If we have at least 25 Global Vegan Waffle Party 2012 hosts signed up by Friday, May 11, I’ll randomly select a winning host for each of the following three prizes. Hosts who have already signed up are included:

• $30 Amazon gift card to be used toward the waffle maker / waffle iron of your choice
• $20 Amazon gift card to be used toward the waffle maker / waffle iron of your choice
• cookbook two-pack: 1 copy of The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook, and 1 copy of Vegan Chocolate Seduction

Technical, drop-dead, zombie-police-state-enforced deadline is 11:59 PM Eastern (GMT -5), Friday, May 11. But I probably won’t actually be awake then, so if a few last-minute hosts sneak in before I get up the next morning, I may have to let it slide.

Winners announced in comments here and on Facebook Vegan Waffles page by Sunday, May 13. So tell your friends to host a party, too! Per the 2012 Host List, we’re about halfway there as of the date of this post.

I realize that many waffle makers are much more than $20 or $30, but we’re low budget here, and this is just an extra little way of saying thank you for helping with meaningful causes!

VegNews’ most recent newsletter includes two excellent resources for this year’s Global Vegan Waffle Party: The Guide to Vegan Chocolate, and The Guide to Vegan Cheese. They list a lot of options, so now you have no excuses. Only thing I’d add is Love Street Living Foods, a producer of delicious raw organic vegan chocolate from our area.

Makes 2 cups

If you’ve been craving a vegan waffle topping recipe that’s a cross between fudge and chocolate cheesecake, dark and moderately sweet with a slightly fermented and savory edge, I can totally relate.

That’s exactly how I came up with this waffle spread recipe, building upon Russell James’ basic cashew nut cheese recipe from his Raw Nut Cheese Recipes ebook. You can spread it on waffles, or after it’s thickened and ripened a bit more in the fridge for a few days, slice it into bite-sized pieces and eat it alone as a dessert.

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1 cup water (for a slightly more fermented flavor, you can also use rejuvelac as described at Sunny Raw Kitchen)
• 1 teaspoon probiotic powder*
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar**
• 2 tablespoons molasses (preferably blackstrap)
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Soak the cashews in room-temperature water for 20 minutes. Drain the cashews and place in a blender with the 1 cup of water (or rejuvelac prepared in advance) and probiotic powder, mixing at high speed until smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides of the blender pitcher as necessary.

Put the mixture in a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth (I used extra-fine cheesecloth and doubled it), placed over a bowl to catch any water. Then put a weight on top to help push out water. I use a jar filled with water as James suggests, with one addition: I then place the jar atop a flat-bottomed plastic bowl with a diameter just slightly smaller than that of the sieve. The bowl helps to distribute the weight for more even pressing. Don’t worry if that much water doesn’t drip out, as the cheesecloth itself will absorb some of the water.

Allow to culture at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. I chose the midpoint of James’ recommendation, allowing it to sit between 36 and 40 hours. Then remove the cultured mixture from the sieve or colander, and place in a medium bowl. Add the cocoa powder, brown sugar, molasses, nutritional yeast, and salt. Stir until well blended and smooth.

If you simply can’t resist, enjoy at this step, spread atop your favorite vegan waffle, alongside a glass of pinot noir. (Some wine recommendations at Barnivore or Veg News.) Otherwise, place the remainder in a small bowl in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the veggie crisper) for 1-2 days, where it will thicken just a bit more and the tartness from the culturing will become slightly more pronounced. We finished it within a week, so we didn’t get a chance to experiment with any serious aging.

Jo Stepaniak’s now-classic Uncheese Cookbook originally got me interested in homemade dairy-free cheese possibilities–including desserts similar to cheesecake. While some of her great recipes utilize miso to add a bit of that fermented flavor, the actual culturing of the nuts with probiotics takes things in another direction. (This is how Dr. Cow vegan cheeses does it, but with a bit more practice and know-how.)

I am curious to try a variation on this recipe as well: vegan chipotle chocolate cheese. I do have a bit of raw smoked chipotle cashew cheese aging in my new “cheese cave”–a re-purposed wine refrigerator that I got a good deal on–and may try a cocoa + chipotle hybrid spread in the near future. If you try something like this and it turns out well, please let me know!

*Note: You’ll need to check each brand of probiotic to confirm whether it comes from a non-dairy source. I can’t comment on the different results that different probiotic strains/blends may produce–sources I’ve read so far suggest that most probiotic powders will do the trick. I used New Chapter All Flora, a non-dairy-derived blend of several strains that James includes in his examples. If you buy capsules instead of powder, you’ll need to break open enough capsules to get a teaspoon of the powder, and then discard the shells of the capsules.

**Note: If you’re not a big fan of dark chocolate (i.e., with a cocoa content of above 50%) you may wish to experiment with adding a bit more brown sugar.

The 2012 suggested Global Vegan Waffle Party theme is Chocolate ‘n’ Cheeze! Chocolate, of course, can include any sweet or savory waffle topping incorporating cocoa, ranging from fudge sauce to cocoa-infused chili or mole sauce. As for vegan cheese or cheeze, a range of commercial vegan cheese options are available, including a few that are quite meltable or spreadable. Homemade cheeze also presents an opportunity for creativity.

As always, there’s no requirement to follow the theme, or you can modify as you prefer. Please sign up to host and share/like/tell your friends.Why chocolate and cheeze? First, I really enjoy these two food categories, having started to explore them in more depth over the last year. Secondly, they’re relatively popular in general, but many people are hesitant to try vegan versions of their favorites.

If you’re in need of ideas for yourself or guests, a few sources immediately come to mind. Chocolate Covered Katie, to my knowledge, is the go-to site for vegan chocolate recipes. Not to mention great photos that will make you want to start each meal with dessert. There are also a few noteworthy topping recipes in both the Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook and my recent Vegan Chocolate Seduction, alongside recipes inspired by Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and Liz Lovely’s Chocolate Moose Dragons.

As for cheeze-related topping recipes, Jo Stepaniak’s Uncheese Cookbook remains one of my favorites, especially as her spice combinations inspired a few of the savory waffle recipes in the GVWC. Alisa Fleming’s comprehensive Go Dairy Free
also includes recipes created from several bases.

I’d also like to experiment with some cultured (strong and sharp if possible) homemade vegan cheeses that would spread nicely on vegan waffles, and I’m hoping we can entice some creative guests of our local party to do the same. The Sunny Raw Kitchen has a basic cashew cheeze recipe that looks promising, along with several delicious-looking variations. I have yet to try some of the recipes from the Raw Nut Cheese ebook I recently purchased.

I look forward to hearing about your event, and your own vegan chocolate and cheeze waffle topping adventures!

I’d like to give a shout out to the first three hosts outside of Pittsburgh to let us know about their vegan waffle events this year: Fort Ashby, WV (Kerry S-D), Seattle, WA (Highway House), and Berkeley, CA (Karine B). I look forward to hearing more about them after they occur! It’s not too early to start planning yours, and feel free to mention it on the Vegan Waffles Facebook Page as well.

Makes 4 cups

We needed a dish to take to a potluck recently, and chocolate pumpkin cookies quickly came to mind. I looove dark chocolate, and we had several cans of pumpkin on hand. However, we were already taking some cookies from Vegan Chocolate Seduction, and I was in the mood for mousse. This fall or winter holiday topping is great served up in a fancy glass or dish, or of course, on top of a vegan waffle.

• 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 12 ounces firm silken tofu
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons rum (optional)
• 2 tablespoons molasses (preferably blackstrap)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or mace

Combine the chocolate chips and vegan margarine in a small bowl,  and heat in the microwave at 45- to 60-second intervals just until the chocolate is melted and most lumps can be stirred out. (Time may need to be adjusted depending upon your microwave’s power.) Alternately, melt the mixture in a small saucepan over low to medium heat, heating just until the chocolate has melted and stirring constantly to avoid burning the chocolate.

Combine the softened chocolate chips and margarine with all other ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth. This is a thick mixture, so you may need to stop the blender several times to push the unmixed portion down near the blades with a large spoon or spatula before replacing the lid and turning the blender back on. If you sense you’re maxing out your blender’s power and size capacity, you may find it easier to divide the mixture into two portions, blend them separately until smooth, and then blend them back together at the end.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, as the mixture will thicken a bit as it cools. Serve on top of freshly baked vegan waffles, or in a pompous-looking serving cup or dish.

To make it extra fancy, top the topping with finely chopped candied ginger and chopped chocolate chips or semisweet baker’s chocolate.

I’m giving away one hard copy of the Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook with its newly-designed cover, and one hard copy of the new Vegan Chocolate Seduction. (Both to the same person.)

To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post’s link at the Facebook Vegan Waffles page * with an answer to the following: For whom would these two books make great gifts, and why?

You’re allowed to include yourself as the potential gift recipient, and the gift-giving occasion could be Christmas, Winter Solstice and Yule, a birthday, etc.

I’ll pick the one I find the most convincing, and if I just can’t decide after checking the list twice, I’ll randomly select from the finalists.

Deadline is noon Eastern (UTC -5) on Saturday, and I’ll be sending them out USPS Priority Mail on Monday. Best wishes!

By the way, Seduction is now also available in epub format through Barnes and Noble.

*If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can comment here on the blog.

Vegan Waffle & Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Fluff

Following an earlier peanut butter based waffle topping recipe, I decided to play with peanut butter a bit more for our waffle party this year. Because a few guests requested this recipe, I decided it was worth posting. I didn’t measure the exact yield because I made it in somewhat of a rush, but it’s somewhere in the range of 1 1/2 to 2 cups–plenty for 4-6 generously topped vegan waffles.

• 6 ounces firm silken tofu, crumbled
• 3/4 cup vegan confectioner’s sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 1 tablespoon molasses (I use blackstrap)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a spoon until the confectioner’s sugar is moistened. (Otherwise the sugar may create a powdery cloud when you first start up the mixer.) Beat at medium to high speed with a powered hand mixer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving.

Note: For a hint of coffee flavor, add 1 1/2 teaspoons coffee extract.

The May-June 2011 Global Vegan Waffle Party Season has already included celebrations in more than 20 cities worldwide. Wafflers gathered (or soon will gather) in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. I very much enjoyed getting updates and/or photos from several hosts, including Andrea in Boston, MA, Dallas in Minneapolis, MN, Earl in Tokyo, Japan, Ida in New York City, and Carrie in Santa Barbara, CA. (More descriptions and links to external photo albums below.)

The Boston waffle party features some of the best photos of companion animals having a great time. Andrea in Boston reports: “We had three kinds of waffles, tons of fruit, tempeh bacon, smoothies, pan fried potatoes and a couple of toppings. [One photo] is my friends visiting from Austria; hopefully the WP will be really global in the future…After the party, we took our friends for a walk on the beach with the dogs who burned off some waffle calories.”

The Tokyo Vegan Meetup Group decided to connect with one another and have a bit of fun, despite the harsh difficulties experienced in Japan this year. Earl shared this:
“Our waffle party went well this year. Not too big, just 12 of us, but everyone showed up and we had a nice time. We tried a few different recipes this year. Banana-oatmeal-raisin, Carob, some plain, and Matcha waffles. Matcha is a kind of traditional Japanese tea. We made a mix of the naked waffles and then just added some Matcha powder to it. Tasted great and made for an interesting color (see the photos). The best topping this year was a cashew nut cream. We also used another kind of machine that makes bite sized shapes.”

Tokyo’s photos are the first to include a keytar (it brought back old teenage memories of trying to create my own keytar with a belt and duct tape), and their waffle maker is even more creative than the fish-shaped waffle maker they used last year.

I’m a bit envious of the Go Vegan Santa Barbara Meetup’s party because they even had a pool to enjoy alongside all the amazing food. Their photo collection gets the award for the brightest costume ever worn to a vegan waffle party.

The Minneapolis Animal Rights Coalition’s Wafflepalooza Twoza, which gets this year’s award for most musical-sounding event name, attracted a broad range of ages. Some pictures show individuals enjoying waffles, while others appear to show individuals with an intense craving for them. Once again, some very cute kid ‘n’ waffle pics! An impressive assortment of toppings and some colorful plates as well.

Ida in New York City reported that their gathering this year was a low-key event with a few friends. No photos, but it would have been hard to top the delicious vegan waffle photo she posted from last year’s party.

The Brisbane Vegan Meetup’s waffle party, organized by Grover himself, included chocolate waffles and a range of toppings. There was even a dietitian present to answer questions about vegan nutrition–what a great resource.

Thanks again to those who have shared some great highlights! They’ve been a pleasure to see and read about. Highlights from the Tulsa, OK, Albany, NY, and Pittsburgh, PA parties appear in earlier posts.

While I’m always eagerly excited to hear about the fun and creativity of others’ waffle parties, our own annual event also continues to be a high point of our year. The basic house party format hasn’t changed much over time, outside of growing in size a bit. I enjoy the combination of serving freshly-baked food, chatting with guests between baking shifts, and experiencing all the wonderful toppings that guests bring.

Here in Pittsburgh, the weather was wonderful for the evening of the party, and even the plants in our garden and yard seemed to be excited about the event.

In line with this year’s suggested theme of vegan waffles, ice cream and sorbet, we displayed literature on Dylan the Cow, and gave a copy of The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook to anyone pledging $20 or more to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary or another organization focusing on animal rights, welfare, or environmental issues. Thanks to those who contributed!

Nearly 40 guests attended, including neighbors, long-time and new Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup members, Pittsburgh Cohousing Community members, and others. Many of the guests have moved to the ‘Burgh from other states and countries. (Highlights continued below photos.)

While there were more sweet toppings this year due to the suggested theme, savories were also represented. The tasty variety included:

• amazing amaretto sauce
• apple-pear sauce
• black bean-mango tango
• blueberry sauce
• cherries soft and dried
• cherry fruit spread
• raw chocolate spread with coconut
• lemony cashew kream
• chocolate cashew-based ice cream
• chocolate hazelnut spread
• chocolate pudding
• dairy-free chocolate chips
• coconut manna
• coconut spread with cinnamon
• cran-apple topping
• chocolate hemp milk ice cream
• deep dark chocolate waffle syrup
• garlicky tahina
• granola
• kicky syrup
• madras sambar
• mango sorbet
• mango-coconut sorbet
• mint-chocolate chip soy ice cream
• mint chutney
• mixed fruit sorbet
• neapolitan soy ice cream
• peanut butter fluff
• vegan queso
• roasted and salted pepitas
• ratatouille
• ravishing rhubarb sauce
• raw raspberry sauce
• shredded coconut
• Southwestern mix: black olives, salsa, salsa verde, guacamole, and spicy black beans (in an impressive homemade dish that I should have taken a picture of!)
• strawberries
• strawberry-rhubarb brown rice syrup
• vanilla soy ice cream
• vegan whipped cream

As I look back over this, I’m getting very hungry again! Wow.

Alongside delicious homemade toppings, store-brought brands included Nutiva, Love Street Living Foods (right here in Pittsburgh) Sharon’s Sorbet, So Delicious, Tempt, and Whole Fruit. If you attended the party and don’t see your topping(s) included in the list above, feel free to let me know in a comment.

I can’t really identify a “favorite” topping, because a number of them stood out for different reasons. But I will say that I was particularly intrigued by the coconut manna, and have since experimented with mixing it with cocoa powder and agave. Delicious–although still not quite as good as the Love Street chocolate spread, which makes a yeast-raised waffle taste kind of like a chocolate glazed donut.

Because they got good feedback last year and represent a good variety of relatively neutral waffles, we again featured three recipes available on waffleparty.com: Molasses Yeast Feast Waffles, Zero Excuse Rice Coconut Waffles, and Buckwheat Barley Malt Waffles. The gluten-free rice waffles were particularly popular alongside the vegan ice creams and sorbets.

Several kids attended—after carbing up on waffles and toppings, some played in the front yards alongside the garden boxes while some of the adult guests lounged beneath the lighted patio umbrella.

In the future, I’ll be posting highlights from other parties from this season, for hosts who wish to share this information.

Happy vegan waffling!