Last night I knew I wanted waffles for breakfast.  I also knew I would need to be able to crank them out fast… and so I started mixing together the dry ingredients for your standard old waffle recipe, when suddenly it came to me…  yeast! Yeasted waffles were the answer.  If I mix up some delicious yeasty batter tonight, it can rise over night in the fridge and be ready for the waffle iron in the morning!  Not only are yeasted waffles fast and efficient, but they are absolutely beyond delicious.

So I mixed up the batter, feeling very smug and self-congratulatory, when suddenly I realized I had nothing to put on the waffles.  We are running low on peanut butter, we are out of fruit, and I generally try to go with something a little healthier than just maple syrup.   And that’s when the 2nd light bulb flicked on!  Eureka!   I had just made delicious roasted vegetables for dinner (with steamed greens and fried tofu)…

Simple and delicious

… but I had only used half of our squash for the roasted vegetables.  The other half I wrapped in foil and baked, because I figured it’d be useful to have cooked squash available.  And guess what!   I was right.    I carved out the soft, moist, orangey innards of the squash, whipped it with soymilk, earth balance, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice… and created a cloud of fall flavored goodness.     Tasted like a pillow of pumpkin pie.

But what kind of waffle enthusiast would I be if I just stopped at topping my raised waffles with faux-pumpkin-pie?  The waffles needed a sweet drizzly sauce, and by gum, they would have it.

Cashew Creme

I used the raised waffle and cashew cream recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch, which is really and truly my favorite cookbook.   Everyone should buy a copy!

worth waking up for

The squash itself was my own idea, and really simple.  I wish I had actually bothered to measure my ingredients so I could share the recipe…   but a recipe really isn’t even necessary.  Just get some squash (or pumpkin), mash it, then mix in a couple tablespoons of maple syrup and some pumpkin pie spice, add a couple tablespoons of earth balance (or any other non-hydrogenated margarine) while it’s still warm, and add soymilk slowly until it’s reached the desired consistency.  Easy as pie!  And tasty as pie, too.