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!

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.

Crazy things are happening on Pittsburgh’s skyline this week. See the earlier explanation of the Pittsburghese.

Kicky Waffle Syrup on Textured Rice Vegan Waffle

Makes 1 1/4 cups

This topping will go with many neutral vegan waffle recipes. It has a bit of a kick from the ginger. It’s a topping I recently started making in bulk to put on my oatmeal, and I’ll also be making a batch for our waffle party. Accompany with non-dairy vanilla ice cream, dried cranberries, and walnuts, if you like.

I snapped the photo without the tripod, while pouring the syrup, so it’s not super-artsy. Cool purple-pink plastic plate, though! And I didn’t get any syrup on the camera.

• 1 cup real maple syrup
• 1/4 cup molasses (preferably blackstrap)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or mace
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until the spices are dissolved and syrup is desired warmth. Pour generously over your favorite waffle.

Jen’s family and several friends got involved with this year’s Global Vegan Waffle Party, hosting a brunch party near Albany, NY last weekend. It featured all vegan waffles (Yeast-Raised Cinnamon-Raisin and Sinful Cheesecakey Waffles from the GVWC) and nearly all vegan toppings. Jen’s brother skillfully piloted the iron and took some great photos of deliciously creative vegan waffles. Her mom picked out an impressive assortment of toppings.

All that fresh fruit is making my mouth water! Love the “happy camper” t-shirt–how could one not be a happy camper with such food?

Rumor has it they’re planning a second event soon–when is yours?