (GMT -4) on April 25, and the winner will be announced here by the following day.

When I asked for feedback last year regarding other ideas for vegan food celebrations, the great ideas you mentioned included vegan pizza parties. As I noted, our current focus would remain on vegan waffle parties, ’cause there’s still much to do. Thus, I was excited to see that VegNews, vegan blogger Quarrygirl, and Chicago Soydairy have teamed up to promote a new day celebrating a specific vegan food: Vegan Pizza Day (Saturday, January 29).

vegan pizza waffles

What’s great about this event is that it encourages support of restaurants offering vegan options, and it meshes nicely with the already-established Vegan Drinks events.

To honor Vegan Pizza Day a week early, and to help them get the word out, today we ate vegan pizza waffles for lunch. Hopefully this also provides an idea for those of you who don’t have vegan pizza in your area yet.

Yeast-raised vegan waffles, because of their slightly chewier texture, are best for this task. I had planned to bake up a fresh of waffles, but Jen talked me into reheating some frozen ones from a few weeks ago in the toaster. It worked very well. After toasting the waffles slightly, we topped them with spaghetti sauce, chopped vegan sausage, vegan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, and cayenne, and microwaved until the cheese was slightly melted. Jen petted LeMew to distract him from the waffles as I snapped a few pictures. (See his “overly curious” look?)

LeMew wants vegan pizza waffles

The Yeast-Powered Vegan Waffles recipe would work well for this, as would the Yeast-Raised Waffles, Yeast-Raised Gluten-Free Buckwheat Waffles, or Caramelized Onion and Garlic Waffles in the GVWC. (The Umami Mama Waffles, I’ve been told, taste like pizza even without any toppings–but it is hard to have too many toppings.)

I won’t reveal which specific brand of vegan cheese we used, although I will say that Chicago Soydairy’s delicious ice cream will be going on my waffles again when the weather gets warmer here. It’s hard to beat the vegan ice cream ‘n’ waffles combo–but vegan pizza waffles certainly satisfy the savory urge.

I hope the first Vegan Pizza Day has a great positive impact!

Regardless of whether you’re baking any vegan waffles today, if you live in the U.S., consider taking a few silent moments away from your busy schedule to acknowledge the vital contribution of Cornelius Swartwout on this date in 1869. That’s when he patented the first waffle iron in the U.S. If you live elsewhere, I’m curious to know when the waffle maker came to your country, and whether you have a National Waffle Day.

Thanks, Cornelius!

It’s almost that time of year! On Saturday, May 23, 2009 we’ll again be spreading the word about compassionate and sustainable eating in a fun way, through vegan waffle parties. We’re hosting Waffle Party 11 in Pittsburgh, and welcome hosts in other cities around the world to throw parties on or near this date (May or June).

Please tell us about your party plans via the brief registration form, so I can email you the Vegan Waffle Party Host Primer. (It has several vegan waffle tips and recipes not found on this site.) If the budget is tight and your event adheres to their guidelines, VegFund may even be able to help you cover many of your party costs! The first multi-city vegan waffle party was a lot of fun!

Vegan Waffle Party Host Primer

Waffle parties consist of serving vegan waffles for anywhere from 2 to 100 people. You can have each guest bring a creative vegan topping, or you can provide your own. A number of free recipes and topping ideas are on this site – you might even create a special theme for your party, like all Indian or Mexican toppings, or chocolate. You can throw one for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner; and you can invite guests with a range of dietary/lifestyle preferences if you wish – as long as all the food is vegan.

You can throw a free party, or you can suggest contributions at the door as a fundraiser for the charity of your choice.  For example, we plan to raise some funds for Pittsburgh’s new Three Rivers Vegan Society with our party. If you wish to stretch the boundaries a bit, you could even host a vegan waffle bake sale, and also register your event with the cool folks who are catalyzing the first worldwide vegan bake sale this year. (If you throw a waffle-related event during the June 20-28 timeline on their site, we’d still love to post a link to your site here!)

If you wish to host a vegan waffle party, please let us know via the brief registration form.

Last year Waffle Party began to grow, with hosts in several cities serving up delicious vegan waffles. Thanks to sites including Godairyfree, PETA, Soystache, Veganhacker, Vegan Recipes at Blogspot, Vegan World Network, and the Vegan Society for helping to get out the word last year. This year, we hope to shift it toward “above underground” status, with several dozen adventurous hosts spreading the joy of vegan food – will this include you?

Our event is on Memorial Day Weekend in the U.S., which we again feel is fitting given the likely connection between different types of violence. Memorial Day is a time of reflection regarding the myriad people who have suffered and lost their lives in human conflict, along with the families who have sacrificed alongside them. Waffle parties are partially about removing some of the unnecessary violence from the human lifestyle, i.e., our current means of relating to other sentient beings. Because suppressing our recognition of one type of violence may make it easier to suppress others, adjusting the way in which we relate to non-human animals may be a key step toward establishing more harmonious human relations. Waffle parties help us to celebrate the possibilities for a more sustainable, healthy and peaceful future, while also generating awareness.

Have fun, and please help to spread the word!

While perfect for Valentine’s Day, these vegan waffles are great anytime. Dark, sweet chocolate and spice warm up the taste buds. These moist and cakelike treats can follow dinner, or you might serve them to that special someone for a desserty breakfast or brunch in bed.

For now these are a special treat just for signing up for the news/updates list – because you have an extra-special place in my heart.   Look for it in the text of the automated final confirmation email, and enjoy the recipes already on this site.

If you’re already on the list and want a copy, send a quick message stating “I want my Hot Chocolate Molasses Waffles!” and I will get right on it.

I actually baked these waffles for brunch on New Year’s morning, but because Groundhog Day in the U.S. (February 2) is just a few weeks away, you’re welcome to use this recipe for either – or on any other day of the year, for that matter. And if you see your shadow on the kitchen wall while baking or eating these, it’ll be six more weeks of winter! Which, of course, is an exceptionally great time to warm up the tummy with a nice waffle. Slightly crispy, sweet, and salty, these would work well with a range of toppings.

By the way, we hope that in the future, the timid groundhog may experience kinder treatment on this day, quietly hibernating in his/her habitat as nature intended rather than facing noisy crowds and cameras.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 C brown rice flour
• 1/2 C tapioca flour
• 1/4 C whole grain teff (not ground into flour)
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 1/2 t xanthan gum powder
• 1/2 t cinnamon (optional)
• 1 1/4 t salt
• 2 C soymilk
• 1/4 C canola oil
• 3 T brown sugar
• 3 T maple syrup
• 2 t vanilla

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, teff, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl, mix the soymilk, canola oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until the dry ingredients are saturated. Bake in a generously oiled iron for about a minute longer than the iron manufacturer’s recommended average cooking time.

I’d love to hear how they worked for you!

Looking for a reason for a party? Today, October 1, marks the kickoff of Vegetarian Awareness Month, according to the North American Vegetarian Society. (By the way, if you haven’t been to a NAVS conference yet, you should know that the food there is all vegan – definitely worth checking out!) So if you’ve got a cool vegan or vegetarian event planned, let them know, as it may inspire others. And if it involves vegan waffles, you know who wants to hear about that.

While waffle irons may have existed in Europe for centuries before they were introduced in the U.S., Cornelius Swartwout patented the first U.S. waffle iron on August 24, 1869. This provided yet another continent with an alternative to the two-dimensional pancake. A number of websites refer to August 24 as “National Waffle Day” in the U.S. for this reason.

Coincidentally, one of our neighbors is hosting a potluck this weekend, so I plan to bake some vegan waffles in honor of Cornelius. (If only they had known that eggs and dairy aren’t necessary for waffles back in 1869…) Regardless of where you live, I’d love to hear if you do the same! And should they come out exceptionally well, express your excitement with the “Woot!” of the waffle world: “Wout!”

You can read more about Mr. Swartwout’s important contribution at the Swarthout Family pages. (From what I can tell, the spelling of the last name has taken on different versions over the years.)

If you live in a country with a much longer waffle maker heritage, and have any information on the history, feel free to comment and share with us what you know!