Down On the Farm (Part 3)

Last post on the Farm vegan retreat, I swear. I had so many pictures of the weekend-long vegan cooking conference at the Farm in Summertown that I had to break them into three posts. On Sunday night, I posted about the opening dinner on Friday. Last night, I posted pics from Saturday's cooking demos through lunch. Tonight, I'll be posting about everything that happened after lunch. For more on the Farm or the retreat, go here or here.

Immediately after lunch, I ran over to the Book Publishing Company to prep for my 2 p.m. demo. I was scheduled to demonstrate my Tempeh & Carrot BBQ Sandwiches and my Tofu Deviled "Eggy" Bites (both recipes are from my upcoming cookbook, to be published by the Book Pub Co. very soon). Here I am preparing the Creamy Poppyseed Coleslaw for the 'cue sandwiches. On the side, you can see the tofu squares for the deviled eggy bites:

Here's a close-up of the slaw bowl before the vegan mayo and poppyseeds went in:

Here's the Tempeh & Carrot BBQ filling sizzling on the stovetop:

And here's me and my lovely assistant (a.k.a. the boyfriend) with a platter of tiny BBQ sandwich samples. The class loved the barbecue! Most folks either loved or were totally weirded out by the deviled eggy bites. They get their egg flavor from black salt, and you either adore black salt or you don't, right?:

Right after my demo, chef Alan Roettinger, author of Speed Vegan and Omega 3 Cuisine, went on with his demo. He's a professional chef, and his style is way more gourmet than mine. I enjoyed being treated to such fancy foods!

For starters, Alan made this AMAZING kalamata olive tapenade with a secret ingredient (it was chocolate!!). This recipe is from Omega 3 Cuisine, which I should be reviewing very soon:

Next up was Pimento Soup with Vermouth from Speed Vegan. I'd seen this recipe in the cookbook before, but it didn't sound nearly as appealing as it tasted in real life. The vermouth gives this soup an amazing complexity of flavor that I can't even describe. Plus, y'all know I'm a fan of any food made with alcohol:

And then Alan fed us Red Quinoa with Zucchini and Corn and Napa Slaw, both from Speed Vegan. This was my first time trying red quinoa because I've always been too cheap to buy it. OMG ... I think red quinoa is my new favorite food!

After eating sample-sized portions all day, none of us were all that hungry for dinner. But the Farm was holding a community dinner Saturday night, and we weren't about to miss that. Community dinners are fund-raisers for the Farm School or other special organizations, and many of the Farm's residents attend. This was a chance to meet Farmies who weren't involved with the vegan retreat. Plus, there was live music and a school play. Here's the list of menus for community dinners, appropriately held in the Farm's community center:

Saturday's menu featured Thai Stir-Fry (with some of the best, firmest tofu I've ever eaten!!), Yellow Rice, and a Green Salad. Despite my lack of hunger, I cleaned my plate:

And for dessert, a homemade Vegan Brownie. And yes, I finished that too:

By the time we left the Farm at 7:30 p.m. to make the three-hour drive home to Memphis, I was as full as a tick! We had a fabulous time at the retreat, and I ate some of the tastiest vegan food I've ever had. Plus, we made some new friends. I wish we could do it all over again next weekend!