Friday, June 2, 2017

Vegan Ben & Jerry's Waffle Ice Cream Sundaes for VM Day!

Got a little sidetracked with the Philly rehash; we're now back to our regularly scheduled programming, starting with Mother's Day!


Making Mother's Day brunch is kind of my thing, so I began preparing months in advance- truly. The first step was to acquire a waffle iron. I'm not really into kitchen gadgets, so I didn't want to spend much money. I bought this little Oster Belgian waffle maker and it's pretty much the pits; don't be fooled by the fact that it's an Amazon best seller. Unfortunately, I'm a dummy who waited too long to take it out of the box and actually try it, so once I finally did it was too late to return. All this is to say, don't buy that one! You can make do with it, but it's FAR from ideal.



But, don't worry about us; we were fine. I monkeyed around with it long enough to figure out how to get a relatively decent waffle (NOT Belgian as advertised) with as minimal mess as possible. I used this recipe for waffles and then crisped them up in the oven for a few minutes before assembling and serving.

And, by "assembling and serving", I mean WITH ICE CREAM. Yeah, that's right: Mother's Day waffle ice cream sundaes.


Freshly made waffles with ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and this really amazing syrup.


Lately I've been eating a lot of Nada Moo, but on this day we partook in the three new, vegan, Ben & Jerry flavors.

 
Shown here, sans waffles. Caramel almond brittle up top, coconut 7-layer bar to the right, and cherry garcia at the bottom. All three flavors are a vast improvement of the original four vegan flavors they released last winter; I especially loved the brittle & the 7-layer. In case you're wondering, I do know that Ben & Jerry's (and parent company Unilever) are problematic- not the least of which because some flavors contain palm oil and the chocolate is not Food Empowerment Project approved; feel free to let me have it in the comments. Please note, though, that I don't necessarily have a problem with non-vegan companies making vegan items; instead, I think it's a sign of progress. But, I digress.



 You-know-who got her own 89-size waffle sundae; see her chowing down here.

 

As you might imagine, this meal held us over for quite some time. We spent the day chatting, watching movies, and being amazed by a sudden hailstorm.


Well, we were amazed. Petri Hawkins Bird not so much.


Also, VM brought a present for 89. Not sure how that works since 89 already has 2 personal holidays, but there you go.



Of course that didn't stop her from trying to gnaw her way into VM's gifts because she's a humongous glom.


Eventually we got hungry again and had Ethiopian food for dinner.



Aaaaand, luckily there was plenty of brunch leftovers so that we were able to repeat the sundaes a few days later as if Mother's Day never ended!




7 comments:

  1. I recently broke part of the temperature gauge on my waffle iron, so this is a good "buyer beware" post! What a cute Mother's Day idea, though! I am a purist, in that I like maple syrup or pb or both on my waffles. Only occasionally will I like it with fruit, too.

    I haven't tried any of the Ben & Jerry's dairy free, but I did recently try the So Delicious Cashew Ice Cream and it was great!

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    1. I think I'm the only person who doesn't like that SD cashew! Nada Moo is my go-to (mint chocolate chip), but these B&J flavors are really decadent. My non-vegan neighbors love it too; in fact, she found and gifted them to me before my dad finally found them!

      I like anything with syrup, but I grew up with French Toast & pancakes, so waffles are exotic to me. The only time I ever had them was in the diner, so that explains the need to recreate.

      Good luck on your search for a superior waffle iron! I'm open to suggestions.

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  2. I had a wonderful Mother's Day!!!!
    Having fantastic food and spending the day with those that I love!!!!
    Thank you for these special memories!!!!
    vm

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  3. How cool that you have a Mom who will eat Ethiopian food and comment on your blog!

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    Replies
    1. Not gonna lie, she's totally the coolest. Thanks for noticing!

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  4. What a fantastic way to celebrate your mom...! I can't find that vegan ben and jerry's close enough that i could get it home before it melts. Thinking i should just buy it with a friend and two spoons to eat on the spot!
    What a delicious looking plate of ethiopian food- and i agree, totally cool your mom likes it!
    Ttrockwood

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