Vegan Waffle House (And More Vegan MoFo)

Vegan MoFo (October is Vegan Month of Food, for those not-in-the-know)

Reason Numbers 16-18

16. When is it never a good time to eat your veggies?

17. When the cows take over the world--we'll help them with their march.

18. When the chickens decide to revolt--we'll help them with their march.

Chocolate waffles and pumpkin waffles--not combined, just plain chocolate, and then on another Sunday, pumpkin. (Of course, now that I am thinking about it, why not "chocolate pumpkin" waffles? ) Yes, these were as good as they look! Well, I think they look good. I am not much of a breakfast person. I amble around with a half banana smeared with peanut butter and my coffee trying to read the newspaper and waking up. (Yes, we subscribe to a "newspaper" and I quite enjoy my reading of the paper thank you very much.) When you have dogs--and as many as we have, you aren't EVER allowed to sleep in. Ever. Ever. They run with the wolves still, their clocks are on hunt to survive mode, I suppose. My BH (better half) has an appetite right when he wakes up--heads right to the kitchen. Perhaps this is his "hunt and gather" portion turned on. Not me--I just want to survive the morning. So, on the days when he sleeps in and I am up "with the wolves"--I sometimes am motivated to take the extra time to treat us to some delicious breakfast food. A while back I made vegan cinnamon rolls--that was a two-hour ordeal, but worth it when we sat down to eat them at 11:30, but not something I am willing to do often. So, these past few weekends, I experimented with a few recipes. My pumpkin influence comes from Robin Robertson's 1000 Vegan Recipes. The chocolate waffle was influenced by Isa Chandra Maskowitz's Vegan Brunch--I love both of these cookbooks!

If you are new to waffle making--here are a few tips. Buy a waffle maker that has deep indentations. Never overmix your batter--like "barely" mix it with a fork. Try to find a waffle maker that will make at least two waffles. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions on timing and temperature. You don't need to go broke getting one either. I bought mine at WM. It was the right price and has worked superbly! I actually prefer a waffle to a pancake any day. You can freeze your leftover waffles and have your own No-Eggo waffle the very next day!

Vegan Pumpkin Waffles

1/4 cup spelt flour

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 can of pumpkin

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 225. Get a large piece of foil ready to cover the waffles and place on the rack in the warmed oven as you make the waffles. Place the soy milk and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup, mix and set aside. Place the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk well to blend the flavors. Now add all of the wet ingredients, stirring with a fork just until incorporated. Don't overmix this. It will look lumpy and that is okay! Set up your waffle maker. I use about a 1/2 cup of mixture per waffle. Follow the directions that came with the waffle maker. It takes my waffles about six minutes to complete. I then place them in the oven straight on the racks and cover with foil.

Vegan Chocolate Waffles

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 cups soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 225. Tear off a large piece of foil to place over the waffles while they are in the oven staying warm as you make your batches. Pour the 2 cups of soy milk and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into a bowl and set aside. Place all of the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a fork just until blended. Do not over mix--a few lumps are okay! Set up your waffle maker and, according to manufacturer's directions, make the waffles. I usually find that about a 1/2 cup of mixture works nicely. I set my timer for six minutes per batch.