Vegan Mofo VI- Day 22: Go Bananas!

I slept in again today but managed to have enough time to make waffles and do all my dishes before heading off to work. I was so excited that I was starting to feel better but of course I feel horrible again. Maybe I tried to do too much, or maybe there are just too many yucky germs floating around and they are sticking to me like glue. Why am I up so late? I had to find out who was eliminated first from Drag Race All Stars (not happy!) and I had to wait for my emo stomach to calm down. I seriously have no idea what is going on, but I do not like it at all. Enough about me, onto the waffles!

These are "Banana Split Waffles" from  Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites, a book I asked for last Christmas and have not cooked from until today, totally blowing it, right? I had to dig out my immersion blender for this and finally open the the package of succanat I specifically bought last time I was at the Adventist store because some recipes in this book called for it. There are so many appealing recipes, I had no idea where to start but a huge pile of bananas gave me a good starting point. I really wanted to make the double batch banana bread, but it calls for more buttery sticks than I can spare right now, so this was the next best way to use up ripe bananas. I had everything else and only needed to get the dried cherries. I would have loved to splurge and buy ice cream and chocolate syrup to pour on top, but they are just not in the budget. Not to worry, these still taste great with your choice of buttery spread and maple syrup. They are also quite filling. I can usually eat 2-3 waffles in a sitting, but today I wasn't sure I'd finish my plate. I'll just try one at a time when I make these again. There might be another recipe from this book later on this week, stay tuned!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

so it should taste like Christmas too, right?

If you haven't made the Gingerbread Waffles from Vegan Brunch, now is the time. This was my second time making them but the first time I didn't let my ginger thaw out and they turned out okay but not nearly as awesome as they did this time. I was planning to have everything ready when my niece came over for dinner but I wasn't quite done when she came through the door. She took in a big whiff and told me how good it smelled in the house, but quickly backpedaled to say that she didn't want waffles for dinner...until she saw sausages cooking in a pan on the stove.

Since I wasn't done cooking and she wasn't sure of what she wanted to eat I told her she could have some leftover mac and cheese and a hot dog (one of her fave combos). After she tried the tester waffle, she decided she wanted some after all, so after her hot dog and mac she had a waffle and a sausage. She was still hungry so she asked if she could have another waffle/sausage plate. I hesistated for a moment because I still hadn't had my dinner and because I was afraid she'd stuff herself and feel sick later. Before I could answer her about her second waffle, she said, "or what? pie?". I couldn't stop laughing, but let her have a second helping of breakfast for dinner instead of dessert. She didn't feel so great after eating all that yummy food so hopefully she's learned a lesson.

If you decide to make these, double the recipe if it's for more than two people, or if you like a lot of leftover waffles. I forgot to do that and was kind of bummed that I only had three left for the next day. I warmed them up in the toaster oven so they could get a little bit crispy, and I honestly think they taste a little better the second (or third!) day.

Vegan Mofo IV: Week 2- Waffle Iron Maiden

I just made my first batch of waffles, ever! We've had the waffle iron for a few months now but I've never used it all by myself. Ever since I was a kid, everyone would make fun of me for being uncoordinated or clumsy. I was stupid enough to believe it for way too long, but now I know, it's not true, at least not most of the time. Since I have the house to myself today, I knew I could try and make waffles without anyone poking their nose or comments in my face. It was really fun and I only goofed up once, hooray!

We had waffles on Friday night and it made me want to eat more waffles. Also I felt bad for cheating with mix and I wanted to do some from scratch. It always tastes better and I like to pretend I'm exercising my whisking/stirring muscles while I do it. I had been wanting to make the Pumpkin Waffles from VWAV since forever so I finally did. I had everything I needed, so I just had to re-read the waffle iron instructions and get down to business.

Everything mixed up beautifully but the batter was still rather thick. I re-read the manufacturer's instructions and it said for thicker batter to use more, which should make sense, but I am an instruction reader, so I had to find out that way. The first waffle takes the longest and after that it is smooth sailing. I was doing great until the 4th or 5th one when I started pouring the batter without spraying the iron first, so I only got to spray one side of it. Thankfully it didn't get burned or stuck, but I made sure not to do that again.

They smelled like delicious pumpkin spiced goodness and I couldn't wait to eat them all up. The recipe said 24 regular waffles or 12 Belgian waffles. I don't know what kind of crazy waffle iron I have or what kind of crazy mixing I did but I only got about 6. It's okay though because I was afraid of having too many extra.They were quite filling so I only ate two. I can't wait for someone else to try them, but if they don't love them, it's just more for me. 

Vegan Mofo IV Day 5: BFD (Breakfast For Dinner)

 In my pre-vegan days, "breakfast served all day" was my favorite phrase on a menu or restaurant window. I know there are some vegan-friendly places that offer such an option, but I am not lucky enough to live near them. So, in the grand tradition of vegans everywhere, you do it your damn self. Tonight we had waffles and sausage.

For the waffles we cheated with a mix, but we added bananas, vanilla and cinnamon. The "sausage" was gimme lean, to which we added extra fennel seed for the first time. I'll have to remember to add it again next time. I like making quick meals and I love easy clean up even more. I was in charge of the sausage, so after that was done, I was the waffle catcher and started washing the dishes.

I had three waffles, which is one more than I would normally have but they were so good, I went for it. I am glad we invested in a waffle maker a few months ago. There are lots more waffle recipes I want to try. I want to do a "chicken and waffles" night too.

This wraps up the first week of mofo. It was a slow start, but I'm going to keep going and try harder each week. Have a good weekend y'all!

If You Lived Here We'd Be Home Fries

I had breakfast all day on Friday. I really did. For breakfast I had egg mc vegans, three of them to be exact. We usually have potatoes, or another person eating with us, but since it was just me and my sister we were each allowed three sammiches. I ate all of mine but she did not. Needless to say I did not have lunch because I was still full from breakfast. It was basically half a brick of tofu, 3 English muffins, four slices veg Canadian bacon and about three slices of Tofutti American singles. But I drank Chocolate Silk Light, so that balances it out, right?

For dinner we had belgian waffles, Diner Home Fries (from VB and V'Con) and Gimme Lean sausage patties. I just realized that Gimme Lean is supposed to sound like Jimmy Dean. Duh! Anyhow I'd been wanting a waffle maker for a while now and they had some at my sister's work. After a few rounds of markdowns, she brought home a Waring Pro for only $24. It is so much better than the waffle iron we had twenty something years ago, which is the last time I had homemade waffles. I think it had visible springs on it and I remember it was a pain to clean it. Maybe that is why we stopped having waffles. Luckily this new one is super easy to clean and quite idiot-friendly. It came with a measuring cup for the batter and beeps to tell you when your waffle is ready. Our first waffles were from a box mix because we were in too much of a hurry to play with our new toy. After I replace the maple syrup I am going to make some from scratch. The Pumpkin Waffles from VWAV are really calling to me and you best believe I am gonna answer.


p.s. Penny's Food Revolution lost a battle so this little home fry has rice on her nose. We will win the war...eventually.