This year’s vegan waffle party was a blast! Delicious vegan waffles and toppings were consumed by all. Our event in Portland was the second to incorporate a snuggle party, as described in last year’s highlights.
This recipe for fun works well, as a comforting way to wind down from the sugar high and excitement of baking and eating tasty Belgian waffles, syrups, curries, fruit, and other culinary concoctions.
This year’s Portland vegan waffle party again featured three vegan waffle recipes: Sweet Yeast-Raised Vegan Waffles and Vegan Gluten-Free Textured Rice Waffles (with whole grain teff) from The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook, and Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Almond Waffles.
At the suggestions of guests, I incorporated a few recipe variations including coconut sugar in lieu of cane sugar, and coconut oil spray in place of canola oil spray. Both seemed to work well.
I also ground the brown rice flour for the gluten-free waffles using a Ninja blender.
Oh, and the many tongue-tantalizing toppings…
Along with wonderful conversation and warmth, guests brought a delicious array of vegan waffle toppings. Some of this year’s toppings gracing the waffle bar included:
- fresh blueberries
- whipped coconut cream
- mango red curry waffle sauce
- raspberry mango rose waffle sauce
- peanut butter ginger waffle sauce
- fresh organic “champagne” mangoes
- freshly ground peanut butter
- cacao syrup with agave nectar
- strawberry waffle sauce
- freshly ground almond butter
- Dark Chocolate Waffle Syrup (from The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook)
And more waffle toppings…
- salted caramel/pear waffle sauce
- smoky chipotle cheeze waffle sauce
- a sweet-tart rhubarb spread
- peaches ‘n’ cream waffle topping
- blueberry waffle sauce
- onion and pickled mango hummus
- Devalicious Chia Pudding
- lingonberry jam
- real maple syrup
- a few other delicious jams I don’t recall
Someone even brought freshly brewed coffee. Yum! And we again thoroughly enjoyed a few leftover waffle toppings the day after the event.
If all of this is making you hungry for your own waffle party, let us know if you plan to host one!
The batches of homemade black cherry-ginger-vanilla and pear-ginger-vanilla kombucha brewed for the party turned out to be a great accompaniment for vegan waffles. We popped and enjoyed at least a dozen bottles of it during the party. This was a really fun way to pass along some energy, as one of the guests had originally given me a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) as a housewarming gift when I first arrived in Portland.
Meg’s gracious help and support with co-hosting was also greatly appreciated, especially while I was in the interdimensional, outside-the-normal-space-time-continuum groove of baking waffles. Here she is filtering some of the kombucha.
Alongside our own party, I was also very excited to know that a few other cities are joining us again this year!
Other waffle party host cities this year include: Everberg, Belgium; Minneapolis, MN; Boston, MA; Herndon, VA; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and Guelph, Ontario, Canada. A big thanks again to hosts from prior years who have returned. I’ve enjoyed profiling a few of them in the recent waffle party host interviews. Thanks to Mike R. a photo from the Guelph party. He notes that “the coconut milk ice cream works like a dream with a warm waffle.”
I again spent time feeling gratitude for friends and guests who have attended parties in past years, while at the same time enjoying connection with the wonderful new people I’ve met in Portland.
I look forward to additional updates and photos from other waffle parties in the weeks ahead. Some highlights may be posted here, or on the Facebook Vegan Waffles page. I always welcome updates, whenever your event might be. If you want to throw your own party, it’s not too late to sign up for this year!
Happy vegan waffling!
Thanks to Michael Mobley for the group photo appearing at the top of the post.