Vegan

For the last four years, my neighborhood arts organization, Crosstown Arts, has been holding annual MemFEAST dinners. What's MemFEAST? Well, the "Mem" stands for "Memphis," and FEAST is an acronym for "Funding Emerging Artists with Sustainable Tactics." Still not clear? Let me explain.Community members and arts supporters from all over the city pay $35 for a ticket to MemFEAST. Money from all the ticket sales — plus some generous donor contributions — totals at $5,000. In return for their $35 ticket, patrons get a massive and awesome vegan dinner. And while they're eating dinner, artists make presentations for art projects that they could create with that $5,000. After the presentations are through, the patrons vote for their favorite art project. The winner gets the $5,000 to make their art project a reality.I love the MemFEAST concept, and I've attended the event every year. The meal hasn't always been all vegan (the first two years featured a mostly vegan menu with one or two meat dishes for the omnis). But for the past two years, Chef/farmer Miles McMath has been preparing the food. And he makes everything vegan! Crosstown Arts, the arts organization that represents my neighborhood in Memphis, is probably the most vegan-friendly arts organization in town. They always have vegan options at their events, and many times, all of the food is vegan. Lucky me!This year's MemFEAST event happened on Saturday night. Each year, the location has changed, but this year may have been my very fave. The party was held outdoors on the V&E Greenline, a 1.8-mile bike and pedestrian path on an old rail track. It was like a lovely garden party!Here I am (with new hair!)And here are my friends Cassi and Greg, who are both vegan as well, checking out the menu before dinner.Each table had multiple bottles of Ginger-Basil Aqua Fresca.And look at these adorable decorations! Old airplane-sized liquor bottles with flowers!The buffet was AMAZING!!! It started with antipasto — Heirloom Bean Hummus, Olive Tapenade, Raw Veggies, Portobello Mousse, and Burnt Naan (The naan had a light grilled flavor and was among my favorite things).And there was French Lentil Caviar, Beet Tartare, Pickled Spring Vegetables, and Rustic Bread.But the real icing on the cake was the vegan slider bar! I had one of each! There were Edamame & White Bean Burgers with Field Lettuce, Spring Onion, and Chow Chow, Redneck Reubens made from Vegan Andouille, Kimchee, and Creole Remoulade, Green Lentil & Quinoa Burgers with Vindaloo Vegetables, and Tamarind Chutney, Hominy-Green Chili Burgers with Avocado, Salsa Roja, and Lime Crema, and Sweet Tater Logs with Chipotle Ketchup.And at the end of the buffet (and I failed to take a picture) were Curry Spiced Tofu with Broccoli Rabe and Basil-Mint Pesto, Sweet Corn & Farro Risotto with Green Butterbeans and Arkansas "Feta" (my fave!), and Springtime Soba Noodles with Ginger Miso Broth, Pok Choi, Daikon, and Shoots. And let's not forget dessert! Brownies and Raw Peach Cobbler with Green Wheat Freekah Crust.I tried everything on the menu. So needless to say, my plate was a little overstuffed. I took a picture of Greg's much tidier, less gluttonous plate.After dinner, we were so full! But the artists' presentations helped get our minds off our very full bellies. Five artists gave presentations, and the winner was Jeannie Tomlinson Saltmarsh, who proposed the installation on the greenline of metal fish sculptures that move with the wind.We stayed for awhile after dinner and drank more wine. Look how lovely this little garden party was after dark!Another successful MemFEAST has come and gone, and this one was definitely the best so far.

If you made pancakes and caught up on Game of Thrones today instead of going to day two of the Seed, I’m not going to say you made the wrong choice. If you went yesterday (like I did—read about my Saturday visit), there were few reasons to return today since the vendors were basically the [...]

When I'm zapped after a long day, I tend to make my old standby tofu for dinner because it's easy. No doubt, you know the drill: press, marinade and then either bake or pan fry. But the addition of just two more easy steps – breading the flavor-infused tofu and making a no-brainer dipping sauce – results in a fun, seemingly fancy dinner – lots of crispy flavor for very little effort. These Popcorn Tofu Bites also make fun appetizers, served with toothpicks – perfect for warm weather outings. The Sweet-n-Spicy Dipping Sauce is Asian-inspired [or more accurately, CSA-inspired since I still have a huge bunch of scallions from last week's haul sitting in a mason jar in my fridge]. It's a veritable United Nations-inspired melange of flavors that play nicely together, despite their differences – a little sweet, – gracias agave; a little salty – domo arigato, miso, and a little spicy – kob-kun, kah, Sriracha You will have leftover dipping sauce, but it has legs. Use it as a marinade for seitan or soy curls, or as a salad dressing. [I'm thinking baby arugula and spinach with chickpeas, sliced pears, candied pecans and a wee sprinkle of wasabi powder] popcorn tofu bites with sweet-n-spicy dipping sauce Makes 32-36 tofu bites 1 pound extra-firm tofu, pressed for about 2 hours, then cut into 32-36 1-inch cubes marinade: 1 T olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1 T soy sauce 3 T vegetable broth [I use Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base] 1 tsp dried basil 1 whole clove Mix everything in a shallow dish. Coat tofu cubes in marinade and let sit at least one hour [turning to coat all sides every once in awhile ] or overnight in refrigerator. breading: 1/2 cup panko [Fear not, my gluten-free friends. Yes, Virginia, there is gluten-free panko ] 2 T nutritional yeast 1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika [or substitute regular paprika, but the smokiness of the Spanish adds wonderful, almost grill-like complexity!] Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Mix breading ingredients in a shallow dish. Coat tofu cubes in breading, patting on extra on "bald" spots, and then place onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, then gently flip and bake 25 more minutes. Serve with dipping sauce, below. sweet-n-spicy dipping sauce: 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 T vegetable broth [I use Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base] 1/2 tsp Sriracha [or to taste. Start with less!] 1/4 cup scallions, chopped 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 3 T agave nectar 1 tsp miso 1 tsp sesame oil [Olive oil is a fine sub, but sesame is so much better] Process everything in a mini food processor or Vitamix until smooth-ish. Dip tofu bites in sauce.

Breakfast was just a couple of Sarah Kramers Banana Pancakes with TJ's Maple Syrup to keep the hunger at bay till... Tofu Scramble at Cafe Nola for lunch. They did an excellent job crisping up the Tofu and Roasting the Potatoes.Wegman's Chickenless Chicken with Steamed Broccoli for dinner. (I've gotten some good deals on Organic Broccoli lately so expect to see a lot of it the next week or so).A Two Moms In The Raw Almond Butter Cacao Truffle for dessert. Disappointing product for the high price. I fell for the precious yuppie name. Can't recommend. Stuck with two more in the pack now.WFH Grub tomorrow.

Adriana of  Vegan Magic has come up with a really tasty burger that is so simple to make. We really enjoyed these tonight for dinner. They had a nice spiciness, lots of flavor, and a nice crunch from the walnuts.  We enjoyed them as patties, but they’d be great on a bun. or rolled into [...] Related Posts: Review: Quinoa and Kale Patties Review: Spicy Chickpea Crackers Review: Black Rice, Asparagus and Chickpea Salad Review: Jamaican Tempeh Patties Review: Quick Walnut Pâté Sandwiches with Pears and…

Spelt Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Sunspire Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips, Coconut Oil, Muscavado Sugar, Fair Trade Vanilla, Soymilk, Sea Salt

Doing work from my hammock this morning with a cup of tea. There is no better way to start a new week! This weekend was definitely one to remember – lots of laughs and memories made.  On Friday I got to celebrate my best friends birthday by taking her on a mini day trip to one of my favorite places in Cleveland – LUSH. LUSH HAUL Lots of fun new products to try, I’m super excited! We also went to Teavana, Whole Foods, and a couple of other places. By the end of the day we were completely exhausted and needing nourishment so we went to Melt Bar and Grill. What is “the melt” you ask? Melt Bar and Grill is a Cleveland based chain featuring gourmet grilled cheese and 150+ kinds of beer plus 20 others on draft. I KNOW. They are also completely vegan friendly, and anything on the menu can be made that way usually at no extra charge. I KNOW! I tried The Big Popper which had  jalapeño peppers, and cheddar and herbed vegan cream cheese. It came with this delicious mixed berry dipping sauce which easily was the best part of the dish. I couldn’t even eat half of this thing before I had a major food baby. The only complaint I have is that it’s not closer to me. Have you ever been to Melt Bar and Grill? Whats your favorite thing on the menu? Michal

A while back, I was sent a copy of "The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Cakes and Cookies" to review. The name of this book is a bit insane, but the recipes seem to be pretty great. All the recipes inside are Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, and Soy-free. She also tells you which ones are Nut-free. So there!I'm not gluten-free, but a lot of people I love are -- including my excellent cousin and a few of my beloved yoga students and friends. So, I like to have some reliable GF recipes on hand so that I can bake for them. Plus, if you think about how rarely people ever bake vegan treats for you, just imagine how the GF folks feel, and especially how the Vegan GF'ers feel. My goodness. Just imagining that sad state of affairs is enough to inspire me to go bake someone a cake.Of course, it's not like I need to be eating cake all the time, so it took me a little while to get around to writing this review. Recently, though, our excellent friends B&D invited us over for dinner, and B is one of my special GF friends. So, I seized the moment and made - not one, but TWO cakes to bring along! Ha ha!The first one I made was the Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake. It's a super orangey cake, with chocolate chips inside. Can you even believe how perfect and beautiful it is?? I cooked it a little longer than the recipe called for and still it was just a touch too moist. I would definitely make this again, because it is beautiful and had a CRAZY delish orangey and chocolatey flavor, but next time I'll bake it another 5-10 minutes more.Here it is all dressed up for the dinner party! This cake has TWO glazes: first a super orangey glaze that you drizzle or brush on, and then a dark chocolate glaze that you drizzle. So yumz! Also, though, the double glazing added a lot of moisture, so I would suggest doing it right before serving -- and that's another reason to bake the cake a little longer.I also brought along this really interesting Tahinopita cake. We all thought this one was really more like a breakfast cake. Kind of like scones or something. It was so good and tasted very sophisticated. We made coffee after dinner (decaf, of course!) -- and this one paired really nicely with the coffee. The rich, roasted tahini flavor really came through and was lightened by dried fruits, and nuts. Mmm. I really liked this unusual cake.Then, last weekend I was teaching a weekend-long yoga retreat, and I have a tradition of always bringing along a big batch of cookies so everyone can have a sweetie after lunch. There are usually a few GF folks on the retreat, so I decided to turn to this book again for help. After much consideration, I chose to make the Chocolate Chunk Tahini Cookies. They were great! The only fat in these cookies comes from tahini - how cool is that? Naturally, I used roasted tahini for extra deep flavor goodness! I think I over baked them slightly, but no one seemed to complain - and that was probably my fault for multi-tasking while they were baking. All the same, they really came out well, and I look forward to trying more GF cookie recipes from this book.Overall:If you're a vegan GF person, or if you have any GF folks in your life that you enjoying baking sweeties for, I think this is a really good book to have in your collection. There are a wide variety of recipes (cakes, cookies, and bars) -- with an array of flavors, so you're likely to find a number of them appealing. Also, lots of the recipes are really creative (like the Tahinopita cake) - not just the same ol' recipes you've already made loads of times.Lastly, I really appreciate that for each recipe the author specifies which types of flours to use (tapioca, brown rice, sorghum, etc) - and not just "1 cup gluten free flour mix." That sort of recipe drives me nuts because it seems so unreliable. These recipes are clear and specific.

It's been almost a year since I posted here! Why? Well, I definitely wasn't taking a blogging vacation. No, I've been blogging at Plant-Powered Kitchen. I'm there - but you aren't! I realized recently that 1000s of you are missing my posts. I have been posting new recipes, hosting giveaways, and talking all about leafy greens and ditching dairy - and more! So, jump over and subscribe to Plant-Powered Kitchen. I will be hosting new giveaways, launching an ebook, and announcing NEW book news very soon - you don't want to miss all that, right? Subscribe now!

Exciting news, Herbies! Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Howard Jacobson's new book, WHOLE, has been released! and it's already a New York Times Bestseller! I got a chance to read this amazing book a few months ago and I can't recommend it enough. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to share an excerpt of the book with you today AND I'm giving away THREE copies of the book! (p.s. Fun fact: Dr. Campbell and I have the same publisher!) So what's the difference between The China Study and WHOLE? Dr. Campbell: The China Study was basically a summary of the evidence and what I thought it showed. It was based on my own career, of course, but also involving the work of others. Whole, in contrast, is to count why. In other words, the China Study was: Here's the scene, here's the evidence, here's what we think it says. And Whole is sort of an explanation of why this evidence actually works. It really has a dramatic effect on health - even more than I thought when I finished writing The China Study. I mean I was pretty confident in what I was saying, of course, but nonetheless, since that book was published, what we now know about this is just truly dramatic."** I also was interviewed by co-author Dr. Howard Jacobson about living the plant-based lifestyle, which was a BLAST. And you can listen to the interview! (The link downloads an mp3.) And don't forget to check out The China Study Cookbook, which was recently released as well. An excerpt from WHOLE: Making Ourselves Whole “If a little bird were to take a grain of sand in its beak from the seashore and somehow manage to fly it to the furthest quasar in the universe, and if it returned and repeated the process until all the sand of the oceans both from the beaches and the bottoms were gone, eternity would be just beginning.”—Anonymous, written on the wall of the Maté Factor Cafe, Ithaca Commons, NY If this book does nothing else, I hope that it convinces you that we need to change the way we think about health. We must recognize nutrition as a cornerstone of our health-care system, not a footnote. We must also recognize the limitations of our reductionist paradigm and learn to accept the validity of evidence beyond what that paradigm allows us to perceive. If we are truly to understand the meaning of nutrition, its effect on the body, and its potential to transform our collective health, we must stop seeing reductionism as the only method by which to achieve progress and start seeing it as a tool, the results of which can only be properly evaluated within a wholistic framework. And we must be willing to embrace wholism beyond the realm of nutrition. The body is a complex system; bodies gathered together in societies are even more complex; and human life, interwoven with all of nature on this planet, is complex beyond our imagining. We cannot afford to ignore this complexity any longer. I realize that what I’m proposing here is a tectonic shift in the way we think about nutrition, medicine, and health. The process may not be easy. But it is possible. I know, because this shift is one I experienced myself over the course of my career. My doctoral dissertation, written over fifty years ago, was on the greater biological value of animal-based protein. I believed then, as firmly as any meat-loving cattle baron, that there was no better, more beneficial food than the protein we received from meat and milk. But as you have seen here and in The China Study, my position today is very different. I am now convinced that there is no healthier way to eat than a whole food, plant-based diet, without added fat, salt, or refined carbohydrates. For me, the source of that shift was evidence—the empirical, peer-reviewed evidence produced over many years by my own research group. It was bolstered in later years by the evidence produced by my colleagues in clinical medicine, who have been independently and convincingly documenting the WFPB diet's [Editorial Note: WFPB= w