This year’s first reported vegan waffle party was catalyzed by enthusiastic vegan waffler Haroula G. and some of her students in Athens, Greece. And they really know how to pile many toppings onto a waffle. I wanted to pass this fun example along to provide some additional early inspiration.

Toppings included “apricot, kiwi, hand made strawberry jam, chocolate sorbet, ice cream,mango sorbet, wild forest sorbet, nuts, and applesauce.” Haroula explained that while they are preparing the waffle in the video, they are already talking about what toppings their next waffle will have on it! She’s also kindly posted a few photos on the Facebook page, where other hosts are welcome to post highlights. Time to eat!

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.

I recently asked fellow Pittsburgher and vegan cookbook author Jo Stepaniak if she had any quick thoughts for possible pairings between Saucy Vegetarian topping recipes and Waffle Party waffle recipes. Even though several of the vegan cookbooks on our shelf offer excellent possibilities, I haven’t had the time to try many of them yet!

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