• 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.

From a vegan or total vegetarian perspective, having pancakes on Shrove or Fat Tuesday may seem paradoxical because, well, we have no milk, butter or eggs that will go bad. Of course, since the tradition already exists, it presents a good opportunity to improve the lives of our fellow creatures while many others are merely “shriving” or repenting for sins.

Most vegan waffle recipes can be converted to pancakes quite easily. Pancakes usually need less oil, so that can be reduced to 1 or 2 tablespoons. If the first pancake comes out too thick when using your favorite waffle batter, just add a little more soymilk or water to the mix. Outside of that, you should be pretty much set to go. (Because the waffle iron is less forgiving than the skillet, converting a pancake recipe to a waffle recipe is a bit trickier.)

If you’re feeling lucky or spend so much time in the kitchen that you can judge measurements with your eyes, you can follow Moby’s vegan pancakes method.

My personal favorite for cooking vegan pancakes is a well-seasoned iron skillet on a gas range; and I usually use vegan margarine rather than canola oil because I like the extra bit of saltiness.

When your pancakes are vegan, you can tell people you celebrate “Fat but Cholesterol Free Tuesday,” and grin as they roll their eyeballs. (If you’re vegan or vegetarian, it will make up for all those Fridays this time of year when you’re asked, “So fish is also considered meat?”)

Ingredients

• 1/3 C raw pecans, finely chopped
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 C all-purpose wheat flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t xanthan gum powder
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/2 C + 2 T soymilk
• 1 1/2 C apple cider
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/2 C canola oil
• 1 t vanilla

Directions

Chop the pecans and set them aside. In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, mix the soymilk, apple cider,  sugar, canola oil, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until the dry ingredients are saturated. Fold in the chopped pecans. Spray the waffle iron generously with oil, and cook for about a minute longer than normal cooking time. Drizzle with hot maple syrup or sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar.

However, when we get into gluten-free waffle making, and start substituting flours like rice flours/tapioca flour mixtures or pre-mixed gluten free blends, there may not be enough binding. This is where xanthan gum can be a life saver. A chain of sugars produced by bacteria found on certain plants, it has thickening and binding properties, and is sold as a powder. While an 8 oz. bag runs over $10, it lasts for a very long time because it is used in very small quantities.

For a mix making roughly 4 waffles, I find that 1 teaspoon or less of xanthan gum generally does the trick, unless the waffle also includes a lot of non-flour add-ins that impede binding. Do be aware that greater quantities of xanthan gum will also make your waffles a little crustier and denser, and not quite as light and fluffy, so it may take a little experimenting to find your perfect balance.

In some cases, our ceremonies take on an even more sinister tone, e.g., in the case of “animal roasts” where an entire animal will we brought out before a celebrating crowd. Is the violence-driven bonding and silent proclamation of power over another formerly living being really so different than that of say, a mob of racist people watching in delight as another human being of a different color hangs to their death, or a group of homophobic men tying another person to a fence and beating them due to their sexual orientation? Or is it simply that the recipient of violence is different? These are certainly not comfortable things for any of us to think about, let alone admit to ourselves. It may not be a coincidence that many of these celebrations also involve heavy drinking; perhaps it helps us to detach ourselves from the face that is suddenly clearer to us.  And such detachment and denial leaves us at risk of the same violence through which people may turn on one another. If such concepts are entirely new to you, resources such as this clip from the documentary “Earthlings” may help to make such connections.

Fourth of July picnics are a huge economic driver, and it is one of the busiest days of the year for many food retailers. Unfortunately, many of the products picnickers and grillers purchase are far from vegan or vegetarian.

If the weather’s nice, you’ll probably want to be outside grilling some kabobs with tofu, onion and other veggies, or perhaps some seasoned portabellas or homemade bean burgers. However, should rain be expected where you live (it is here in the ‘Burgh!), break out the waffle iron, pull out a few good vegan waffle recipes, and invite a few friends over. You can even throw one the morning after the big barbecue. Just keep the firecrackers away from the hot waffle iron…

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.

Her actions helped me to recognize that although waffleparty.com offers a growing range of resources related specifically to vegan waffles, they’re mostly my own ideas so far, and I’m sure a lot of you who visit this site have great things to contribute.

Thus, if you have a vegan waffle recipe (or highly creative topping!) you’d like to see posted here, please send it to me through the contact form on this site. Please include how you’d like to be credited and what link you’d like me to include (e.g., your blog, the page for your cookbook, etc.). If you also submit it to Alisa at godairyfree.org, that will help your recipe to reach even more people, alongside helping to build her excellent resource.

While she hasn’t had time to do a “taste bud confirmation” of any of the pairings either, Jo kindly suggested a number of possibilities. If you also own (or buy) a copy of Saucy and try any of these out before I do, please leave your comments and let me know how they worked for you.

Vegan Orange Basil Cornmeal Waffles: Orange-Tahini Dressing, Creamy Orange-Sesame Dressing, Miso-Citrus Sauce, Basil Red Pepper Sauce, Fennel, Orange & Walnut Sauce, Orange Aioli

Cheddar Cheesy Vegan Waffles Recipe: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Cheese Sauce, Simple Cilantro Sauce, Red Pepper & Pignolia Sauce, Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pesto, Cucumber-Dill Dressing

Mexican Refried Bean & Cornmeal Vegan Waffles: Simple Cilantro Sauce, Yellow Ocher Vinaigrette, Del Sol Dressing, Chili Bean Sauce, Spicy Red Bean Sauce, Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

Yeast-Powered Vegan Waffles: Creamy Tarragon Dressing, Tahini Tarragon Dressing, Hummus Sauce, Gee Whiz Sauce, Green Olive & Nori Dressing, Creamy Pesto Sauce